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diff --git a/old/65863-0.txt b/old/65863-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7e84faa..0000000 --- a/old/65863-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,19814 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of On the Border with Crook, by John G. 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 -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: On the Border with Crook - -Author: John G. Bourke - -Release Date: July 18, 2021 [eBook #65863] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: KD Weeks, Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The Internet - Archive/American Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ON THE BORDER WITH CROOK *** - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - Transcriber’s Note: - -This version of the text cannot represent certain typographical effects. -Italics are delimited with the ‘_’ character as _italic_. Bold-faced -type in the advertisements at the end of the text is delimited with -‘==’. - -The single footnote has been moved to follow the paragraphs in which it -was referenced. - -Minor errors, attributable to the printer, have been corrected. Please -see the transcriber’s note at the end of this text for details regarding -the handling of any textual issues encountered during its preparation. - -[Illustration: GENERAL GEORGE CROOK.] - - - - - - - - - ON THE BORDER WITH CROOK - - BY - - JOHN G. BOURKE - CAPTAIN THIRD CAVALRY, U. S. A. - - - - - - - - - _ILLUSTRATED_ - - - - - - - - - NEW YORK - CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS - 1891 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1891, BY - CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS - - - - - - - - - - - Press of J. J. Little & Co. - Astor Place, New York - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - _TO FRANCIS PARKMAN,_ - -_whose learned and graceful pen has illustrated the History, Traditions, -Wonders and Resources of the Great West, this volume,—descriptive of the -trials and tribulations, hopes and fears of brave officers and enlisted -men of the regular Army, who did so much to conquer and develop the -empire beyond the Missouri,—is affectionately inscribed by his admirer -and friend,_ - - _JOHN G. BOURKE._ - -_Omaha, Nebraska, - August 12, 1891._ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - PREFACE. - - -There is an old saw in the army which teaches that you can never know a -man until after having made a scout with him in bad weather. All the -good qualities and bad in the human makeup force their way to the -surface under the stimulus of privation and danger, and it not -infrequently happens that the comrade who at the military post was most -popular, by reason of charm of manner and geniality, returns from this -trial sadly lowered in the estimation of his fellows, and that he who in -the garrison was most retiring, self-composed, and least anxious to make -a display of glittering uniform, has swept all before him by the -evidence he has given of fortitude, equanimity, courage, coolness, and -good judgment under circumstances of danger and distress. But, whether -the maxim be true or false, it is hardly too much for me to claim a -hearing while I recall all that I know of a man with whom for more than -fifteen years, it was my fortune to be intimately associated in all the -changing vicissitudes which constituted service on the “border” of -yesterday, which has vanished never to return. - -It is not my purpose to write a biography of my late friend and -commander—such a task I leave for others to whom it may be more -congenial; speaking for myself, I am compelled to say that it is always -difficult for me to peruse biography of any kind, especially military, -and that which I do not care to read I do not care to ask others to -read. In the present volume, there will be found collected descriptions -of the regions in which the major portion of General Crook’s Indian work -was carried on; the people, both red and white, with whom he was brought -into contact; the difficulties with which he had to contend, and the -manner in which he overcame them; and a short sketch of the principles -guiding him in his justly famous intercourse with the various -tribes—from British America to Mexico, from the Missouri River to the -Pacific Ocean—subjugated by him and afterwards placed under his charge. - -A military service of nearly forty consecutive years—all of which, -excepting the portion spent in the civil war, had been face to face with -the most difficult problems of the Indian question, and with the -fiercest and most astute of all the tribes of savages encountered by the -Caucasian in his conquering advance across the continent—made General -Crook in every way worthy of the eulogy pronounced upon him by the -grizzled old veteran, General William T. Sherman, upon hearing of his -death, that he was the greatest Indian-fighter and manager the army of -the United States ever had. - -In all the campaigns which made the name of George Crook a beacon of -hope to the settler and a terror to the tribes in hostility, as well as -in all the efforts which he so successfully made for the elevation of -the red man in the path of civilization and which showed that Crook was -not a brutal soldier with no instincts save those for slaughter, but -possessed of wonderful tenderness and commiseration for the vanquished -as well as a most intelligent appreciation of the needs and capabilities -of the aborigines, I was by his side, a member of his military staff, -and thus obtained an insight into the charms and powers of a character -which equalled that of any of the noble sons of whom our country is so -justly proud. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - CHAPTER I. - PAGE - - OLD CAMP GRANT ON THE RIO SAN PEDRO—DAILY ROUTINE OF 1 - LIFE—ARCHITECTURE OF THE GILA—SOLDIERS AS LABORERS—THE - MESCAL AND ITS USES—DRINK AND GAMBLING—RATTLESNAKE BITES - AND THE GOLONDRINA WEED—SODA LAKE AND THE DEATH - VALLEY—FELMER AND HIS RANCH. - - - CHAPTER II. - - STRANGE VISITORS—SOME APACHE CUSTOMS—MEXICAN CAPTIVES—SPEEDY 17 - AND THE GHOST—THE ATTACK UPON KENNEDY AND ISRAEL’S - TRAIN—FINDING THE BODIES—THE DEAD APACHE—A FRONTIER - BURIAL—HOW LIEUTENANT YEATON RECEIVED HIS DEATH WOUND—ON - THE TRAIL WITH LIEUTENANT CUSHING—REVENGE IS SWEET. - - - CHAPTER III. - - THE RETURN TO CAMP GRANT—LANCED TO DEATH BY APACHES—THE 34 - KILLING OF MILLER AND TAPPAN—COMPANY QUARTERS—APACHE - CAPTIVES—THE CLOUD-BURST—APACHE CORN-FIELDS—MEETING - COLONEL SANFORD—ENTRAPPED IN AN APACHE AMBUSCADE—AN - OLD-TIMER’S REMINISCENCES OF TUCSON—FUNERAL CROSSES ON THE - ROADSIDE—PADRE EUSEBIO KINO—FIRST VIEW OF TUCSON—THE “SHOO - FLY” RESTAURANT. - - - CHAPTER IV. - - SOME OF THE FRIENDS MET IN OLD TUCSON—JACK LONG—HIS 66 - DIVORCE—MARSHAL DUFFIELD AND “WACO BILL”—“THEM ’ERE’S MEE - VISITIN’ KEE-YARD”—JUDGE TITUS AND CHARLES O. BROWN—HOW - DUFFIELD WAS KILLED—UNCLE BILLY N—— AND HIS THREE GLASS - EYES—AL. GARRETT—DOCTOR SEMIG AND LIEUTENANT SHERWOOD—DON - ESTEVAN OCHOA—BISHOP SALPOINTE—PETE KITCHEN AND HIS RANCH. - - - CHAPTER V. - - THE DIVERSIONS OF TUCSON—THE GAMBLING SALOONS—BOB CRANDALL 80 - AND HIS DIAMOND—“SLAP-JACK BILLY”—TIGHT-ROPE WALKERS—THE - THEATRE—THE DUEÑAS—BAILES—THE NEWSPAPERS—STAGE-DRIVERS. - - - CHAPTER VI. - - TUCSON INCIDENTS—THE “FIESTAS”—THE RUINED MISSION CHURCH OF 96 - SAN XAVIER DEL BAC—GOVERNOR SAFFORD—ARIZONA MINES—APACHE - RAIDS—CAMP GRANT MASSACRE—THE KILLING OF LIEUTENANT - CUSHING. - - - CHAPTER VII. - - GENERAL CROOK AND THE APACHES—CROOK’S PERSONAL APPEARANCE 108 - AND CHARACTERISTICS—POINTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE - APACHES—THEIR SKILL IN WAR—FOODS AND MODES OF - COOKING—MEDICINE MEN—THEIR POWER AND INFLUENCE. - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - CROOK’S FIRST MOVEMENTS AGAINST THE APACHES—THE 136 - SCOUTS—MIRAGES—THE FLORAL WEALTH OF ARIZONA—RUNNING IN - UPON THE HOSTILE APACHES—AN ADVENTURE WITH BEARS—CROOK’S - TALK WITH THE APACHES—THE GREAT MOGOLLON PLATEAU—THE TONTO - BASIN—MONTEZUMA’S WELL—CLIFF DWELLINGS—THE PACK TRAINS. - - - CHAPTER IX. - - THE PICTURESQUE TOWN OF PRESCOTT—THE APACHES ACTIVE NEAR 158 - PRESCOTT—“TOMMY” BYRNE AND THE HUALPAIS—THIEVING INDIAN - AGENTS—THE MOJAVES, PI-UTES AND AVA-SUPAIS—THE TRAVELS OF - FATHERS ESCALANTE AND GARCES—THE GODS OF THE HUALPAIS—THE - LORING MASSACRE—HOW PHIL DWYER DIED AND WAS BURIED—THE - INDIAN MURDERERS AT CAMP DATE CREEK PLAN TO KILL - CROOK—MASON JUMPS THE RENEGADES AT THE “MUCHOS - CAÑONES”—DELT-CHE AND CHA-LIPUN GIVE TROUBLE—THE KILLING - OF BOB WHITNEY. - - - CHAPTER X. - - CROOK BEGINS HIS CAMPAIGN—THE WINTER MARCH ACROSS THE 176 - MOGOLLON PLATEAU—THE GREAT PINE BELT—BOBBY-DOKLINNY, THE - MEDICINE MAN—COOLEY AND HIS APACHE WIFE—THE APACHE CHIEF - ESQUINOS-QUIZN—THE APACHE GUIDE NANAAJE—THE FEAST OF - DEAD-MULE MEAT—THE FIGHT IN THE CAVE IN THE SALT RIVER - CAÑON—THE DEATH-CHANT—THE CHARGE—THE DYING MEDICINE - MAN—THE SCENE IN THE CAVE. - - - CHAPTER XI. - - THE CAMPAIGN RESUMED—EFFICIENCY OF APACHE SCOUTS—JACK LONG 202 - BREAKS DOWN—A BAND OF APACHES SURRENDER IN THE - MOUNTAINS—THE EPIZOOTIC—THE TAYLOR MASSACRE AND ITS - AVENGING—THE ARIZONA ROLL OF HONOR, OFFICERS, MEN, - SURGEONS, SCOUTS, GUIDES, AND PACKERS—THE STRANGE RUIN IN - THE VERDE VALLEY—DEATH OF PRESILIANO MONJE—THE APACHES - SURRENDER UNCONDITIONALLY TO CROOK AT CAMP VERDE. - - - CHAPTER XII. - - THE PROBLEM OF CIVILIZING THE APACHES—THE WORK PERFORMED BY 215 - MASON, SCHUYLER, RANDALL, RICE, AND BABCOCK—TUCSON RING - INFLUENCE AT WASHINGTON—THE WOUNDING OF LIEUTENANT CHARLES - KING—THE KILLING OF LIEUTENANT JACOB ALMY—THE SEVEN APACHE - HEADS LAID ON THE SAN CARLOS PARADE GROUND—CROOK’S CASH - MARKET FOR THE FRUITS OF APACHE INDUSTRY—HIS METHOD OF - DEALING WITH INDIANS. - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - THE CLOSING DAYS OF CROOK’S FIRST TOUR IN ARIZONA—VISIT TO 230 - THE MOQUI VILLAGES—THE PAINTED DESERT—THE PETRIFIED - FORESTS—THE GRAND CAÑON—THE CATARACT CAÑON—BUILDING THE - TELEGRAPH LINE—THE APACHES USING THE TELEGRAPH - LINE—MAPPING ARIZONA—AN HONEST INDIAN AGENT—THE CHIRICAHUA - APACHE CHIEF, COCHEIS—THE “HANGING” IN TUCSON—A FRONTIER - DANIEL—CROOK’S DEPARTURE FROM ARIZONA—DEATH VALLEY—THE - FAIRY LAND OF LOS ANGELES—ARRIVAL AT OMAHA. - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - THE DEPARTMENT OF THE PLATTE—THE BLACK HILLS DIFFICULTY—THE 241 - ALLISON COMMISSION—CRAZY HORSE AND SITTING BULL—THE FIRST - WINTER CAMPAIGN—CLOTHING WORN BY THE TROOPS—THE START FOR - THE BIG HORN—FRANK GRUARD, LOUIS RICHAUD, BIG BAT, LOUIS - CHANGRAU, AND OTHER GUIDES. - - - CHAPTER XV. - - MOVING INTO THE BIG HORN COUNTRY IN WINTER—THE HERD 256 - STAMPEDED—A NIGHT ATTACK—“JEFF’S” OOZING COURAGE—THE - GRAVE-YARD AT OLD FORT RENO—IN A MONTANA BLIZZARD—THE - MERCURY FROZEN IN THE BULB—KILLING BUFFALO—INDIAN - GRAVES—HOW CROOK LOOKED WHILE ON THIS CAMPAIGN—FINDING A - DEAD INDIAN’S ARM—INDIAN PICTURES. - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - THE ATTACK UPON CRAZY HORSE’S VILLAGE—THE BLEAK NIGHT MARCH 270 - ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS—EGAN’S CHARGE THROUGH THE - VILLAGE—STANTON AND MILLS AND SIBLEY TO THE RESCUE—THE - BURNING LODGES—MEN FROZEN—THE WEALTH OF THE - VILLAGE—RETREATING TO LODGE POLE CREEK—CROOK REJOINS - US—CUTTING THE THROATS OF CAPTURED PONIES. - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - THE SUMMER CAMPAIGN OF 1876—THE SIOUX AND CHEYENNES GETTING 283 - UGLY—RAIDING THE SETTLEMENTS—ATTEMPT TO AMBUSCADE - CROOK—KILLING THE MAIL-RIDER—THE STORY OF THE FETTERMAN - MASSACRE—LAKE DE SMET—OUR FIRST THUNDERSTORM—A SOLDIER’S - BURIAL—THE SIOUX ATTACK OUR - CAMP—TROUT-FISHING—BEAR-HUNTING—CALAMITY JANE—THE CROW AND - SHOSHONE ALLIES JOIN THE COMMAND—THE WAR DANCE AND - MEDICINE SONG. - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - THE COLUMN IN MOTION—RUNNING INTO A GREAT HERD OF 307 - BUFFALOES—THE SIGNAL CRY OF THE SCOUTS—THE FIGHT ON THE - ROSEBUD—HOW THE KILLED WERE BURIED—SCALP DANCE—BUTCHERING - A CHEYENNE—LIEUTENANT SCHUYLER ARRIVES—SENDING BACK THE - WOUNDED. - - - CHAPTER XIX. - - KILLING DULL CARE IN CAMP—EXPLORING THE SNOW-CRESTED BIG 323 - HORN MOUNTAINS—FINERTY KILLS HIS FIRST BUFFALO—THE - SWIMMING POOLS—A BIG TROUT—SIBLEY’S SCOUT—A NARROW - ESCAPE—NEWS OF THE CUSTER MASSACRE—THE SIOUX TRY TO BURN - US OUT—THE THREE MESSENGERS FROM TERRY—WASHAKIE DRILLS HIS - SHOSHONES—KELLY THE COURIER STARTS TO FIND TERRY—CROW - INDIANS BEARING DESPATCHES—THE SIGN-LANGUAGE—A PONY - RACE—INDIAN SERENADES—HOW THE SHOSHONES FISHED—A FIRE IN - CAMP—THE UTES JOIN US. - - - CHAPTER XX. - - THE JUNCTION WITH MERRITT AND THE MARCH TO MEET TERRY—THE 344 - COUNTRY ON FIRE—MERRITT AND HIS COMMAND—MR. - “GRAPHIC”—STANTON AND HIS “IRREGULARS”—“UTE JOHN”—THE SITE - OF THE HOSTILE CAMP—A SIOUX CEMETERY—MEETING TERRY’S - COMMAND—FINDING TWO SKELETONS—IN THE BAD LANDS—LANCING - RATTLESNAKES—BATHING IN THE YELLOWSTONE—MACKINAW BOATS AND - “BULL” BOATS—THE REES HAVE A PONY DANCE—SOME TERRIBLE - STORMS—LIEUTENANT WILLIAM P. CLARKE. - - - CHAPTER XXI. - - CROOK AND TERRY SEPARATE—THE PICTURESQUE LITTLE MISSOURI—THE 362 - “HORSE MEAT MARCH” FROM THE HEAD OF THE HEART RIVER TO - DEADWOOD—ON THE SIOUX TRAIL—MAKING COFFEE UNDER - DIFFICULTIES—SLAUGHTERING WORN-OUT CAVALRY HORSES FOR - FOOD—THE FIGHT AT SLIM BUTTES—LIEUTENANT VON LEUTTEWITZ - LOSES A LEG—THE DYING CHIEF, AMERICAN HORSE, - SURRENDERS—RELICS OF THE CUSTER MASSACRE—CRAZY HORSE - ATTACKS OUR LINES—SUNSHINE AND RATIONS. - - - CHAPTER XXII. - - TO AND THROUGH THE BLACK HILLS—HOW DEADWOOD LOOKED IN 381 - 1876—THE DEADWOOD “ACADEMY OF MUSIC”—THE SECOND WINTER - CAMPAIGN—THE NAMES OF THE INDIAN SCOUTS—WIPING OUT THE - CHEYENNE VILLAGE—LIEUTENANT MCKINNEY KILLED—FOURTEEN - CHEYENNE BABIES FROZEN TO DEATH IN THEIR MOTHERS’ ARMS—THE - CUSTER MASSACRE AGAIN—THE TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE OF RANDALL - AND THE CROW SCOUTS. - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - - STRANGE MESS-MATES—THE JOURNEY TO THE AGENCIES—GENERAL 397 - SHERIDAN’S VISIT—SPOTTED TAIL—THE STORY OF HIS DEAD - DAUGHTER’S BONES—WHITE THUNDER—RED CLOUD—DULL KNIFE—BIG - WOLF—THE NECKLACE OF HUMAN FINGERS—THE MEDICINE MAN AND - THE ELECTRIC BATTERY—WASHINGTON—FRIDAY—INDIAN - BROTHERS—SORREL HORSE—THREE BEARS—YOUNG MAN AFRAID OF HIS - HORSES—ROCKY BEAR—RED CLOUD’S LETTER—INDIAN DANCES—THE BAD - LANDS—HOW THE CHEYENNES FIRST GOT HORSES. - - - CHAPTER XXIV. - - THE SURRENDER OF CRAZY HORSE—SELLING AMMUNITION TO HOSTILE 412 - INDIANS—PLUNDERING UNARMED, PEACEABLE INDIANS—SUPPER WITH - CRAZY HORSE—CHARACTER OF THIS CHIEF—HIS BRAVERY AND - GENEROSITY—THE STORY OF THE CUSTER MASSACRE AS TOLD BY - HORNY HORSE—LIEUTENANT REILLY’S RING—THE DEATH OF CRAZY - HORSE—LITTLE BIG MAN. - - - CHAPTER XXV. - - THE MANAGEMENT OF THE INDIAN AGENCIES—AGENT MACGILLICUDDY’S 424 - WONDERFUL WORK—CROOK’S REMAINING DAYS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF - THE PLATTE—THE BANNOCK, UTE, NEZ PERCÉ, AND CHEYENNE - OUTBREAKS—THE KILLING OF MAJOR THORNBURGH AND CAPTAIN - WEIR—MERRITT’S FAMOUS MARCH AGAINST TIME—HOW THE DEAD CAME - TO LIFE AND WALKED—THE CASE OF THE PONCAS—CROOK’S HUNTS - AND EXPLORATIONS; NEARLY FROZEN TO DEATH IN A BLIZZARD—A - NARROW ESCAPE FROM AN ANGRY SHE-BEAR—CATCHING NEBRASKA - HORSE-THIEVES—“DOC” MIDDLETON’S GANG. - - - CHAPTER XXVI. - - CROOK RE-ASSIGNED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ARIZONA—ALL THE 433 - APACHES ON THE WAR-PATH—LIEUTENANTS MORGAN AND CONVERSE - WOUNDED—CAPTAIN HENTIG KILLED—CROOK GOES ALONE TO SEE THE - HOSTILES—CONFERENCES WITH THE APACHES—WHAT THE ARIZONA - GRAND JURY SAID OF AN INDIAN AGENT—CONDITION OF AFFAIRS AT - THE SAN CARLOS AGENCY—WHISKEY SOLD TO THE CHIRICAHUA - APACHES—APACHE TRIALS BY JURY—ARIZONA IN 1882—PHŒNIX, - PRESCOTT, AND TUCSON—INDIAN SCHOOLS. - - - CHAPTER XXVII. - - THE SIERRA MADRE CAMPAIGN AND THE CHIRICAHUAS—CHATO’S 452 - RAID—CROOK’S EXPEDITION OF FORTY-SIX WHITE MEN AND ONE - HUNDRED AND NINETY-THREE INDIAN SCOUTS—THE SURPRISE OF THE - APACHE STRONGHOLD—THE “TOMBSTONE TOUGHS”—THE MANAGEMENT OF - THE CHIRICAHUAS—HOW INDIANS WILL WORK IF ENCOURAGED—GIVING - THE FRANCHISE TO INDIANS; CROOK’S VIEWS—THE CRAWFORD COURT - OF INQUIRY—KA-E-TEN-NA’S ARREST ORDERED BY MAJOR BARBER - —TROUBLE ARISES BETWEEN THE WAR AND INTERIOR - DEPARTMENTS—CROOK ASKS TO BE RELIEVED FROM THE - RESPONSIBILITY FOR INDIAN AFFAIRS—SOME OF THE CHIRICAHUAS - RETURN TO THE WAR-PATH. - - - CHAPTER XXVIII. - - THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST GERONIMO—THE CROPS RAISED BY THE 465 - APACHES—THE PURSUIT OF THE HOSTILES—THE HARD WORK OF THE - TROOPS—EFFICIENT AND FAITHFUL SERVICE OF THE CHIRICAHUA - SCOUTS—WAR DANCES AND SPIRIT DANCES—CAPTAIN CRAWFORD - KILLED—A VISIT TO THE HOSTILE STRONGHOLD—A “NERVY” - PHOTOGRAPHER—A WHITE BOY CAPTIVE AMONG THE - APACHES—ALCHISE’S AND KA-E-TEN-NA’S GOOD WORK—GERONIMO - SURRENDERS TO CROOK. - - - CHAPTER XXIX. - - THE EFFECTS OF BAD WHISKEY UPON SAVAGE INDIANS—THE WRETCH 480 - TRIBOLLET—SOME OF THE CHIRICAHUAS SLIP AWAY FROM MAUS - DURING A RAINY NIGHT—THE BURIAL OF CAPTAIN - CRAWFORD—CROOK’S TERMS DISAPPROVED IN WASHINGTON—CROOK - ASKS TO BE RELIEVED FROM COMMAND IN ARIZONA—GERONIMO - INDUCED TO COME IN BY THE CHIRICAHUA AMBASSADORS, KI-E-TA - AND MARTINEZ—TREACHERY SHOWN IN THE TREATMENT OF THE - WELL-BEHAVED MEMBERS OF THE CHIRICAHUA APACHE BAND. - - - CHAPTER XXX. - - CROOK’S CLOSING YEARS—HE AVERTS A WAR WITH THE UTES—A MEMBER 486 - OF THE COMMISSION WHICH SECURED A CESSION OF ELEVEN - MILLIONS OF ACRES FROM THE SIOUX—HIS INTEREST IN GAME - LAWS—HIS DEATH—WHAT THE APACHES DID—WHAT RED CLOUD - SAID—HIS FUNERAL IN CHICAGO—BURIAL IN OAKLAND, - MARYLAND—RE-INTERMENT IN ARLINGTON CEMETERY, VIRGINIA. - - - - - LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - GENERAL GEORGE CROOK _Frontispiece_ - - AN APACHE RANCHERIA _Face page_ 48 - - SPOTTED TAIL 96 - - SHARP NOSE 192 - - GENERAL CROOK AND THE FRIENDLY APACHE, ALCHISE 240 - - CHATO 304 - - CONFERENCE BETWEEN GENERAL CROOK AND GERONIMO 416 - -[Illustration: GRAVE OF CRAZY HORSE—“THE EBB-TIDE OF OUR INDIAN WARS.”] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - ON THE BORDER WITH CROOK - - - - - CHAPTER I. - -OLD CAMP GRANT ON THE RIO SAN PEDRO—DAILY ROUTINE OF LIFE—ARCHITECTURE - OF THE GILA—SOLDIERS AS LABORERS—THE MESCAL AND ITS USES—DRINK AND - GAMBLING—RATTLESNAKE BITES AND THE GOLONDRINA WEED—SODA LAKE AND THE - DEATH VALLEY—FELMER AND HIS RANCH. - - -Dante Alighieri, it has always seemed to me, made the mistake of his -life in dying when he did in the picturesque capital of the Exarchate -five hundred and fifty years ago. Had he held on to this mortal coil -until after Uncle Sam had perfected the “Gadsden Purchase,” he would -have found full scope for his genius in the description of a region in -which not only purgatory and hell, but heaven likewise, had combined to -produce a bewildering kaleidoscope of all that was wonderful, weird, -terrible, and awe-inspiring, with not a little that was beautiful and -romantic. - -The vast region in the southwest corner of the United States, known on -the maps as the Territories of Arizona and New Mexico, may, with perfect -frankness, be claimed as the wonder-land of the northern part of -America, with the exception, perhaps, of the Republic of Mexico, of -which it was once a fragment, and to which, ethnographically, it has -never ceased to belong. - -In no other section can there be found such extensive areas of desert -crossed in every direction by the most asperous mountains, whose -profound cañons are the wonder of the world, whose parched flanks are -matted with the thorny and leafless vegetation of the tropics, and whose -lofty summits are black with the foliage of pines whose graceful -branches bend in the welcome breezes from the temperate zone. Here one -stumbles at almost every step upon the traces of former populations, of -whom so little is known, or sees repeated from peak to peak the signal -smokes of the fierce Apaches, whose hostility to the white man dates -back to the time of Cortés. - -I will begin my narrative by a brief reference to the condition of -affairs in Arizona prior to the arrival of General Crook, as by no other -means can the arduous nature of the work he accomplished be understood -and appreciated. It was a cold and cheerless day—March 10, 1870—when our -little troop, “F” of the Third Cavalry, than which a better never bore -guidon, marched down the vertical-walled cañon of the Santa Catalina, -crossed the insignificant sand-bed of the San Pedro, and came front into -line on the parade-ground of Old Camp Grant, at the mouth of the -Aravaypa. The sun was shining brightly, and where there was shelter to -be found in the foliage of mesquite or cottonwood, there was the merry -chatter of birds; but in the open spaces the fierce breath of the -norther, laden with dust and discomfort, made the new-comers imagine -that an old-fashioned home winter had pursued them into foreign -latitudes. A few military formalities hastily concluded, a few words of -kindly greeting between ourselves and the members of the First Cavalry -whom we met there, and ranks were broken, horses led to the stables, and -men filed off to quarters. We had become part and parcel of the garrison -of Old Camp Grant, the memory of which is still fragrant as that of the -most forlorn parody upon a military garrison in that most woe-begone of -military departments, Arizona. - -Of our march over from the Rio Grande it is not worth while to speak; as -the reader advances in this book he will find references to other -military movements which may compensate for the omission, even when it -is admitted that our line of travel from Fort Craig lay through a region -but little known to people in the East, and but seldom described. For -those who may be sufficiently interested to follow our course, I will -say that we started from Craig, marched to the tumble-down village of -“Paraje de San Cristobal,” at the head of the “Jornada del Muerto” (The -Day’s Journey of the Dead Man), which is the Sahara of New Mexico, then -across to the long-since abandoned camp at what was called Fort MacRae, -where we forded the river to the west, and then kept along the eastern -rim of the timber-clad Mimbres Mountains, through Cow Springs to Fort -Cummings, and thence due west to Camp Bowie, situated in the “Apache -Pass” of the Chiricahua Mountains in Southeastern Arizona, a total -distance of some one hundred and seventy miles as we marched. - -There were stretches of country picturesque to look upon and capable of -cultivation, especially with irrigation; and other expanses not a bit -more fertile than so many brick-yards, where all was desolation, the -home of the cactus and the coyote. Arizona was in those days separated -from “God’s country” by a space of more than fifteen hundred miles, -without a railroad, and the officer or soldier who once got out there -rarely returned for years. - -Our battalion slowly crawled from camp to camp, with no incident to -break the dull monotony beyond the ever-recurring signal smokes of the -Apaches, to show that our progress was duly watched from the peaks on -each flank; or the occasional breaking down of some of the wagons and -the accompanying despair of the quartermaster, with whose afflictions I -sympathized sincerely, as that quartermaster was myself. - -I used to think that there never had been such a wagon-train, and that -there never could again be assembled by the Government mules of whose -achievements more could be written—whose necks seemed to be ever -slipping through their collars, and whose heels never remained on _terra -firma_ while there was anything in sight at which to kick. Increasing -years and added experience have made me more conservative, and I am now -free to admit that there have been other mules as thoroughly saturated -with depravity as “Blinky Jim,” the lop-eared dun “wheeler” in the -water-wagon team; other artists whose attainments in profanity would put -the blush upon the expletives which waked the echoes of the -mirage-haunted San Simon, and other drivers who could get as quickly, -unmistakably, emphatically, and undeniably drunk as Mullan, who was down -on the official papers as the driver of the leading ambulance, but, -instead of driving, was generally driven. - -There would be very little use in attempting to describe Old Fort Grant, -Arizona, partly because there was really no fort to describe, and partly -because few of my readers would be sufficiently interested in the matter -to follow me to the end. It was, as I have already said, recognized from -the tide-waters of the Hudson to those of the Columbia as the most -thoroughly Godforsaken post of all those supposed to be included in the -annual Congressional appropriations. Beauty of situation or of -construction it had none; its site was the supposed junction of the -sand-bed of the Aravaypa with the sand-bed of the San Pedro, which -complacently figured on the topographical charts of the time as creek -and river respectively, but generally were dry as a lime-burner’s hat -excepting during the “rainy season.” Let the reader figure to himself a -rectangle whose four sides were the row of officers’ “quarters,” the -adjutant’s office, post bakery, and guard house, the commissary and -quartermaster’s storehouses, and the men’s quarters and sutler’s store, -and the “plan,” if there was any “plan,” can be at once understood. Back -of the quartermaster’s and commissary storehouses, some little distance, -were the blacksmith’s forge, the butcher’s “corral,” and the cavalry -stables, while in the rear of the men’s quarters, on the banks of the -San Pedro, and not far from the traces of the ruins of a prehistoric -village or pueblo of stone, was the loose, sandy spot upon which the -bucking “bronco” horses were broken to the saddle. Such squealing and -struggling and biting and kicking, and rolling in the dust and getting -up again, only to introduce some entirely original combination of a hop, -skip, and jump, and a double back somersault, never could be seen -outside of a herd of California “broncos.” The animal was first thrown, -blindfolded, and then the bridle and saddle were put on, the latter -girthed so tightly that the horse’s eyes would start from their sockets. -Then, armed with a pair of spurs of the diameter of a soup-plate and a -mesquite club big enough to fell an ox, the Mexican “vaquero” would get -into the saddle, the blinds would be cast off, and the circus begin. -There would be one moment of sweet doubt as to what the “bronco” was -going to do, and now and then there would be aroused expectancy that a -really mild-mannered steed had been sent to the post by some mistake of -the quartermaster’s department. But this doubt never lasted very long; -the genuine “bronco” can always be known from the spurious one by the -fact that when he makes up his mind to “buck” he sets out upon his work -without delay, and with a vim that means business. If there were many -horses arriving in a “bunch,” there would be lots of fun and no little -danger and excitement. The men would mount, and amid the encouraging -comments of the on-lookers begin the task of subjugation. The bronco, as -I have said, or should have said, nearly always looked around and up at -his rider with an expression of countenance that was really benignant, -and then he would roach his back, get his four feet bunched together, -and await developments. These always came in a way productive of the -best results; if the rider foolishly listened to the suggestions of his -critics, he would almost always mistake this temporary paroxysm of -docility for fear or lack of spirit. - -And then would come the counsel, inspired by the Evil One himself: -“Arrah, thin, shtick yer sphurs int’ him, Moriarty.” - -This was just the kind of advice that best suited the “bronco’s” -feelings, because no sooner would the rowels strike his flanks than the -air would seem to be filled with a mass of mane and tail rapidly -revolving, and of hoofs flying out in defiance of all the laws of -gravity, while a descendant of the kings of Ireland, describing a -parabolic orbit through space, would shoot like a meteor into the sand, -and plough it up with his chin and the usual elocutionary effects to be -looked for under such circumstances. - -Yes, those were happy, happy days—for the “broncos” and the by-standers. - -There were three kinds of quarters at Old Camp Grant, and he who was -reckless enough to make a choice of one passed the rest of his existence -while at the post in growling at the better luck of the comrades who had -selected either one of the others. - -There was the adobe house, built originally for the kitchens of the post -at the date of its first establishment, some time in 1857; there were -the “jacal” sheds, built of upright logs, chinked with mud and roofed -with smaller branches and more mud; and the tents, long since -“condemned” and forgotten by the quartermaster to whom they had -originally been invoiced. Each and all of these examples of the -Renaissance style of architecture, as it found expression in the valley -of the Gila, was provided with a “ramada” in front, which, at a small -expenditure of labor in erecting a few additional upright saplings and -cross-pieces, and a covering of cottonwood foliage, secured a modicum of -shelter from the fierce shafts of a sun which shone not to warm and -enlighten, but to enervate and kill. - -The occupants of the ragged tentage found solace in the pure air which -merrily tossed the flaps and flies, even if it brought with it rather -more than a fair share of heat and alkali dust from the deserts of -Sonora. Furthermore, there were few insects to bother, a pleasing -contrast to the fate of those living in the houses, which were veritable -museums of entomology, with the choicest specimens of centipedes, -scorpions, “vinagrones,” and, occasionally, tarantulas, which the -Southwest could produce. - -On the other hand, the denizens of the adobe and the “jacal outfits” -became inured to insect pests and felicitated themselves as best they -could upon being free from the merciless glare of the sun and wind, -which latter, with its hot breath, seemed to take delight in peeling -the skin from the necks and faces of all upon whom it could exert its -nefarious powers. My assignment was to one of the rooms in the adobe -house, an apartment some fourteen by nine feet in area, by seven and a -half or eight in height. There was not enough furniture to occasion -any anxiety in case of fire: nothing but a single cot, one -rocking-chair—visitors, when they came, generally sat on the side of -the cot—a trunk, a shelf of books, a small pine wash-stand, over which -hung a mirror of greenish hue, sold to me by the post trader with the -assurance that it was French plate. I found out afterward that the -trader could not always be relied upon, but I’ll speak of him at -another time. There were two window-curtains, both of chintz; one -concealed the dust and fly specks on the only window, and the other -covered the row of pegs upon which hung sabre, forage cap, and -uniform. - -In that part of Arizona fires were needed only at intervals, and, as a -consequence, the fireplaces were of insignificant dimensions, although -they were placed, in the American fashion, on the side of the rooms, and -not, as among the Mexicans, in the corners. There was one important -article of furniture connected with the fireplace of which I must make -mention—the long iron poker with which, on occasion, I was wont to stir -up the embers, and also to stir up the Mexican boy Esperidion, to whom, -in the wilder freaks of my imagination, I was in the habit of alluding -as my “valet.” - -The quartermaster had recently received permission to expend “a -reasonable amount” of paint upon the officers’ quarters, provided the -same could be done “by the labor of the troops.” This “labor of the -troops” was a great thing. It made the poor wretch who enlisted under -the vague notion that his admiring country needed his services to quell -hostile Indians, suddenly find himself a brevet architect, carrying a -hod and doing odd jobs of plastering and kalsomining. It was an idea -which never fully commended itself to my mind, and I have always thought -that the Government might have been better served had such work, and all -other not strictly military and necessary for the proper police and -cleanliness of the posts, been assigned to civilians just as soon as -representatives of the different trades could be attracted to the -frontier. It would have cost a little more in the beginning, but it -would have had the effect of helping to settle up our waste land on the -frontier, and that, I believe, was the principal reason why we had a -standing army at all. - -The soldier felt discontented because no mention had been made in the -recruiting officer’s posters, or in the contract of enlistment, that he -was to do such work, and he not unusually solved the problem by -“skipping out” the first pay-day that found him with enough money ahead -to risk the venture. It goes without saying that the work was never any -too well done, and in the present case there seemed to be more paint -scattered round about my room than would have given it another coat. But -the floor was of rammed earth and not to be spoiled, and the general -effect was certainly in the line of improvement. Colonel Dubois, our -commanding officer, at least thought so, and warmly congratulated me -upon the snug look of everything, and added a very acceptable present of -a picture—one of Prang’s framed chromos, a view of the Hudson near the -mouth of Esopus Creek—which gave a luxurious finish to the whole -business. Later on, after I had added an Apache bow and quiver, with its -complement of arrows, one or two of the bright, cheery Navajo rugs, a -row of bottles filled with select specimens of tarantulas, spiders, -scorpions, rattlesnakes, and others of the fauna of the country, and -hung upon the walls a suit of armor which had belonged to some Spanish -foot-soldier of the sixteenth century, there was a sybaritic -suggestiveness which made all that has been related of the splendors of -Solomon and Sardanapalus seem commonplace. - -Of that suit of armor I should like to say a word: it was found by -Surgeon Steyer, of the army, enclosing the bones of a man, in the arid -country between the waters of the Rio Grande and the Pecos, in the -extreme southwestern corner of the State of Texas, more than twenty -years ago. Various conjectures were advanced and all sorts of theories -advocated as to its exact age, some people thinking that it belonged -originally to Coronado’s expedition, which entered New Mexico in 1541. -My personal belief is that it belonged to the expedition of Don Antonio -Espejo, or that of Don Juan de Oñate, both of whom came into New Mexico -about the same date—1581-1592—and travelled down the Concho to its -confluence with the Rio Grande, which would have been just on the line -where the skeleton in armor was discovered. There is no authentic report -to show that Coronado swung so far to the south; his line of operations -took in the country farther to the north and east, and there are the -best of reasons for believing that he was the first white man to enter -the fertile valley of the Platte, not far from Plum Creek, Nebraska. - -But, be that as it may, the suit of armor—breast and back plates, gorget -and helmet—nicely painted and varnished, and with every tiny brass -button duly cleaned and polished with acid and ashes, added not a little -to the looks of a den which without them would have been much more -dismal. - -For such of my readers as may not be up in these matters, I may say that -iron armor was abandoned very soon after the Conquest, as the Spaniards -found the heat of these dry regions too great to admit of their wearing -anything so heavy; and they also found that the light cotton-batting -“escaupiles” of the Aztecs served every purpose as a protection against -the arrows of the naked savages by whom they were now surrounded. - -There was not much to do in the post itself, although there was a -sufficiency of good, healthy exercise to be counted upon at all times -outside of it. I may be pardoned for dwelling upon trivial matters such -as were those entering into the sum total of our lives in the post, but, -under the hope that it and all in the remotest degree like it have -disappeared from the face of the earth never to return, I will say a few -words. - -In the first place, Camp Grant was a hot-bed of the worst kind of fever -and ague, the disease which made many portions of Southern Arizona -almost uninhabitable during the summer and fall months of the year. -There was nothing whatever to do except scout after hostile Apaches, who -were very bold and kept the garrison fully occupied. What with sickness, -heat, bad water, flies, sand-storms, and utter isolation, life would -have been dreary and dismal were it not for the novelty which helped out -the determination to make the best of everything. First of all, there -was the vegetation, different from anything to be seen east of the -Missouri: the statuesque “pitahayas,” with luscious fruit; the massive -biznagas, whose juice is made into very palatable candy by the Mexicans; -the bear’s grass, or palmilla; the Spanish bayonet, the palo verde, the -various varieties of cactus, principal among them being the nopal, or -plate, and the cholla, or nodular, which possesses the decidedly -objectionable quality of separating upon the slightest provocation, and -sticking to whatever may be nearest; the mesquite, with palatable gum -and nourishing beans; the mescal, beautiful to look upon and grateful to -the Apaches, of whom it is the main food-supply; the scrub oak, the -juniper, cottonwood, ash, sycamore, and, lastly, the pine growing on the -higher points of the environing mountains, were all noted, examined, and -studied, so far as opportunity would admit. - -And so with the animal life: the deer, of the strange variety called -“the mule”; the coyotes, badgers, pole-cats, rabbits, gophers—but not -the prairie-dog, which, for some reason never understood by me, does not -cross into Arizona; or, to be more accurate, does just cross over the -New Mexican boundary at Fort Bowie in the southeast, and at Tom Keam’s -ranch in the Moqui country in the extreme northeast. - -Strangest of all was the uncouth, horrible “escorpion,” or “Gila -monster,” which here found its favorite habitat and attained its -greatest dimensions. We used to have them not less than three feet long, -black, venomous, and deadly, if half the stories told were true. The -Mexicans time and time again asserted that the escorpion would kill -chickens, and that it would eject a poisonous venom upon them, but, in -my own experience, I have to say that the old hen which we tied in front -of one for a whole day was not molested, and that no harm of any sort -came to her beyond being scared out of a year’s growth. Scientists were -wont to ridicule the idea of the Gila monster being venomous, upon what -ground I do not now remember, beyond the fact that it was a lizard, and -all lizards were harmless. But I believe it is now well established that -the monster is not to be handled with impunity although, like many other -animals, it may lie torpid and inoffensive for weeks, and even months, -at a time. It is a noteworthy fact that the Gila monster is the only -reptile on earth to-day that exactly fills the description of the -basilisk or cockatrice of mediæval fable, which, being familiar to the -first-comers among the Castilians, could hardly have added much to its -popularity among them. - -It may not be amiss to say of the vegetation that the mescal was to the -aborigines of that region much what the palm is to the nomads of Syria. -Baked in ovens of hot stone covered with earth, it supplied a sweet, -delicious, and nutritive food; its juice could be fermented into an -alcoholic drink very acceptable to the palate, even if it threw into the -shade the best record ever made by “Jersey lightning” as a stimulant. -Tear out one of the thorns and the adhering filament, and you had a very -fair article of needle and thread; if a lance staff was needed, the -sapling mescal stood ready at hand to be so utilized; the stalk, cut -into sections of proper length, and provided with strings of sinew, -became the Apache fiddle—I do not care to be interrupted by questions as -to the quality of the music emitted by these fiddles, as I am now trying -to give my readers some notion of the economic value of the several -plants of the Territory, and am not ready to enter into a disquisition -upon melody and such matters, in which, perhaps, the poor little Apache -fiddle would cut but a slim figure—and in various other ways this -strange, thorny-leafed plant seemed anxious to show its friendship for -man. And I for one am not at all surprised that the Aztecs reverenced it -as one of their gods, under the name of Quetzalcoatl.[A] - ------ - -Footnote A: - - Quetzalcoatl is identified with the maguey in Kingsborough, vol. vi., - 107. - ------ - -The “mesquite” is a member of the acacia family, and from its bark -annually, each October, exudes a gum equal to the best Arabic that ever -descended the Nile from Khartoum. There are three varieties of the -plant, two of them edible and one not. One of the edible kinds—the -“tornillo,” or screw—grows luxuriantly in the hot, sandy valley of the -Colorado, and forms the main vegetable food of the Mojave Indians; the -other, with pods shaped much like those of the string-bean of our own -markets, is equally good, and has a sweet and pleasantly acidulated -taste. The squaws take these beans, put them in mortars, and pound them -into meal, of which bread is made, in shape and size and weight not -unlike the elongated projectiles of the three-inch rifled cannon. - -Alarcon, who ascended the Colorado River in 1541, describes such bread -as in use among the tribes along its banks; and Cabeza de Vaca and his -wretched companions, sole survivors of the doomed expedition of Panfilo -de Narvaez, which went to pieces near the mouth of the Suwanee River, in -Florida, found this bread in use among the natives along the western -part of their line of march, after they had succeeded in escaping from -the Indians who had made them slaves, and had, in the guise of -medicine-men, tramped across the continent until they struck the Spanish -settlements near Culiacan, on the Pacific coast, in 1536. But Vaca calls -it “mizquiquiz.” Castaneda relates that in his day (1541) the people of -Sonora (which then included Arizona) made a bread of the mesquite, -shaping it like a cheese; it had the property of keeping for a whole -year. - -There was so little hunting in the immediate vicinity of the post, and -so much danger attending the visits of small parties to the higher hills -a few miles off, in which deer, and even bear, were to be encountered, -that nothing in that line was attempted except when on scout; all our -recreation had to be sought within the limits of the garrison, and -evolved from our own personal resources. The deficiency of hunting did -not imply that there was any lack of shooting about the post; all that -any one could desire could be had for the asking, and that, too, without -moving from under the “ramadas” back of the quarters. Many and many a -good line shot we used to make at the coyotes and skunks which with the -going down of the sun made their appearance in the garbage piles in the -ravines to the north of us. - -There was considerable to be done in the ordinary troop duties, which -began at reveille with the “stables,” lasting half an hour, after which -the horses and mules not needed for the current tasks of the day were -sent out to seek such nibbles of pasturage as they might find under the -shade of the mesquite. A strong guard, mounted and fully armed, -accompanied the herd, and a number of horses, saddled but loosely -cinched, remained behind under the grooming-sheds, ready to be pushed -out after any raiding party of Apaches which might take a notion to -sneak up and stampede the herd at pasture. - -Guard mounting took place either before or after breakfast, according to -season, and then followed the routine of the day: inspecting the men’s -mess at breakfast, dinner, and supper; a small amount of drill, -afternoon stables, dress or undress parade at retreat or sundown, and -such other occupation as might suggest itself in the usual visit to the -herd to see that the pasturage selected was good, and that the guards -were vigilant; some absorption in the recording of the proceedings of -garrison courts-martial and boards of survey, and then general _ennui_, -unless the individual possessed enough force to make work for himself. - -This, however, was more often the case than many of my readers would -imagine, and I can certify to no inconsiderable amount of reading and -study of Spanish language and literature, of mineralogy, of botany, of -history, of constitutional or of international law, and of the -belles-lettres, by officers of the army with whom I became acquainted at -Old Camp Grant; Fort Craig, New Mexico, and other dismal holes—more than -I have ever known among gentlemen of leisure anywhere else. It was no -easy matter to study with ink drying into gum almost as soon as dipped -out by the pen, and paper cracking at the edges when folded or bent. - -The newspapers of the day were eagerly perused—when they came; but those -from San Francisco were always from ten to fifteen days old, those from -New York about five to six weeks, and other cities any intermediate age -you please. The mail at first came every second Tuesday, but this was -increased soon to a weekly service, and on occasion, when chance -visitors reported some happening of importance, the commanding officer -would send a courier party to Tucson with instructions to the postmaster -there to deliver. - -The temptations to drink and to gamble were indeed great, and those who -yielded and fell by the way-side numbered many of the most promising -youngsters in the army. Many a brilliant and noble fellow has succumbed -to the _ennui_ and gone down, wrecking a life full of promise for -himself and the service. It was hard for a man to study night and day -with the thermometer rarely under the nineties even in winter at noon, -and often climbing up to and over the 120 notch on the Fahrenheit scale -before the meridian of days between April 1st and October 15th; it was -hard to organize riding or hunting parties when all the horses had just -returned worn out by some rough scouting in the Pinal or Sierra Ancha. -There in the trader’s store was a pleasant, cool room, with a minimum of -flies, the latest papers, perfect quiet, genial companionship, cool -water in “ollas” swinging from the rafters, and covered by boards upon -which, in a thin layer of soil, grew a picturesque mantle of green -barley, and, on a table conveniently near, cans of lemon-sugar, tumblers -and spoons, and one or two packs of cards. My readers must not expect me -to mention ice or fruits. I am not describing Delmonico’s; I am writing -of Old Camp Grant, and I am painting the old hole in the most rosy -colors I can employ. Ice was unheard of, and no matter how high the -mercury climbed or how stifling might be the sirocco from Sonora, the -best we could do was to cool water by evaporation in “ollas” of -earthenware, manufactured by the Papago Indians living at the ruined -mission of San Xavier, above Tucson. - -To revert to the matter of drinking and gambling. There is scarcely any -of either at the present day in the regular army. Many things have -combined to bring about such a desirable change, the principal, in my -opinion, being the railroads which have penetrated and transformed the -great American continent, placing comforts and luxuries within reach of -officers and men, and absorbing more of their pay as well as bringing -them within touch of civilization and its attendant restraints. Of the -two vices, drunkenness was by all odds the preferable one. For a -drunkard, one can have some pity, because he is his own worst enemy, -and, at the worst, there is hope for his regeneration, while there is -absolutely none for the gambler, who lives upon the misfortunes and lack -of shrewdness of his comrades. There are many who believe, or affect to -believe, in gaming for the excitement of the thing and not for the money -involved. There may be such a thing, but I do not credit its existence. -However, the greatest danger in gambling lay in the waste of time rather -than in the loss of money, which loss rarely amounted to very great -sums, although officers could not well afford to lose anything. - -I well remember one great game, played by a party of my friends—but at -Fort Laramie, Wyoming, and not in Arizona—which illustrates this better -than I can describe. It was an all-night game—ten cents to come in and a -quarter limit—and there was no small amount of engineering skill shown -before the first call for reveille separated the party. “Fellows,” said -one of the quartette, in speaking of it some days afterward, “I tell you -it was a struggle of the giants, and when the smoke of battle cleared -away, I found I’d lost two dollars and seventy-five cents.” - -As it presents itself to my recollection now, our life wasn’t so very -monotonous; there was always something going on to interest and -instruct, even if it didn’t amuse or enliven. - -“Corporal Dile’s har-r-r-se’s bit by a ratthler ’n th’ aff hind leg”; -and, of course, everybody turns out and gets down to the stables as fast -as possible, each with his own prescription, which are one and all -discarded for the great Mexican panacea of a poultice of the -“golondrina” weed. Several times I have seen this used, successfully and -unsuccessfully, and I do not believe in its vaunted efficacy by any -means. - -“Oscar Hutton’s bin kicked ’n th’ jaw by a mewel.” Hutton was one of the -post guides, a very good and brave man. His jaw was hopelessly crushed -by a blow from the lightning hoofs of a miserable “bronco” mule, and -poor Hutton never recovered from the shock. He died not long after, and, -in my opinion, quite as much from chagrin at being outwitted as from the -injury inflicted. - -Hutton had had a wonderful experience in the meanest parts of our great -country—and be it known that Uncle Sam can hold his own with any prince -or potentate on God’s footstool in the matter of mean desert land. All -over the great interior basin west of the Rockies Hutton had wandered in -the employ of the United States with some of the Government surveying -parties. Now he was at the mouth of the Virgin, where there is a salt -mine with slabs two and three feet thick, as clear as crystal; next he -was a wanderer in the dreaded “Death Valley,” below the sea-level, where -there is no sign of animal life save the quickly darting lizard, or the -vagrant duck whose flesh is bitter from the water of “soda” lakes, which -offer to the wanderer all the comforts of a Chinese laundry, but not one -of those of a home. At that time I only knew of these dismal places from -the relation of Hutton, to which I listened open-mouthed, but since then -I have had some personal acquaintance, and can aver that in naught did -he overlap the truth. The ground is covered for miles with pure -baking-soda—I decline to specify what brand, as I am not writing this as -an advertisement, and my readers can consult individual preference if -they feel so disposed—which rises in a cloud of dry, irritating dust -above the horse’s houghs, and if agitated by the hot winds, excoriates -the eyes, throat, nostrils, and ears of the unfortunate who may find -himself there. Now and then one discerns in the dim distance such a -deceiving body of water as the “Soda Lake,” which tastes like soapsuds, -and nourishes no living thing save the worthless ducks spoken of, whose -flesh is uneatable except to save one from starvation. - -Hutton had seen so much hardship that it was natural to expect him to be -meek and modest in his ideas and demeanor, but he was, on the contrary, -decidedly vain and conceited, and upon such a small matter that it ought -not really to count against him. He had six toes on each foot, a fact to -which he adverted with pride. “Bee gosh,” he would say, “there hain’t -ennuther man ’n th’ hull dog-goned outfit’s got ez menny toes’s me.” - -Then there was the excitement at Felmer’s ranch, three miles above the -post. Felmer was the post blacksmith, and lived in a little ranch in the -fertile “bottom” of the San Pedro, where he raised a “patch” of barley -and garden-truck for sale to the garrison. He was a Russian or a -Polynesian or a Turk or a Theosophist or something—he had lived in so -many portions of the world’s surface that I never could keep track of -him. I distinctly remember that he was born in Germany, had lived in -Russia or in the German provinces close to Poland, and had thence -travelled everywhere. He had married an Apache squaw, and from her -learned the language of her people. She was now dead, but Joe was quite -proud of his ability to cope with all the Apaches in Arizona, and in -being a match for them in every wile. One hot day—all the days were -comfortably warm, but this was a “scorcher”—there was a sale of -condemned Government stock, and Joe bought a mule, which the auctioneer -facetiously suggested should be called “Lazarus,” he had so many sores -all over his body. But Joe bought him, perfectly indifferent to the -scoffs and sneers of the by-standers. “Don’t you think the Apaches may -get him?” I ventured to inquire. “That’s jest what I’m keeping him fur; -_bait_—unnerstan’? ’N Apache ’ll come down ’n my alfalfy field ’n git -thet mewel, ’n fust thing you know thar’ll be a joke on _somebody_.” - -Felmer was a first-class shot, and we naturally supposed that the joke -would be on the deluded savage who might sneak down to ride away with -such a crow-bait, and would become the mark for an unerring rifle. But -it was not so to be. The wretched quadruped had his shoes pulled off, -and was then turned loose in alfalfa and young barley, to his evident -enjoyment and benefit. Some time had passed, and we had almost forgotten -to twit Felmer about his bargain. It’s a very thin joke that cannot be -made to last five or six weeks in such a secluded spot as Old Camp -Grant, and, for that reason, at least a month must have elapsed when, -one bright Sunday afternoon, Felmer was rudely aroused from his siesta -by the noise of guns and the voices of his Mexican herders crying: -“Apaches! Apaches!” And there they were, sure enough, and on top of that -sick, broken-down cast-off of the quartermaster’s department—three of -them, each as big as the side of a house, and poor Joe so dazed that for -several minutes he couldn’t fire a shot. - -The two bucks in front were kicking their heels into the mule’s ribs, -and the man in rear had passed a hair lariat under the mule’s tail, and -was sawing away for dear life. And the mule? Well, the mule wasn’t idle -by any means, but putting in his best licks in getting over the ground, -jumping “arroyos” and rocks, charging into and over nopals and chollas -and mesquite, and fast leaving behind him the valley of the San Pedro, -and getting into the foot-hills of the Pinaleno Range. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - -STRANGE VISITORS—SOME APACHE CUSTOMS—MEXICAN CAPTIVES—SPEEDY AND THE - GHOST—THE ATTACK UPON KENNEDY AND ISRAEL’S TRAIN—FINDING THE - BODIES—THE DEAD APACHE—A FRONTIER BURIAL—HOW LIEUTENANT YEATON - RECEIVED HIS DEATH WOUND—ON THE TRAIL WITH LIEUTENANT - CUSHING—REVENGE IS SWEET. - - -We had all sorts of visitors from the adjacent country. The first I -remember was a squaw whose nose had been cut off by a brutal and jealous -husband. The woman was not at all bad looking, and there was not a man -at the post who did not feel sorry for the unfortunate who, for some -dereliction, real or imagined, had been so savagely disfigured. - -This shocking mode of punishment, in which, by the way, the Apache -resembled some of the nations of antiquity, prevailed in full vigor -until after General Crook had subjected this fierce tribe to law and -discipline, and the first, or, at least, among the very first, -regulations he laid down for their guidance was that the women of the -tribe must be treated just as kindly as the men, and each and every -infraction of the rule was threatened with the severest punishment the -whole military force could inflict. Since then the practice has wholly -died out among both the Apaches and the Hualpais. - -Then there came an old withered crone, leading a woman somewhat younger, -but still shrivelled with the life of care and drudgery which falls to -the lot of the Apache matron, and a third member of this interesting -party, a boy ten or twelve years old, who was suffering from the bite of -a rattlesnake, which had caused his right leg to shrink and decay. The -medicine-men of their band had sung vigorously and applied such medicine -as they thought best suited to the case, but it proved to be beyond -their skill, and they had advised this journey to Camp Grant, to see -what the white man’s medicine could do for the sufferer. - -Still another interesting picture framed in my memory is that of the -bent old dotard who wished to surrender on account of frankly confessed -impotency to remain longer on the war-path. Battles were for young men -only; as people grew older they got more sense, and all should live as -brothers. This world was large enough for everybody, and there should be -enough to eat for the Indians and the white men, too. There were men -whose hearts were hard and who would not listen to reason; they wished -to fight, but as for himself, his legs could not climb the mountains any -longer, and the thorns were bad when they scratched his skin. His heart -was good, and so long as this stone which he placed on the ground should -last he wanted to let the Great Father know that he meant to be his -friend. Had his brother, the post commander, any tobacco? - -Many an hour did I sit by the side of our friend and brother, watching -him chip out arrow-heads from fragments of beer bottles, or admiring the -dexterity with which he rubbed two sticks together to produce flame. -Matches were his greatest treasure, and he was never tired begging for -them, and as soon as obtained, he would wrap them up carefully in a -piece of buckskin to screen from the weather. But we never gave him -reason to suspect that our generosity was running away with our -judgment. We were careful not to give him any after we found out that he -could make fire so speedily and in a manner so strange, and which we -were never tired of seeing. - -These members of the tribe were all kept as prisoners, more to prevent -communication with the enemy than from any suspected intention of -attempting an escape. They were perfectly contented, were well fed, had -no more to do than was absolutely good for them in the way of exercise, -and except that they had to sleep under the eyes of the sentinels at -night, were as free as any one else in the garrison. Once or twice -Indian couriers came over from Camp Apache—or Thomas, as it was then -called—in the Sierra Blanca. Those whom I first saw were almost naked, -their only clothing being a muslin loin-cloth, a pair of pointed-toed -moccasins, and a hat of hawk feathers. They had no arms but lances and -bows and arrows. One of them bore a small round shield of raw-hide -decked with eagle plumage, another had a pretty fiddle made of a joint -of the bamboo-like stalk of the century plant, and a third had a pack of -monte cards, cut out of dried pony skin and painted to represent rudely -the figures in the four suits. - -Their lank, long black hair, held back from the eyes by bands of red -flannel; their superb chests, expanded by constant exercise in the lofty -mountains, and their strongly muscled legs confirmed all that I had -already learned of their powers of endurance from the half-breed -Mexicans and the tame Apaches at the post—people like Manuel Duran, -Nicolas, and Francisco, who were what were then known as tame Apaches, -and who had never lived with the others in the hills, but belonged to a -section which had made peace with the whites many years previously and -had never broken it; or escaped captives like José Maria, José de Leon, -Victor Ruiz, or Antonio Besias, who had been torn away from their homes -in Sonora at an early age, and had lived so long with the savages that -they had become thoroughly conversant with all their ideas and customs -as well as their language. Nearly all that class of interpreters and -guides are now dead. Each had a wonderful history, well worthy of -recital, but I cannot allow myself to be tempted into a more extended -reference to any of them at this moment. - -The fact that the post trader had just received a stock of _new_ goods -meant two things—it meant that he had made a mistake in his order and -received a consignment different from the _old_ goods which he had -hitherto taken so much pride in keeping upon his shelves, and it meant -that the paymaster was about to pay us a visit, and leave a share of -Uncle Sam’s money in the country. - -There were two assistants in the store, Paul and Speedy. - -Paul was getting along in years, but Speedy was young and bright. Paul -had at one period in his life possessed some intelligence and a fair -education, but whiskey, cards, and tobacco had long ago blunted what -faculties he could claim, and left him a poor hulk, working for his -board and drinks at such odd jobs as there were to do about the -premises. He had been taught the trade of cabinet-making in Strassburg, -and when in good humor, and not too drunk, would join and polish, carve -and inlay boxes, made of the wood of the mesquite, madroño, manzanita, -ash, and walnut, which would delight the eyes of the most critical. - -Speedy was the most active man about the post. He was one of our best -runners, and by all odds the best swimmer in the cool, deep pools which -the San Pedro formed where it came up out of the sands a short distance -below the officers’ quarters, and where we often bathed in the early -evening hours, with some one of the party on guard, because the lurking -Apaches were always a standing menace in that part of Arizona. - -I do not know what has become of Speedy. He was an exceptionally good -man in many ways, and if not well educated, made up in native -intelligence what others more fortunate get from books. From a Yankee -father he inherited the Maine shrewdness in money matters and a keenness -in seeing the best points in a bargain. A Spanish mother endowed him -with a fund of gentle politeness and good manners. - -When he came to bid me good-by and tell me that he had opened a “Monte -Pio,” or pawnbroker’s shop, in Tucson, I ventured to give him a little -good advice. - -“You must be careful of your money, Speedy. Pawnbroking is a risky -business. You’ll be likely to have a great deal of unsalable stuff left -on your hands, and it don’t look to me as if five per cent. was enough -interest to charge. The laws of New York, I believe, allow one to charge -twenty per cent. per annum.” - -“Cap., what’s per annum?” - -“Why, every year, of course.” - -“Oh, but you see mine is five per cent. a week.” - -Speedy was the only man I ever knew who had really seen a ghost. As he -described it to us, it had much the appearance of a “human,” and was -mounted on a pretty good specimen of a Sonora plug, and was arrayed in a -suit of white canvas, with white helmet, green veil, blue goggles, and -red side whiskers. It didn’t say a word to my friend, but gave him a -decidedly cold stare, which was all that Speedy cared to wait for before -he broke for the brush. A hundred yards or so in rear there was a train -of pack mules, laden with cot frames, bath-tubs, hat boxes, and other -trumpery, which may or may not have had something to do with the ghost -in advance. Speedy and his mule were too agitated to stop to ask -questions, and continued on into Hermosillo. - -Information received about this time from Sonora reported that an -English “lud” was “roughing it” in and about the Yaqui country, and it -is just possible that he could have given much information about the -apparition had it been demanded; but Speedy persisted in his belief that -he had had a “call” from the other world, and was sorely depressed for -several weeks. - -Speedy rendered valuable help in our self-imposed task of digging in the -“ruins” alongside of our quarters—vestiges of an occupancy by a -pre-historic race, allied to the Pueblos of the Rio Grande or to the -Pimas and Papagoes. - -Broken pottery, painted and unpainted, a flint knife or two, some -arrow-heads, three or four stone hatchets, and more of the same sort, -were our sole reward for much hard work. The great question which -wrought us up to fever heat was, Who were these inhabitants? Felmer -promptly decided that they were Phœnicians—upon what grounds I do not -know, and it is very doubtful if Felmer knew either—but Oscar Hutton -“’lowed they mout ’a’ bin some o’ them Egyptian niggers as built the -pyramids in th’ Bible.” - -The paymaster had come and gone; the soldiers had spent their last -dollar; the last “pay-day drunk” had been rounded up and was now on his -way to the guard-house, muttering a maudlin defiance to Erin’s foes; the -sun was shining with scorching heat down upon the bed of pebbles which -formed the parade-ground; the flag hung limp and listless from the pudgy -staff; the horses were out on herd; the scarlet-shouldered black-birds, -the cardinals, the sinsontes, and the jays had sought the deepest -shadows; there was no sound to drown the insistent buzz of the -aggravating flies or the voice of the Recorder of the Garrison Court -just assembled, which was trying Privates A. and B. and C. and D. and -others, names and rank now forgotten, for having “then and there,” “on -or about,” and “at or near” the post of Camp Grant, Arizona, committed -sundry and divers crimes against the law and regulations—when, straight -across the parade, with the swiftness of a frightened deer, there ran a -half or three-quarters naked Mexican, straight to the door of the -“comandante’s” quarters. - -He was almost barefooted, the shoes he had on being in splinters. His -trousers had been scratched so by the thorns and briars that only rags -were now pendent from his waist. His hat had been dropped in his -terrified flight from some unexplained danger, which the wan face, -almost concealed by matted locks, and the shirt covered with blood still -flowing freely from a wound in the chest, conclusively showed to have -been an Apache ambuscade. - -With faltering voice and in broken accents the sufferer explained that -he was one of a party of more than thirty Mexicans coming up from Tucson -to work on the ranch of Kennedy and Israel, who lived about a mile from -our post down the San Pedro. There were a number of women and several -children with the train, and not a soul had the slightest suspicion of -danger, when suddenly, on the head of the slope leading up to the long -“mesa” just this side of the Cañon del Oro, they had found themselves -surrounded on three sides by a party of Apaches, whose strength was -variously put at from thirty to fifty warriors. - -The Americans and Mexicans made the best fight possible, and succeeded -in keeping back the savages until the women and children had reached a -place of comparative safety; but both Kennedy and Israel were killed, -and a number of others killed or wounded, our informant being one of the -latter, with a severe cut in the left breast, where a bullet had -ploughed round his ribs without doing very serious damage. The Apaches -fell to plundering the wagons, which were loaded with the general -supplies that ranchmen were in those days compelled to keep in stock, -for feeding the numbers of employees whom they had to retain to -cultivate their fields, as well as to guard them, and the Mexicans, -seeing this, made off as fast as their legs could carry them, under the -guidance of such of their party as were familiar with the trails leading -across the Santa Catalina range to the San Pedro and Camp Grant. One of -these trails ran by way of Apache Springs at the northern extremity of -the range, and was easy of travel, so that most of the people were safe, -but we were strongly urged to lose no time in getting round by the -longer road, along which the Apaches were believed to have pursued a few -men. - -The Mexican, Domingo, had seen Sergeants Warfield and Mott, two old -veterans, on his way through the post, and they, without waiting for -orders, had the herd run in and saddles got out in anticipation of what -their experience taught them was sure to come. Every man who could be -put on horseback was mounted at once, without regard to his company or -regiment, and in less than twenty minutes the first detachment was -crossing the San Pedro and entering the long defile known as the Santa -Catalina Cañon—not very well equipped for a prolonged campaign, perhaps, -as some of the men had no water in canteens and others had only a -handful of crackers for rations, but that made no difference. Our -business was to rescue women and children surrounded by savages, and to -do it with the least delay possible. At least, that was the way Colonel -Dubois reasoned on the subject, and we had only our duty to do—obey -orders. - -A second detachment would follow after us, with a wagon containing water -in kegs, rations for ten days, medical supplies, blankets, and every -other essential for making such a scout as might become necessary. - -Forward! was the word, and every heel struck flank and every horse -pressed upon the bit. Do our best, we couldn’t make very rapid progress -through the cañon, which for its total length of twelve miles was heavy -with shifting sand. - -Wherever there was a stretch of hard pan, no matter how short, we got -the best time out of it that was possible. The distance seemed -interminable, but we pressed on, passing the Four-mile Walnut, on past -the Cottonwood, slipping along without a word under the lofty walls -which screened us from the rays of the sun, although the afternoon was -still young. But in much less time than we had a right to expect we had -reached the end of the bad road, and halted for a minute to have all -loose cinches retightened and everything made ready for rapid travelling -on to the Cañon del Oro. - -In front of us stretched a broken, hilly country, bounded on the east -and west by the Tortolita and the Sierra Santa Catalina respectively. -The summer was upon us, but the glories of the springtime had not yet -faded from the face of the desert, which still displayed the splendors -of millions of golden crocuses, with countless odorless verbenas of -varied tints, and acres upon acres of nutritious grasses, at which our -horses nibbled every time we halted for a moment. The cañon of the Santa -Catalina for more than four miles of its length is no wider than an -ordinary street in a city, and is enclosed by walls rising one thousand -feet above the trail. Wherever a foothold could be found, there the -thorny-branched giant cactus stood sentinel, or the prickly plates of -the nopal matted the face of the escarpment. High up on the wall of the -cañon, one of the most prominent of the pitahayas or giant cacti had -been transfixed by the true aim of an Apache arrow, buried up to the -feathers. - -For the beauties or eccentricities of nature we had no eyes. All that we -cared to know was how long it would take to put us where the train had -been ambushed and destroyed. So, on we pushed, taking a very brisk gait, -and covering the ground with rapidity. - -The sun was going down in a blaze of scarlet and gold behind the -Tortolita Range, the Cañon del Oro was yet several miles away, and still -no signs of the party of which we were in such anxious search. “They -must have been nearer the Cañon del Oro than the Mexican thought,” was -the general idea, for we had by this time gained the long mesa upon -which we had been led to believe we should see the ruins of the wagons. - -We were now moving at a fast walk, in line, with carbines at an -“advance,” and everything ready for a fight to begin on either flank or -in front, as the case might be; but there was no enemy in sight. We -deployed as skirmishers, so as to cover as much ground as possible, and -pick up any dead body that might be lying behind the mesquite or the -palo verde which lined the road. A sense of gloom spread over the little -command, which had been hoping against hope to find the survivors alive -and the savages still at bay. But, though the coyote yelped to the moon, -and flocks of quail whirred through the air when raised from their -seclusion in the bushes, and funereal crows, perched upon the tops of -the pitahayas, croaked dismal salutations, there was no sound of the -human voices we longed to hear. - -But don’t be too sure. Is that a coyote’s cry or the wail of a -fellow-creature in distress? A coyote, of course. Yes, it is, and no, it -isn’t. Every one had his own belief, and would tolerate no dissent. -“Hel-lup! Hel-lup! My God, hel-lup!” “This way, Mott! Keep the rest of -the men back there on the road.” In less than ten seconds we had reached -a small arroyo, not very deep, running parallel to the road and not -twenty yards from it, and there, weak and faint and covered with his own -blood, was our poor, unfortunate friend, Kennedy. He was in the full -possession of his faculties and able to recognize every one whom he knew -and to tell a coherent story. As to the first part of the attack, he -concurred with Domingo, but he furnished the additional information that -as soon as the Apaches saw that the greater number of the party had -withdrawn with the women and children, of whom there were more than -thirty all told, they made a bold charge to sweep down the little -rear-guard which had taken its stand behind the wagons. Kennedy was sure -that the Apaches had suffered severely, and told me where to look for -the body of the warrior who had killed his partner, Israel. Israel had -received a death-wound in the head which brought him to his knees, but -before he gave up the ghost his rifle, already in position at his -shoulder, was discharged and killed the tall, muscular young savage who -appeared to be leading the attack. - -Kennedy kept up the unequal fight as long as he could, in spite of the -loss of the thumb of his left hand, shot off at the first volley; but -when the Mexicans at each side of him fell, he drew his knife, cut the -harness of the “wheeler” mule nearest him, sprang into the saddle, and -charged right through the Apaches advancing a second time. His boldness -disconcerted their aim, but they managed to plant an arrow in his breast -and another in the ribs of his mule, which needed no further urging to -break into a mad gallop over every rock and thorn in its front. Kennedy -could not hold the bridle with his left hand, and the pain in his lung -was excruciating—“Jes’ like ’s if I’d swallowed a coal o’ fire, boys,” -he managed to gasp, half inarticulately. But he had run the mule several -hundreds of yards, and was beginning to have a faint hope of escaping, -when a bullet from his pursuers struck its hind-quarters and pained and -frightened it so much that it bucked him over its head and plunged off -to one side among the cactus and mesquite, to be seen no more. Kennedy, -by great effort, reached the little arroyo in which we found him, and -where he had lain, dreading each sound and expecting each moment to hear -the Apaches coming to torture him to death. His fears were unfounded. As -it turned out, fortunately for all concerned, the Apaches could not -resist the temptation to plunder, and at once began the work of breaking -open and pilfering every box and bundle the wagons contained, forgetting -all about the Mexicans who had made their escape to the foot-hills, and -Kennedy, who lay so very, very near them. - -Half a dozen good men were left under command of a sergeant to take care -of Kennedy, while the rest hurried forward to see what was to be seen -farther to the front. - -It was a ghastly sight, one which in its details I should like to spare -my readers. There were the hot embers of the new wagons, the scattered -fragments of broken boxes, barrels, and packages of all sorts; copper -shells, arrows, bows, one or two broken rifles, torn and burned -clothing. There lay all that was mortal of poor Israel, stripped of -clothing, a small piece cut from the crown of the head, but thrown back -upon the corpse—the Apaches do not care much for scalping—his heart cut -out, but also thrown back near the corpse, which had been dragged to the -fire of the burning wagons and had been partly consumed; a lance wound -in the back, one or two arrow wounds—they may have been lance wounds, -too, but were more likely arrow wounds, the arrows which made them -having been burned out; there were plenty of arrows lying around—a -severe contusion under the left eye, where he had been hit perhaps with -the stock of a rifle or carbine, and the death wound from ear to ear, -through which the brain had oozed. - -The face was as calm and resolute in death as Israel had been in life. -He belonged to a class of frontiersmen of which few representatives now -remain—the same class to which belonged men like Pete Kitchen, the -Duncans, of the San Pedro; Darrel Duppa and Jack Townsend, of the Agua -Fria; men whose lives were a romance of adventure and danger, unwritten -because they never frequented the towns, where the tenderfoot -correspondent would be more likely to fall in with some border -Munchausen, whose tales of privation and peril would be in the direct -ratio of the correspondent’s receptivity and credulity. - -It was now too dark to do anything more, so we brought up Kennedy, who -seemed in such good spirits that we were certain he would pull through, -as we could not realize that he had been hit by an arrow at all, but -tried to console him with the notion that the small round hole in his -chest, from which little if any blood had flown, had been made by a -buck-shot or something like it. But Kennedy knew better. “No, boys,” he -said sadly, shaking his head, “it’s all up with me. I’m a goner. I know -it was an arrow, ’cause I broke the feather end off. I’m goin’ to die.” - -Sentinels were posted behind the bushes, and the whole command sat down -to keep silent watch for the coming of the morrow. The Apaches might -double back—there was no knowing what they might do—and it was best to -be on our guard. The old rule of the frontier, as I learned it from men -like Joe Felmer, Oscar Hutton, and Manuel Duran, amounted to this: “When -you see Apache ‘sign,’ be _keerful_; ’n’ when you don’ see nary sign, be -_more_ keerful.” - -The stars shone out in their grandest effulgence, and the feeble rays of -the moon were no added help to vision. There is only one region in the -whole world, Arizona, where the full majesty can be comprehended of that -text of Holy Writ which teaches: “The Heavens declare the glory of God, -and the firmament showeth His handiwork.” Midnight had almost come, when -the rumble of wheels, the rattle of harness, and the cracking of whips -heralded the approach of wagons and ambulance and the second detachment -of cavalry. They brought orders from Colonel Dubois to return to the -post as soon as the animals had had enough rest, and then as fast as -possible, to enable all to start in pursuit of the Apaches, whose trail -had been “cut” a mile or two above Felmer’s, showing that they had -crossed the Santa Catalina Range, and were making for the precipitous -country close to the head of the Aravaypa. - -The coming day found our party astir and hard at work. First, we hunted -up the body of the Apache who had shot Israel. Lieutenant George Bacon, -First Cavalry, found it on a shelf of rock, in a ravine not a hundred -yards from where the white enemy lay, shot, as Israel was, through the -head. We did not disturb it, but as much cannot be averred of the hungry -and expectant coyotes and the raw-necked buzzards, which had already -begun to draw near. - -The trail of the savages led straight toward the Santa Catalina, and a -hurried examination disclosed a very curious fact, which later on was of -great importance to the troops in pursuit. There had been a case of -patent medicine in the wagons, and the Apaches had drunk the contents of -the bottles, under the impression that they contained whiskey. The -result was that, as the signs showed, there were several of the Indians -seriously incapacitated from alcoholic stimulant of some kind, which had -served as the menstruum for the drugs of the nostrum. They had staggered -from cactus to cactus, falling into mesquite, in contempt of the thorns -on the branches, and had lain sprawled at full length in the sand, -oblivious of the danger incurred. It would have been a curious -experience for the raiders could we have arrived twenty-four hours -sooner. - -Fully an hour was consumed in getting the horses and mules down to the -water in the Cañon del Oro, and in making a cup of coffee, for which -there was the water brought along in the kegs in the wagons. Everything -and everybody was all right, excepting Kennedy, who was beginning to act -and talk strangely; first exhilarated and then excited, petulant and -despondent. His sufferings were beginning to tell upon him, and he -manifested a strange aversion to being put in the same vehicle with a -dead man. We made the best arrangement possible for the comfort of our -wounded friend, for whom it seemed that the ambulance would be the -proper place. But the jolting and the upright position he was compelled -to take proved too much for him, and he begged to be allowed to recline -at full length in one of the wagons. - -His request was granted at once; only, as it happened, he was lifted -into the wagon in which the stiff, stark corpse of Israel was glaring -stonily at the sky. A canvas ’paulin was stretched over the corpse, half -a dozen blankets spread out to make as soft a couch as could be -expected, and then Kennedy was lifted in, and the homeward march resumed -with rapid gait. Animals and men were equally anxious to leave far in -the rear a scene of such horror, and without whip or spur we rolled -rapidly over the gravelly “mesa,” until we got to the head of the Santa -Catalina Cañon, and even there we progressed satisfactorily, as, -notwithstanding the deep sand, it was all down grade into the post. - -In crossing the San Pedro, the wagon in which Kennedy was riding gave a -lurch, throwing him to one side; to keep himself from being bumped -against the side, he grasped the first thing within reach, and this -happened to be the cold, clammy ankle of the corpse. One low moan, or, -rather, a groan, was all that showed Kennedy’s consciousness of the -undesirable companionship of his ride. The incident didn’t really make -very much difference, however, as his last hours were fast drawing near, -and Death had already summoned him. He breathed his last in the post -hospital before midnight. An autopsy revealed the presence of a piece of -headless arrow, four or five inches long, lodged in the left lung. - -The funeral ceremonies did not take much time. There was no lumber in -that section of country for making coffins. Packing boxes, cracker -boxes, anything that could be utilized, were made to serve the purpose, -and generally none were used. The whole garrison turned out. A few words -from the Book of Common Prayer—“Man that is born of woman,” etc.; a few -clods of earth rattling down; then a layer of heavy rocks and spiny -cactus, to keep the coyotes from digging up the bones; more earth; and -all was over, excepting the getting ready for the pursuit. - -This was to be prosecuted by Lieutenant Howard B. Cushing, an officer of -wonderful experience in Indian warfare, who with his troop, “F” of the -Third Cavalry, had killed more savages of the Apache tribe than any -other officer or troop of the United States Army has done before or -since. During the latter days of the preceding fall, 1869, he had struck -a crushing blow at the courage of the Apaches infesting the country -close to the Guadalupe Range in southwestern Texas, and had killed and -wounded many of the adults, and captured a number of children and a herd -of ponies. - -But Lieutenant Franklin Yeaton, a brave and exceedingly able officer, -just out of West Point, was fatally wounded on our side, and the more -Cushing brooded over the matter, the hotter flamed his anger, until he -could stand it no longer, but resolved to slip back across country and -try his luck over again. He had hauled Yeaton and the rest of the -wounded for four marches on rudely improvised “travois” across the snow, -which lay unusually deep that winter, until he found a sheltered -camping-place near the Peñasco, a branch of the Pecos, where he left his -impedimenta under a strong guard, and with the freshest horses and men -turned back, rightly surmising that the hostiles would have given up -following him, and would be gathered in their ruined camp, bewailing the -loss of kindred. - -He had guessed rightly, and at the earliest sign of morning in the east -was once again leading his men to the attack upon the Apaches, who, not -knowing what to make of such an utterly unexpected onslaught, fled in -abject terror, leaving many dead on the ground behind them. - -All this did not exactly compensate for the loss of Yeaton, but it -served to let out some of Cushing’s superfluous wrath, and keep him from -exploding. - -Cushing belonged to a family which won deserved renown during the War of -the Rebellion. One brother blew up the ram _Albemarle_; another died -most heroically at his post of duty on the battle-field of Gettysburg; -there was still another in the navy who died in service, I do not -remember where; and the one of whom I am speaking, who was soon to die -at the hands of the Apaches, and deserves more than a passing word. - -He was about five feet seven in height, spare, sinewy, active as a cat; -slightly stoop-shouldered, sandy complexioned, keen gray or bluish-gray -eyes, which looked you through when he spoke and gave a slight hint of -the determination, coolness, and energy which had made his name famous -all over the southwestern border. There is an alley named after him in -Tucson, and there is, or was, when last I saw it, a tumble-down, -worm-eaten board to mark his grave, and that was all to show where the -great American nation had deposited the remains of one of its bravest. - -But I am anticipating altogether too much, and should be getting ready -to follow the trail of the marauders. Cushing didn’t seem to be in any -particular hurry about starting, and I soon learned that he intended -taking his ease about it, as he wanted to let the Indians be thrown off -their guard completely and imagine that the whites were not following -their trail. Let them once suspect that a party was in pursuit, and they -would surely break up their trail and scatter like quail, and no one -then could hope to do anything with them. - -Every hoof was carefully looked at, and every shoe tacked on tight; a -few extra shoes for the fore-feet were taken along in the pack train, -with fifteen days’ rations of coffee, hard tack, and bacon, and one -hundred rounds of ammunition. - -All that could be extracted from the Mexicans in the way of information -was pondered over, and submitted to the consideration of Felmer and -Manuel Duran, the guides who were to conduct the column. Some of the -Mexican men were composed and fully recovered from the effects of their -terrible experience, and those who were wounded were doing well; but the -women still trembled at the mere name of an Apache, and several of them -did nothing but tell their beads in gratitude to Heaven for the miracle -of their escape. - -In Arizona, New Mexico, and southwestern Texas it has been remarked that -one has to ascend the bed of a stream in order to get water. This rule -is especially true of the Aravaypa. There is not a drop, as a usual -thing, at its mouth, but if you ascend the cañon five or six miles, the -current trickles above the sand, and a mile or two more will bring you -to a stream of very respectable dimensions, flowing over rocky boulders -of good size, between towering walls which screen from the sun, and amid -scenery which is picturesque, romantic, and awe-inspiring. The raiders -left the cañon of the Aravaypa at its most precipitous part, not far -from the gypsum out-crop, and made a straight shoot for the mouth of the -San Carlos. This, however, was only a blind, and inside of three miles -there was no trail left, certainly not going in the direction of Mount -Turnbull. - -Manuel Duran was not at all worried; he was an Apache himself, and none -of the tricks of the trade had the slightest effect upon his equanimity. -He looked over the ground carefully. Ah! here is a stone which has been -overturned in its place, and here some one has cut that branch of -mesquite; and here—look! we have it, the shod-hoof track of one of -Israel’s mules! There is nothing the matter at all. The Apaches have -merely scattered and turned, and instead of going toward the junction of -the Gila and the San Carlos, have bent to the west and started straight -for the mouth of the San Pedro, going down by the head of Deer Creek, -and over to the Rock Creek, which rises in the “Dos Narices” Mountain, -not twelve miles from Grant itself. Patient search, watching every blade -of grass, every stone or bush, and marching constantly, took the command -to the mouth of the San Pedro, across the Gila, up to the head of the -Disappointment Creek, in the Mescal Mountains, and over into the -foot-hills of the Pinal—and not into the foot-hills merely, but right -across the range at its highest point. - -The Apaches were evidently a trifle nervous, and wanted to make as big a -circuit as possible to bewilder pursuers; but all their dodges were -vain. From the top of the Pinal a smoke was detected rising in the -valley to the north and east, and shortly afterward the evidence that a -party of squaws and children, laden with steamed mescal, had joined the -raiders, and no doubt were to remain with them until they got home, if -they were not already home. - -Cushing would hardly wait till the sun had hidden behind the -Superstition Mountains or the Matitzal before he gave the order to move -on. Manuel was more prudent, and not inclined to risk anything by undue -haste. - -He would wait all night before he would risk disappointment in an attack -upon an enemy whom he had followed so far. Manuel wouldn’t allow any of -the Americans to come near while he made his preparations for peeping -over the crest of the “divide.” Tying a large wisp of palmilla or bear’s -grass about his head, he crawled or wriggled on hands and knees to the -position giving the best view down the valley, and made all the -observations desired. - -The night was long and cold and dark, and the men had been at least an -hour in position overlooking the smouldering fires of the enemy, and -ready to begin the attack the moment that it should be light enough to -see one’s hand in front of him, when an accidental occurrence -precipitated an engagement. - -One of the old men—one of the party of mescal gatherers who had joined -the returning war-party—felt cold and arose from his couch to stir the -embers into a blaze. The light played fitfully upon his sharp features -and gaunt form, disclosing every muscle. - -To get some additional fuel, he advanced toward the spot where Cushing -crouched down awaiting the favorable moment for giving the signal to -fire. The savage suspects something, peers ahead a little, and is -satisfied that there is danger close by. He turns to escape, crying out -that the Americans have come, and awakening all in the camp. - -The soldiers raised a terrific yell and poured in a volley which laid -low a number of the Apaches; the latter scarcely tried to fight in the -place where they stood, as the light of the fire made their presence -perfectly plain to the attacking party. So their first idea was to seek -a shelter in the rocks from which to pick off the advancing skirmishers. -In this they were unsuccessful, and death and ruin rained down upon -them. They made the best fight they could, but they could do nothing. -Manuel saw something curious rushing past him in the gloom. He brought -rifle to shoulder and fired, and, as it turned out, killed two at one -shot—a great strong warrior, and the little boy of five or six years old -whom he had seized, and was trying to hurry to a place of safety, -perched upon his shoulders. - -It was a ghastly spectacle, a field of blood won with but slight loss to -ourselves. But I do not care to dilate upon the scene, as it is my -intention to give only a meagre outline description of what Arizona was -like prior to the assignment of General Crook to the command. The -captured women and boys stated they were a band of Pinals who had just -returned from a raid down into Sonora before making the attack upon the -wagons of Kennedy and Israel. Some of their bravest warriors were along, -and they would have made a determined fight had they not all been more -or less under the influence of the stuff they had swallowed out of the -bottles captured with the train. Many had been very drunk, and all had -been sickened, and were not in condition to look out for surprise as -they ordinarily did. They had thought that by doubling across the -country from point to point, any Americans who might try to follow would -surely be put off the scent; they did not know that there were Apaches -with the soldiers. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - -THE RETURN TO CAMP GRANT—LANCED TO DEATH BY APACHES—THE KILLING OF - MILLER AND TAPPAN—COMPANY QUARTERS—APACHE CAPTIVES—THE - CLOUD-BURST—APACHE CORN-FIELDS—MEETING COLONEL SANFORD—ENTRAPPED IN - AN APACHE AMBUSCADE—AN OLD-TIMER’S REMINISCENCES OF TUCSON—FUNERAL - CROSSES ON THE ROADSIDE—PADRE EUSEBIO KINO—FIRST VIEW OF TUCSON—THE - “SHOO FLY” RESTAURANT. - - -Of the return march very little need be said. The story would become too -long, and there would be needless repetition if an attempt were to be -made to describe each scout in detail. There are others to come of much -more importance, and covering the same region, so that the reader will -lose nothing by the omission. - -There was the usual amount of rough mountain climbing, wearing out shoes -and patience and nerve strength all at one and the same time; there was -the usual deprivation of water to be expected in the arid wastes of -southern Arizona, where springs are few and far between; there were the -usual tricks for getting along without much to drink, such as putting a -pebble or twig in the mouth to induce a more copious flow of saliva; and -when camp was made and the water was found to be not all that it might -be, there were other tricks for cleaning it, or, at least, causing a -deposition of the earthy matter held in suspension, by cutting up a few -plates of the nopal and letting them remain in the kettle for a short -time, until their mucilaginous juice had precipitated everything. But a -still better plan was to improve the good springs, which was a labor of -love with officers and men, and many a fine water hole in Arizona has -been the scene of much hard work in digging out, building up with -cracker boxes or something to hold the water and keep it from soaking -into the earth. - -Camp Grant was reached at last, and the prisoners turned over to the -care of the guard, and Lieutenant Cushing, his first duty in the -Territory accomplished with so much credit to himself and his men, made -ready to start out on another and a longer trip just as soon as the -signal should be given by the post commander. - -Our troop was peculiarly situated. It had a second mount of ponies, -captured from the Apaches against whom Cushing had done such good -service in southwestern Texas. Orders came down in due time from San -Francisco to turn them in and have them sold by the quartermaster; but -until these orders came—and owing to the slowness of mail communications -in those days, they did not come for several months—we had the advantage -of being able to do nearly twice as much work as troops less fortunately -placed. - -The humdrum life of any post in Arizona in those days was enough to -drive one crazy. The heat in most of them became simply unendurable, -although here the great dryness of the atmosphere proved a benefit. Had -the air been humid, very few of our garrison would now be alive to tell -of temperatures of one hundred and twenty and over, and of days during -the whole twenty-four hours of which the thermometer did not register -below the one hundred notch. - -There was a story current that the heat had one time become so excessive -that two thermometers had to be strapped together to let the mercury -have room to climb. That was before my arrival, and is something for -which I do not care to vouch. I give the story as it was given to me by -my friend, Jack Long, of whom I am soon to speak. - -In every description of Arizona that I have ever seen, and I claim to be -familiar with most if not all that has appeared in print, there occurs -the story of the soldier who came back to Fort Yuma after his blankets, -finding the next world too cold to suit him. I make reference to the -story because many worthy people would find it hard to believe that a -man had been in Arizona who did not tell this story in his first -chapter, but it has grown to be such a mouldy military chestnut that I -may be pardoned for omitting it. - -There were all kinds of methods of killing the hours. One that -interested everybody for a while was the battles which we stirred up -between the nests of red and black ants, which could be found in plenty -and of great size close to the post. I have seen the nests in question -three or four feet high, and not less than six feet long, crowded with -industrious population. The way to start the battle was to make a hole -in each nest and insert cans which had lately been emptied of peaches or -other sweets. - -These would soon fill with the battalions of the two colors, and could -then be poured into a basin, where the combat _à outrance_ never failed -to begin at once. The red ants were much the braver, and one of that -color would tackle two, and even three, of the black. If the rumpus -lasted for any length of time, queens would appear, as if to superintend -what was going on. At least, that was our impression when we saw the -large-bodied, yellow-plush insects sallying from the depths of the -nests. - -We had not been back in the post a week before we had something to talk -about. A Mexican who was doing some work for the Government came up to -confer with the commanding officer as to details. He left the adjutant’s -office before mid-day, and had not gone one thousand yards—less, indeed, -than rifle-shot—from the door, when an Apache, lurking in ambush behind -a clump of palmilla, pierced him through and through with a lance, and -left him dead, weltering in his own blood. To attempt pursuit was worse -than useless, and all we could do was to bury the victim. - -It was this peculiarity of the Apaches that made them such a terror to -all who came in contact with them, and had compelled the King of Spain -to maintain a force of four thousand dragoons to keep in check a tribe -of naked savages, who scorned to wear any protection against the bullets -of the Castilians, who would not fight when pursued, but scattered like -their own crested mountain quail, and then hovered on the flanks of the -whites, and were far more formidable when dispersed than when they were -moving in compact bodies. This was simply the best military policy for -the Apaches to adopt—wear out the enemy by vexatious tactics, and by -having the pursuit degenerate into a will-o’-th’-wisp chase. The Apaches -could find food on every hillside, and the water-holes, springs, and -flowing streams far up in the mountains were perfectly well known to -them. - -The Caucasian troops, of whatever nationality, would wander about, -half-crazed with thirst, and maddened by the heat of the day or chilled -by the cold winds of night in the mountains, and unable to tell which -plants were of value as food and which were not. - -The Apache was in no sense a coward. He knew his business, and played -his cards to suit himself. He never lost a shot, and never lost a -warrior in a fight where a brisk run across the nearest ridge would save -his life and exhaust the heavily clad soldier who endeavored to catch -him. Apaches in groups of two and three, and even individual Apaches, -were wont to steal in close to the military posts and ranchos, and hide -behind some sheltering rock, or upon the summit of some conveniently -situated hill, and there remain for days, scanning the movements of the -Americans below, and waiting for a chance to stampede a herd, or kill a -herder or two, or “jump” a wagon-train. - -They knew how to disguise themselves so thoroughly that one might almost -step upon a warrior thus occupied before he could detect his presence. -Stripped naked, with head and shoulders wrapped up in a bundle of yucca -shoots or “sacaton” grass, and with body rubbed over with the clay or -sand along which it wriggled as sinuously and as venomously as the -rattler itself, the Apache could and did approach to within ear-shot of -the whites, and even entered the enclosures of the military camps, as at -Grant and Crittenden, where we on several occasions discovered his -foot-prints alongside the “ollas,” or water-jars. - -On such occasions he preferred to employ his lance or bow, because these -made no sound, and half or even a whole day might elapse before the -stiffened and bloody corpse of the herder or wagoner would be found, and -the presence of Indians in the vicinity become known. At least twenty -such examples could be given from my own knowledge, occurring at -Prescott, Tucson, Camp Grant, Camp Crittenden, Tres Alamos, Florence, -Williamson’s Valley, and elsewhere. They were regarded as the natural -features of the country, and every settler rather expected them as a -matter of course. Well did Torquemada, the Spanish writer (A.D. 1709), -deplore the inability of the Spaniards to make headway against this -tribe of naked savages. - -Californians old enough to remember the days when San Francisco had a -Mining Stock Exchange, may recall the names of Lent and Harpending, who -were two of the most prominent of the members. An expedition, equipped -at the expense of these gentlemen, made its way into Arizona to examine -the mining “prospects” discovered in the vicinity of Fort Bowie. They -had to come overland, of course, as there were no railroads, and wagons -had to be taken from Los Angeles, the terminal point of steamer -navigation, unless people preferred to keep on down to San Diego, and -then cross the desert, via Fort Yuma, and on up the dusty valley of the -Gila River to Tucson or Florence. The party of which I am now speaking -was under the command of two gentlemen, one named Gatchell and the other -Curtis, from the Comstock Mines in Nevada, and had reached and passed -the picturesque little adobe town of Florence, on the Gila, and was -progressing finely on the road toward Tucson, when “Cocheis,” the bold -leader of the Chiricahuas, on his march up from Sonora to trade stolen -horses and have a talk with the Pinals, swooped down upon them. It was -the old, old Arizona story. No one suspected danger, because there had -been no signs of Indians on the trip since leaving the villages of the -peaceful Pimas, on the Gila, near Maricopa Wells. - -It was a perfect duplication of the Kennedy-Israel affair, almost to the -slightest details. Mr. Curtis received a bad wound in the lungs. Mr. -Gatchell was also wounded, but how severely I cannot remember, for the -very good reason that there was so much of that kind of thing going on -during the period of my stay at Camp Grant that it is really impossible -to avoid mixing up some of the minor details of the different incidents -so closely resembling one another. - -When this party reached the post of Camp Grant they could easily have -demanded the first prize at a tramp show; they were not clothed in -rags—they were not clothed in anything. When they escaped from the -wagon-train they were wearing nothing but underclothing, on account of -the excessive heat of the day; when they got into Camp Grant most of the -underwear had disappeared, torn off by the cactus, palo verde, mesquite, -mescal, and other thorny vegetation run against in their flight. Their -feet evidenced the rough, stony nature of the ground over which they had -tramped and bumped, and thorns stuck in their legs, feet, and arms. -There was not much done for these poor wretches, all of whom seemed to -be gentlemen of education and refinement. We shared the misery of the -post with them, which was about all we could pretend to do. Vacant rooms -were found for them in the Israel ranch, and there they stayed for a few -days, just long enough for every one to catch the fever. - -Before we start out in pursuit of the attacking Apaches, let me relate -the story told all over southern Arizona about the spot where this -Gatchell-Curtis train had been surprised. It was known as the scene of -the ambuscade of the Miller-Tappan detail, and frontier tale-tellers -used to while away the sultry hours immediately after the setting of the -sun in relating how the soldiers under Carroll had been ambushed and -scattered by the onslaught of the Apaches, their commander, Lieutenant -Carroll, killed at the first fire. One of the survivors became separated -from his comrades in their headlong flight into Camp Grant. What became -of him was never fully known, but he had been seen to fall wounded in -the head or face, and the soldiers and Mexicans seemed to be of but one -opinion as to the direction in which he had strayed; so there was no -difficulty in getting a band of expert trailers to go out with the -troops from the camp, and after burying the dead, make search for the -missing man. His foot-prints were plainly discernible for quite a -distance in the hard sand and gravel, until they led to a spring or -“water-hole,” where one could plainly read the “sign” that the wounded -man had stopped, knelt down, drunk, washed his wound, torn off a small -piece of his blouse, perhaps as a bandage, and written his name on a -rock in his own blood. - -So far, so good; the Mexicans who had been in the searching party did -not object to telling that much, but anything beyond was told by a shrug -of the shoulders and a “Quien sabe?” - -One day it happened that José Maria was in a communicative mood, and I -induced him to relate what he knew. His story amounted to just this: -After leaving the “water-hole,” the wounded man had wandered aimlessly -in different directions, and soon began to stagger from bush to bush; -his strength was nearly gone, and with frequency he had taken a seat on -the hard gravel under such shade as the mesquites afforded. - -After a while other tracks came in on the trail alongside of those of -the man—they were the tracks of an enormous mountain lion! The beast had -run up and down along the trail for a short distance, and then bounded -on in the direction taken by the wanderer. The last few bounds measured -twenty-two feet, and then there were signs of a struggle, and of -SOMETHING having been dragged off through the chapparal and over the -rocks, and that was all. - -Our men were ready for the scout, and so were those of the detachment of -“K” Troop, First Cavalry, who were to form part of our expedition—a -gallant troop and a fine regiment. - -The quarters were all in bustle and confusion, and even at their best -would have looked primitive and uncouth. They were made of unhewn logs -set upright into the ground and chinked with mud, and roofed in the same -early English style, with the addition of a ceiling of old pieces of -canvas to keep the centipedes from dropping down. - -On the walls were a couple of banjos, and there were intimations that -the service of the troop had been of a decidedly active nature, in the -spoils of Apache villages clustered against the cottonwood saplings. -There were lances with tips of obsidian, and others armed with the -blades of old cavalry sabres; quivers of coyote and mountain lion skin -filled with arrows, said by the Mexican guides to be poisonous; and -other relics of aboriginal ownership in raw-hide playing-cards, shields, -and one or two of the century-plant fiddles. - -The gloom of the long sleeping room was relieved by the bright colors of -a few Navajo blankets, and there hung from the rafters large earthenware -jars, called “ollas,” the manufacture of the peaceful Papagoes, in which -gallons of water cooled by rapid evaporation. - -There were no tin wash-basins, but a good substitute was found in the -pretty Apache baskets, woven so tightly of grasses and roots that water -could no more leak through them than it could through the better sort of -the Navajo blankets. A half a dozen, maybe more, of the newspaper -illustrations and cartoons of the day were pasted in spots where they -would be most effective, and over in the coolest corner was the wicker -cage of a pet mocking-bird. There were other pets by this time in the -Apache children captured in the skirmishes already had with the natives. -The two oldest of the lot—“Sunday” and “Dandy Jim”—were never given any -dinner until they had each first shot an arrow into the neck of an -olive-bottle inserted into one of the adobe walls of the quartermaster’s -corral. The ease with which these youngsters not over nine or ten years -old did this used to surprise me, but it seemed to make them regard the -Americans as a very peculiar people for demanding such a slight task. - -Out on the trail again, down the San Pedro and over the Gila, but -keeping well to the west until we neared the Mineral Creek country; then -up across the lofty Pinal Range, on whose summits the cool breezes were -fragrant with the balsamic odors of the tall, straight pines, over into -the beautiful little nook known as Mason’s Valley, in which there was -refreshing grass for the animals and a trickling stream of pure water to -slake their thirst. Then back to the eastward until we struck the waters -of the Pinal Creek, and had followed it down to the “Wheat Fields,” and -still no signs of Indians. The rainy season had set in, and every track -was obliterated almost as soon as made. - -One night we bivouacked at a spot not far from where the mining town of -Globe now stands, and at a ledge of rocks which run across the valley of -Pinal Creek, but part for a few feet to permit the feeble current to -flow through. The sky was comparatively clear, a few clouds only -flitting across the zenith. Back of us, hanging like a shroud over the -tops of the Pinal, were heavy, black masses, from whose pendulous edges -flashed the lightning, and from whose cavernous depths roared and -growled the thunder. - -“That looks very much like a cloud-burst coming,” said Cushing; “better -be on the safe side, anyhow.” So he gave orders to move all the bedding -and all the supplies of the pack-train higher up the side of the hill. -The latter part of the order was obeyed first, and almost if not quite -all the ammunition, bacon, coffee, and sugar had been carried out of -reach of possible danger, and most of the blankets and carbines had been -shifted—everything, in fact, but the hard tack—when we noticed that the -volume of water in the creek had unaccountably increased, and the next -moment came the warning cry: “Look out! Here she comes!” A solid wall of -water—I do not care to say how many feet high—was rushing down the -cañon, sweeping all before it, and crushing a path for itself over the -line along which our blankets had been spread so short a time -previously. - -The water didn’t make very much noise. There was no sound but a SISH! -That meant more than my pen can say. All that we had carried to the -higher slopes of the cañon side was saved. All that we had not been able -to move was swept away, but there was nothing of value to any one -excepting a mule belonging to one of the guides, which was drowned, and -a lot of harness or rigging from the pack-train, which, with the hard -tack, found a watery grave. - -Cushing, too, would have been swept off in the current had he not been -seized in the strong grasp of Sergeant Warfield and “Big Dan Miller,” -two of the most powerful men in the troop. The rain soaked through us -all night, and we had to make the best of it until dawn, when we -discovered to our great surprise and satisfaction that the stream, which -had been gorged between the rocks at our camp, widened below, and this -had allowed the current to expand and to slacken, dropping here and -there in the valley most of the plunder which was of consequence to us, -especially the hard bread. - -All this meant an exasperating delay of twenty-four hours to dry our -blankets upon the rocks, and to spread out our sodden food, and save as -much of it as we could from mildew. - -From there we made a detour over to Pinto Creek, where I may inform -those of my readers who take an interest in such things, there are one -or two exceptionally well-preserved cliff-dwellings, which we examined -with much curiosity. - -Not far from there we came upon the corn-fields of a band of Apaches, -and destroyed them, eating as many of the roasting ears as we could, and -feeding the rest to our stock. - -Such were the military instructions of twenty and twenty-five years ago. -As soldiers we had to obey, even if we could feel that these orders must -have been issued under a misconception of the Indian character. The more -the savage is attached to the soil by the ties of a remunerative -husbandry, the more is he weaned from the evil impulses which idleness -engenders. This proposition seems just as clear as that two and two make -four, but some people learn quickly, and others learn slowly, and -preachers, school-teachers, and military people most slowly of all. - -Our presence was discovered by the Apache look-outs before we were able -to effect a surprise, or, to be candid, we stumbled in upon the nook, or -series of nooks, in which this planting was going on, and beyond -exchanging a few shots and wounding, as we learned afterward, a couple -of the young men, did not do much at that moment; but we did catch two -squaws, from whom some information was extracted. - -They agreed to lead us to where there was another “rancheria” a few -miles off, in another cañon over toward Tonto Creek. We found the enemy, -sure enough, but in such an inaccessible position, up among lofty hills -covered with a dense jungle of scrub oak, that we could do nothing -beyond firing shots in reply to those directed against us, and were so -unfortunate as to lose our prisoners, who darted like jack-rabbits into -the brush, and were out of sight in a flash. Why did we not catch them -again? Oh, well, that is something that no one could do but the gentle -reader. The gentle reader generally is able to do more than the actors -on the ground, and he may as well be allowed a monopoly in the present -case. - -We growled and grumbled a good deal at our hard luck, and made our way -to the Mesquite Springs, where the ranch of Archie MacIntosh has since -been erected, and there went into camp for the night. Early the next -morning we crossed the Salt River and ascended the Tonto Creek for a -short distance, passing through a fertile valley, once well settled by a -tribe whose stone houses now in ruins dotted the course of the stream, -and whose pottery, stone axes, and other vestiges, in a condition more -or less perfect, could be picked up in any quantity. We turned back, -recrossed the Salt or Salado, and made a long march into the higher -parts of the Sierra Apache, striking a fresh trail, and following it -energetically until we had run it into the camp of a scouting party of -the First Cavalry, from Camp MacDowell, under Colonel George B. Sanford, -who had had a fight with these same Indians the previous day, and killed -or captured most of them. - -Sanford and his command treated us most kindly, and made us feel at home -with them. They did not have much to offer beyond bacon and beans; but a -generous, hospitable gentleman can offer these in a way that will make -them taste like canvas-back and terrapin. When we left Sanford, we kept -on in the direction of the Sombrero Butte and the mouth of Cherry Creek, -to the east, and then headed for the extreme sources of the San Carlos -River, a trifle to the south. - -Here we had the good luck to come upon a village of Apaches, who -abandoned all they possessed and fled to the rocks as soon as our rapid -advance was announced in the shrill cries of their vedettes perched upon -the higher peaks. - -In this place the “medicine-men” had been engaged in some of their -rites, and had drawn upon the ground half-completed figures of circles, -crosses, and other lines which we had no time to examine. We looked -through the village, whose “jacales” were of unusually large size, and -while interested in this work the enemy began to gather in the higher -hills, ready to pick off all who might become exposed to their aim. They -had soon crawled down within very close proximity, and showed great -daring in coming up to us. I may be pardoned for describing in something -of detail what happened to the little party which stood with me looking -down, or trying to look down, into a low valley or collection of swales -beneath us. Absolutely nothing could be seen but the red clay soil, -tufted here and there with the Spanish bayonet or the tremulous yucca. -So well satisfied were we all that no Apaches were in the valley that I -had already given the order to dismount and descend the steep flanks of -the hill to the lower ground, but had hardly done so before there was a -puff, a noise, and a tzit!—all at once, from the nearest clump of -sacaton or yucca, not more than a hundred yards in front. The bullet -whizzed ominously between our heads and struck my horse in the neck, -ploughing a deep but not dangerous wound. - -Our horses, being fresh “broncos,” became disturbed, and it was all we -could do to keep them from breaking away. When we had quieted them a -little, we saw two of the Apaches—stark naked, their heads bound up with -yucca, and their bodies red with the clay along which they had crawled -in order to fire the shot—scampering for their lives down the valley. - -We got down the hill, leading our horses, and then took after the -fugitives, all the time yelling to those of our comrades whom we could -see in advance to head the Indians off. One of the savages, who seemed -to be the younger of the two, doubled up a side ravine, but the other, -either because he was run down or because he thought he could inflict -some damage upon us and then escape, remained hidden behind a large -mesquite. Our men made the grievous mistake of supposing that the -Indian’s gun was not loaded. Only one gun had been seen in the -possession of the two whom we had pursued, and this having been -discharged, we were certain that the savage had not had time to reload -it. - -It is quite likely that each of the pair had had a rifle, and that the -young boy, previous to running up the cañon to the left, had given his -weapon to his elder, who had probably left his own on the ground after -once firing it. - -Be this as it may, we were greeted with another shot, which killed the -blacksmith of “K” Troop, First Cavalry, and right behind the shot came -the big Indian himself, using his rifle as a shillelah, beating Corporal -Costello over the head with it and knocking him senseless, and then -turning upon Sergeant Harrington and a soldier of the First Cavalry -named Wolf, dealing each a blow on the skull, which would have ended -them had not his strength begun to ebb away with his life-blood, now -flowing freely from the death-wound through the body which we had -succeeded in inflicting. - -One horse laid up, three men knocked out, and another man killed was a -pretty steep price to pay for the killing of this one Indian, but we -consoled ourselves with the thought that the Apaches had met with a -great loss in the death of so valiant a warrior. We had had other losses -on that day, and the hostiles had left other dead; our pack-train was -beginning to show signs of wear and tear from the fatigue of climbing up -and down these stony, brush-covered, arid mountain-sides. One of the -mules had broken its neck or broken its back by slipping off a steep -trail, and all needed some rest and recuperation. - -From every peak now curled the ominous signal smoke of the enemy, and no -further surprises would be possible. Not all of the smokes were to be -taken as signals; many of them might be signs of death, as the Apaches -at that time adhered to the old custom of abandoning a village and -setting it on fire the moment one of their number died, and as soon as -this smoke was seen the adjacent villages would send up answers of -sympathy. - -Cushing thought that, under all the circumstances, it would be good -policy to move over to some eligible position where we could hold our -own against any concentration the enemy might be tempted to make against -us, and there stay until the excitement occasioned by our presence in -the country had abated. - -The spring near the eastern base of the Pinal Mountains, where the -“killing” of the early spring had taken place, suggested itself, and -thither we marched as fast as our animals could make the trip. But we -had counted without our host; the waters were so polluted with dead -bodies, there were so many skulls in the spring itself, that no animal, -much less man, would imbibe of the fluid. The ground was strewn with -bones—ribs and arms and vertebræ—dragged about by the coyotes, and the -smell was so vile that, tired as all were, no one felt any emotion but -one of delight when Cushing gave the order to move on. - -The Apaches had been there to bury their kinsfolk and bewail their loss, -and in token of grief and rage had set fire to all the grass for several -miles, and consequently it was to the direct benefit of all our command, -two-footed or four-footed, to keep moving until we might find a better -site for a bivouac. - -We did not halt until we had struck the San Carlos, some thirty-five -miles to the east, and about twelve or fourteen miles above its junction -with the Gila. Here we made camp, intending to remain several days. A -rope was stretched from one to the other of two stout sycamores, and to -this each horse and mule was attached by its halter. Pickets were thrown -out upon the neighboring eminences, and a detail from the old guard was -promptly working at bringing in water and wood for the camp-fires. The -grooming began, and ended almost as soon as the welcome cry of “Supper!” -resounded. The coffee was boiling hot; the same could be said of the -bacon; the hard tack had mildewed a little during the wet weather to -which it had been exposed, but there was enough roasted mescal from the -Indian villages to eke out our supplies. - -The hoofs and back of every animal had been examined and cared for, and -then blankets were spread out and all hands made ready to turn in. There -were no tents, as no shelter was needed, but each veteran was wise -enough to scratch a little semicircle in the ground around his head, to -turn the rain should any fall during the night, and to erect a -wind-brake to screen him from the chill breezes which sometimes blew -about midnight. - -Although there was not much danger of a night-attack from the Apaches, -who almost invariably made their onset with the first twinkle of the -coming dawn in the east, yet a careful watch was always kept, to -frustrate their favorite game of crawling on hands and feet up to the -horses, and sending an arrow into the herd or the sentinel, as might -happen to be most convenient. - -Not far from this camp I saw, for the first time, a fight between a -tarantula and a “tarantula hawk.” Manuel Duran had always insisted that -the gray tarantula could whip the black one, and that there was -something that flew about in the evening that could and would make the -quarrelsome gray tarantula seek safety in abject flight. It was what we -used to call in my school-boy days “the devil’s darning-needle” which -made its appearance, and seemed to worry the great spider very much. The -tarantula stood up on its hind legs, and did its best to ward off -impending fate, but it was no use. The “hawk” hit the tarantula in the -back and apparently paralyzed him, and then seemed to be pulling at one -of the hind legs. I have since been informed that there is some kind of -a fluid injected into the back of the tarantula which acts as a -stupefier, and at the same time the “hawk” deposits its eggs there, -which, hatching, feed upon the spider. For all this I cannot vouch, as I -did not care to venture too near those venomous reptiles and insects of -that region, at least not until after I had acquired more confidence -from greater familiarity with them. - -We saw no more Indian “sign” on that trip, which had not been, however, -devoid of all incident. - -And no sooner had we arrived at Camp Grant than we were out again, this -time guided by an Apache squaw, who had come into the post during our -absence, and given to the commanding officer a very consistent story of -ill-treatment at the hands of her people. She said that her husband was -dead, killed in a fight with the troops, and that she and her baby had -not been treated with the kindness which they had a right to expect. I -do not remember in what this ill-treatment consisted, but most likely -none of the brothers of the deceased had offered to marry the widow and -care for her and her little one, as is the general custom, in which the -Apaches resemble the Hebrews of ancient times. If the troops would -follow her, she would guide them into a very bad country, where there -was a “rancheria” which could be attacked and destroyed very readily. - -So back we went, this time on foot, carrying our rations on our backs, -crossing the Piñaleno to the south of the Aravaypa, and ascending until -we reached the pine forest upon its summit; then down into the valley at -the extreme head of the Aravaypa, and over into the broken country on -the other side of the Gabilan, or Hawk Cañon. - -Everything had happened exactly as the squaw had predicted it would, and -she showed that she was familiar with the slightest details of the -topography, and thus increased our confidence in what we had to expect -to such an extent that she was put in the lead, and we followed on -closely, obeying all her directions and instructions. Our men refrained -from whistling, from talking—almost, I might say, from breathing—because -she insisted upon such perfect silence while on the march. There were -few instructions given, and these were passed from mouth to mouth in -whispers. No one dared strike a match, lest the flash should alarm some -of the enemy’s pickets. We had no pack-train, and that great source of -noise—the shouting of packers to straying mules—was done away with. All -our rations were on our own backs, and with the exception of one led -mule, loaded with a couple of thousand rounds of extra ammunition, we -had absolutely nothing to impede the most rapid march. We walked slowly -over the high mountains, and down into deep ravines, passing through a -country which seemed well adapted for the home of Indians. There were -groves of acorn-bearing oaks, a considerable amount of mescal, Spanish -bayonet, some mesquite, and a plenty of grasses whose seeds could be -gathered by the squaws in their long, conical baskets, and then ground -between two oblong, half-round stones into a meal which would make a -pretty good mush. - -It was very dark and quite chilly as dawn drew nigh, and every one was -shivering with cold and hunger and general nervous excitement. The squaw -whispered that we were close upon the site of the “rancheria,” which was -in a little grassy amphitheatre a short distance in front. Slowly we -drew nearer and nearer to the doomed village, and traversed the smooth, -open place whereon the young bucks had been playing their great game of -“mushka,” in which they roll a hoop and then throw lance staves to fall -to the ground as the hoop ceases to roll. Very near this was a -slippery-faced rock—either slate or basalt, the darkness did not permit -a close examination—down which the children had been sliding to the -grass, and, just within biscuit-throw, the “jacales” of saplings and -branches. - -[Illustration: AN APACHE RANCHERIA.] - -Two of our party crawled up to the village, which preserved an ominous -silence. There were no barking dogs, no signs of fire, no wail of babes -to testify to the presence of human or animal life—in one word, the -Apaches had taken the alarm and abandoned their habitation. But they did -not leave us shivering long in doubt as to where they had gone, but at -once opened from the peaks with rifles, and at the first fire wounded -two of our men. It was entirely too dark for them to do much harm, and -utterly beyond our power to do anything against them. Their position was -an impregnable one on the crest of the surrounding ridges, and protected -by a heavy natural _cheval de frise_ of the scrub oak and other thorny -vegetation of the region. - -Cushing ordered the command to fall back on the trail and take up -position on the hill in the pass overlooking the site of the -“rancheria.” This we did without difficulty and without loss. The -Apaches continued their firing, and would have made us pay dear for our -rashness in coming into their home had not our withdrawal been covered -by a heavy fog, which screened the flanks of the mountains until quite a -late hour in the morning, something very unusual in Arizona, which is -remarkably free from mists at all seasons. - -Indignation converged upon the wretched squaw who had induced us to come -into what had all the appearance of a set ambuscade. The men had bound -her securely, and a rope was now brought out—a lariat—and cries were -heard on all sides to “hang her, hang her!” It is easy to see now that -she may have been perfectly innocent in her intentions, and that it was -not through collusion with the people in the village, but rather on -account of her running away from them, that the Apaches had been on the -look-out for an advance from the nearest military post; but on that -cold, frosty morning, when all were cross and tired and vexed with -disappointment, it looked rather ominous for the woman for a few -minutes. - -She was given the benefit of the doubt, and to do the men justice, they -were more desirous of scaring than of killing her for her supposed -treachery. She stuck to her story; she was dissatisfied with her people -on account of bad treatment, and wanted to lead us to a surprise of -their home. She did not pretend to say how it came about that they were -ready for us, but said that some of their young men out hunting, or -squaws out cutting and burning mescal, might have seen us coming up the -mountain, or “cut” our trail the night previous, and given the alarm. -She would stay with us as long as we chose to remain in those hills, but -her opinion was that nothing could now be done with the people of that -“rancheria,” because the whole country would be alarmed with signal -smokes, and every mountain would have a picket on the look-out for us. -Better return to the camp and wait until everything had quieted down, -and then slip out again. - -There was still a good deal of growling going on, and not all of the men -were satisfied with her talk. They shot angry glances at her, and freely -expressed their desire to do her bodily harm, which threats she could -perfectly understand without needing the slightest knowledge of our -language. To keep her from slipping off as the two other squaws had done -a fortnight previously, she was wrapped from head to feet with rope, so -that it was all she could do to breathe, much less think of escaping. -Another rope fastened her to a palo verde close to the little fire at -which our coffee was made, and alongside whose flickering embers the -sentinel paced as night began to draw its curtains near. She lay like a -log, making not the slightest noise or movement, but to all appearances -perfectly reconciled to the situation, and, after a while, fell off into -a profound sleep. - -We had what was known as “a running guard,” which means that every man -in the camp takes his turn at the duty of sentinel during the night. -This made the men on post have about half to three-quarters of an hour’s -duty each. Each of those posted near the prisoner gave a careful look at -her as he began to pace up and down near her, and each found that she -was sleeping calmly and soundly, until about eleven o’clock, or maybe a -few minutes nearer midnight, a recruit, who had just taken his turn on -post, felt his elbows pinioned fast behind him and his carbine almost -wrenched from his grasp. He was very muscular, and made a good fight to -retain his weapon and use it, but it fell to the ground, and the naked -woman plunged down the side of the hill straight through the chapparal -into the darkness profound. - -Bang! bang! sounded his carbine just as soon as he could pick it up from -the ground where it lay, and bang! bang! sounded others, as men -half-asleep awakened to the belief that there was a night attack. This -firing promptly ceased upon Cushing’s orders. There was not the -slightest possible use in wasting ammunition, and in besides running the -risk of hitting some of our own people. The squaw had escaped, and that -was enough. There lay her clothing, and the cocoon-like bundle of rope -which had bound her. She had wriggled out of her fastenings, and sprung -upon the sentinel, who was no doubt the least vigilant of all whom she -had observed, and had tried to snatch his weapon from him and thus -prevent an alarm being given until she had reached the bottom of the -hill. All the clothing she had on at the moment when she made her rush -upon the sentinel was an old and threadbare cavalry cape which hardly -covered her shoulders. - -Cold and damp and weary, we started on our homeward trip, feeling as -spiritless as a brood of half-drowned chickens. Even the Irish had -become glum, and could see nothing ridiculous in our mishap—a very bad -sign. - -“Blessed are they that expect nothing.” We didn’t expect and we didn’t -receive any mercy from our comrades upon getting back to the mess, and -the sharp tongue of raillery lost none of its power when the squaw came -in close upon our heels, saying that she could not leave her baby, that -her breast cried for it. She had told the truth. If we did not believe -her story, we could kill her, but let her see her baby again. Her desire -was gratified, and no harm came to her. The ordinary stagnation of the -post had been interrupted during our absence by the advent of an -addition to the little circle of captives, and there was much curiosity -to get a good look at the little black-eyed mite which lay cuddled up in -the arms of its dusky mother. - -I have purposely withheld mention of the only lady who shared the life -of Camp Grant with us—Mrs. Dodds, the wife of Doctor Dodds, our post -surgeon, or one of them, because we had two medical officers. She was of -a very sweet, gentle disposition, and never once murmured or complained, -but exerted herself to make the life of her husband as comfortable as -possible. - -Their quarters had a very cosey look, and one would find it hard to -believe that those comfortable chairs were nothing but barrels sawed out -to shape and cushioned and covered with chintz. That lounge was merely a -few packing boxes concealed under blankets and mattresses. Everything -else in the apartment was on the same scale and made of corresponding -materials. There was a manifest determination to do much with little, -and much had been done. - -Mrs. Dodds wore her honors as the belle of the garrison with becoming -graciousness and humility. She received in the kindest spirit the -efforts made by all of the rougher sex to render her stay among them -pleasant and, if possible, interesting. Not a day passed that did not -find her the recipient of some token of regard. It might not always be -the most appropriate sort of a thing, but that really made very little -difference. She accepted everything and tried to look as if each gift -had been the one for which she had been longing during her whole life. -She had a rattlesnake belt, made from one of the biggest and most -vicious reptiles ever seen in the vicinity. She had Apache baskets, -war-clubs, playing-cards, flutes, fiddles, and enough truck of the same -kind to load an army-wagon. The largest Gila monsters would have been -laid at her feet had she not distinctly and emphatically drawn the line -at Gila monsters. Tarantulas and centipedes, if properly bottled, were -not objectionable, but the Gila monster was more than she could stand, -and she so informed intending donors. She has been dead a number of -years, but it is hardly likely that she ever forgot until she drew her -last breath the days and weeks and months of her existence at Camp -Grant. - -Our own stay at the delightful summer resort had come to an end. Orders -received from department headquarters transferred our troop to Tucson, -as being a more central location and nearer supplies. Lieutenant Cushing -was ordered to take the field and keep it until further orders, which -meant that he was to be free to roam as he pleased over any and all -sections of the territory infested by the Apaches, and to do the best he -could against them. - -To a soldier of Cushing’s temperament this meant a great deal, and it is -needless to say that no better selection for such a duty could have been -made. - -We were packed up and out of the post in such quick time that I do not -remember whether it was twelve hours or twenty-four. To be sure, we did -not have an immense amount of plunder to pack. None the less did we work -briskly to carry out orders and get away in the shortest time possible. - -We had to leave one of our men in the hospital; he had accidentally shot -himself in the leg, and was now convalescing from the amputation. But -the rest were in the saddle and out on the road through the Santa -Catalina Cañon before you could say Jack Robinson. - -And not altogether without regret. There was a bright side to the old -rookery, which shone all the more lustrously now that we were saying -farewell. - -We had never felt lonesome by any means. There was always something -going on, always something to do, always something to see. - -The sunrises were gorgeous to look upon at the hour for morning stables, -when a golden and rosy flush bathed the purple peaks of the Pinaleño, -and at eventide there were great banks of crimson and purple and golden -clouds in the western horizon which no painter would have dared depict -upon canvas. - -There were opportunities for learning something about mineralogy in -the “wash” of the cañons, botany on the hill-sides, and insect life -and reptile life everywhere. Spanish could be picked up from Mexican -guides and packers, and much that was quaint and interesting in -savage life learned from an observation of the manners of the -captives—representatives of that race which the Americans have so -frequently fought, so generally mismanaged, and so completely failed -to understand. - -There was much rough work under the hardest of conditions, and the best -school for learning how to care for men and animals in presence of a -sleepless enemy, which no amount of “book l’arnin’” could supply. - -The distance from Old Camp Grant to Tucson, Arizona, over the -wagon-road, was fifty-five measured miles. The first half of the -journey, the first day’s march—as far as the Cañon del Oro—has already -been described. From the gloomy walls of the shady cañon, in which -tradition says gold was found in abundance in the earliest days of -occupation by the Caucasians, the wagons rolled rapidly over the -Eight-mile Mesa, over some slightly hilly and sandy country, until after -passing the Riito, when Tucson came in sight and the road became firmer. -All the way, on both sides of the road, and as far as eye could reach, -we had in sight the stately mescal, loaded with lovely velvety flowers; -the white-plumed Spanish bayonet, the sickly green palo verde, without a -leaf; the cholla, the nopal, the mesquite, whose “beans” were rapidly -ripening in the sultry sun, and the majestic “pitahaya,” or candelabrum -cactus, whose ruby fruit had long since been raided upon and carried off -by flocks of bright-winged humming-birds, than which no fairer or more -alert can be seen this side of Brazil. The “pitahaya” attains a great -height in the vicinity of Grant, Tucson, and MacDowell, and one which we -measured by its shadow was not far from fifty-five to sixty feet above -the ground. - -On this march the curious rider could see much to be remembered all the -days of his life. Piles of loose stones heaped up by loving hands -proclaimed where the Apaches had murdered their white enemies. The -projection of a rude cross of mescal or Spanish bayonet stalks was -evidence that the victim was a Mexican, and a son of Holy Mother Church. -Its absence was no index of religious belief, but simply of the -nationality being American. - -Of the weird, blood-chilling tales that were narrated as each of these -was passed I shall insert only one. It was the story, briefly told, of -two young men whose train had been attacked, whose comrades had been put -to flight, and who stood their ground resolutely until the arrows and -bullets of the foe had ended the struggle. When found, one of the bodies -was pierced with sixteen wounds, the other with fourteen. - -On the left flank, or eastern side, the view was hemmed in for the whole -distance by the lofty, pine-clad Sierra Santa Catalina; but to the north -one could catch glimpses of the summit of the black Pinal; to the west -there was a view over the low-lying Tortolita clear to the dim, azure -outlines which, in the neighborhood of the Gila Bend, preserved in -commemorative mesa-top the grim features of Montezuma, as Mexican myth -fondly averred. - -A little this side was the site of the “Casa Grande,” the old pile of -adobe, which has been quite as curious a ruin in the contemplation of -the irrepressible Yankee of modern days as it was to Coronado and his -followers when they approached it under the name of “Chichilticale” more -than three centuries and a half ago. - -Still nearer was the “Picacho,” marking the line of the Great Southern -Mail road; at its base the ranch of Charlie Shibell, where the stages -changed teams and travellers stopped to take supper, the scene of as -many encounters with the Apaches as any other spot in the whole -Southwest. Follow along a little more to the left, and there comes the -Santa Teresa Range, just back of Tucson, and credited by rumors as -reliable as any ever brought by contraband during the war with being the -repository of fabulous wealth in the precious metals; but no one has yet -had the Aladdin’s lamp to rub and summon the obedient genii who would -disclose the secret of its location. - -Far off to the south rises the glistening cone of the Baboquivari, the -sacred mountain in the centre of the country of the gentle Papagoes, and -on the east, as we get down nearer to the Riito, the more massive -outlines of the Santa Rita peak overshadowing the town of Tucson, and -the white, glaring roof of the beautiful mission ruin of San Xavier del -Bac. - -Within this space marched the columns of the Coronado expedition, armed -to the teeth in all the panoply of grim war, and bent on destruction and -conquest; and here, too, plodded meek friar and learned priest, the sons -of Francis or of Loyola, armed with the irresistible weapons of the -Cross, the Rosary, and the Sacred Text, and likewise bent upon -destruction and conquest—the destruction of idols and the conquest of -souls. - -These were no ordinary mortals, whom the imagination may depict as -droning over breviary or mumbling over beads. They were men who had, in -several cases at least, been eminent in civil pursuits before the -whispers of conscience bade them listen to the Divine command, “Give up -all and follow Me.” Eusebio Kino was professor of mathematics in the -University of Ingoldstadt, and had already made a reputation among the -scholars of Europe, when he relinquished his titles and position to -become a member of the order of Jesuits and seek a place in their -missionary ranks on the wildest of frontiers, where he, with his -companions, preached the word of God to tribes whose names even were -unknown in the Court of Madrid. - -Of these men and their labors, if space allow, we may have something to -learn a chapter or two farther on. Just now I find that all my powers of -persuasion must be exerted to convince the readers who are still with me -that the sand “wash” in which we are floundering is in truth a river, or -rather a little river—the “Riito”—the largest confluent of the Santa -Cruz. Could you only arrange to be with me, you unbelieving Thomases, -when the deluging rains of the summer solstice rush madly down the -rugged face of the Santa Catalina and swell this dry sand-bed to the -dimensions of a young Missouri, all tales would be more easy for you to -swallow. - -But here we are. That fringe of emerald green in the “bottom” is the -barley land surrounding Tucson; those gently waving cottonwoods outline -the shrivelled course of the Santa Cruz; those trees with the dark, -waxy-green foliage are the pomegranates behind Juan Fernandez’s corral. -There is the massive wall of the church of San Antonio now; we see -streets and houses, singly or in clusters, buried in shade or -unsheltered from the vertical glare of the most merciless of suns. Here -are pigs staked out to wallow in congenial mire—that is one of the -charming customs of the Spanish Southwest; and these—ah, yes, these are -dogs, unchained and running amuck after the heels of the horses, another -most charming custom of the country. - -Here are “burros” browsing upon tin cans—still another institution of -the country—and here are the hens and chickens, and the houses of mud, -of one story, flat, cheerless, and monotonous were it not for the -crimson “rastras” of chile which, like mediæval banners, are flung to -the outer wall. And women, young and old, wrapped up in “rebosos” and -“tapalos,” which conceal all the countenance but the left eye; and men -enfolded in cheap poll-parrotty blankets of cotton, busy in leaning -against the door-posts and holding up the weight of “sombreros,” as -large in diameter as cart-wheels and surrounded by snakes of silver -bullion weighing almost as much as the wearers. - -The horses are moving rapidly down the narrow street without prick of -spur. The wagons are creaking merrily, pulled by energetic mules, whose -efforts need not the urging of rifle-cracking whip in the hands of -skilful drivers. It is only because the drivers are glad to get to -Tucson that they explode the long, deadly black snakes, with which they -can cut a welt out of the flank or brush a fly from the belly of any -animal in their team. All the men are whistling or have broken out in -glad carol. Each heart is gay, for we have at last reached Tucson, the -commercial _entrepôt_ of Arizona and the remoter Southwest—Tucson, the -Mecca of the dragoon, the Naples of the desert, which one was to see and -die; Tucson, whose alkali pits yielded water sweeter than Well of -Zemzen, whose maidens were more charming, whose society was more -hospitable, merchants more progressive, magazines better stocked, -climate more dreamy, than any town from Santa Fé to Los Angeles; from -Hermosillo, in Sonora, to the gloomy chasm of the Grand Cañon—with one -exception only: its great rival, the thoroughly American town of -Prescott, in the bosom of the pine forests, amid the granite crags of -the foot-hills of the Mogollon. - -Camp Lowell, as the military post was styled, was located on the eastern -edge of the town itself. In more recent years it has been moved seven or -eight miles out to where the Riito is a flowing stream. We took up -position close to the quartermaster’s corral, erected such tents as -could be obtained, and did much solid work in the construction of -“ramadas” and other conveniences of branches. As a matter of comfort, -all the unmarried officers boarded in the town, of which I shall -endeavor to give a succinct but perfectly fair description as it -impressed itself upon me during the months of our sojourn in the -intervals between scouts against the enemy, who kept our hands full. - -My eyes and ears were open to the strange scenes and sounds which met -them on every side. Tucson was as foreign a town as if it were in Hayti -instead of within our own boundaries. The language, dress, funeral -processions, religious ceremonies, feasts, dances, games, joys, perils, -griefs, and tribulations of its population were something not to be -looked for in the region east of the Missouri River. I noted them all as -well as I knew how, kept my own counsel, and give now the _résumé_ of my -notes of the time. - -The “Shoo Fly” restaurant, which offered the comforts of a home to the -weary wayfarer in Tucson, Arizona, circa 1869, was named on the -principle of “_lucus à non lucendo_”—the flies wouldn’t shoo worth a -cent. Like the poor, they remained always with us. But though they might -bedim the legend, “All meals payable in advance,” they could not destroy -the spirit of the legend, which was the principle upon which our most -charming of landladies, Mrs. Wallen, did business. - -Mrs. Wallen deserves more than the hasty reference she is receiving in -these pages. She was a most attentive and well-meaning soul, understood -the mysteries, or some of the mysteries, of the culinary art, was -anxious to please, had never seen better days, and did not so much as -pretend to have seen any, not even through a telescope. - -She was not a widow, as the proprieties demanded under the -circumstances—all landladies that I’ve ever read or heard of have been -widows—but the circumstance that there was a male attached to the name -of Wallen did not cut much of a figure in the case, as it was a -well-understood fact that Mrs. Wallen was a woman of nerve and bound to -have her own way in all things. Consequently, the bifurcated shadow -which flitted about in the corral feeding the chickens, or made its -appearance from time to time in the kitchen among the tomato peelings, -did not make a very lasting impression upon either the regulars or the -“mealers,” the two classes of patrons upon whose dollars our good -hostess depended for the support of her establishment. - -One line only will be needed to lay before the reader the interior view -of the “Shoo Fly.” It was a long, narrow, low-ceiled room of adobe, -whose walls were washed in a neutral yellowish tint, whose floor was of -rammed earth and ceiling of white muslin. Place here and there, in -convenient positions, eight or ten tables of different sizes; cover them -with cheap cloths, cheap china and glass—I use the term “cheap” in -regard to quality only, and not in regard to the price, which had been -dear enough, as everything was in those days of freighting with mule and -“bull” teams from Leavenworth and Kit Carson. Place in the centre of -each table a lead castor with the obsolete yellow glass bottles; put one -large, cheap mirror on the wall facing the main entrance, and not far -from it a wooden clock, which probably served some mysterious purpose -other than time-keeping, because it was never wound up. Have pine -benches, and home-made chairs, with raw-hide bottoms fastened with -strings of the same material to the framework. Make the place look -decidedly neat and clean, notwithstanding the flies and the hot alkali -dust which penetrated upon the slightest excuse. Bring in two bright, -pleasant-mannered Mexican boys, whose dark complexions were well set off -by neat white cotton jackets and loose white cotton trousers, with -sometimes a colored sash about the waist. Give each of these young men a -fly-flapper as a badge of office, and the “Shoo Fly” is open for the -reception of guests. - -Napkins designated the seats of the regular boarders. “Mealers” were not -entitled to such distinction and never seemed to expect it. There was no -bill of fare. None was needed. Boarders always knew what they were going -to get—same old thing. There never was any change during all the time of -my acquaintance with the establishment, which, after all is said and -done, certainly contrived to secure for its patrons all that the limited -market facilities of the day afforded. Beef was not always easy to -procure, but there was no lack of bacon, chicken, mutton, and kid meat. -Potatoes ranked as luxuries of the first class, and never sold for less -than ten cents a pound, and often could not be had for love or money. -The soil of Arizona south of the Gila did not seem to suit their growth, -but now that the Apaches have for nearly twenty years been docile in -northern Arizona, and left its people free from terror and anxiety, they -have succeeded in raising the finest “Murphies” in the world in the damp -lava soil of the swales upon the summit of the great Mogollon Plateau. - -There was plenty of “jerked” beef, savory and palatable enough in stews -and hashes; eggs, and the sweet, toothsome black “frijoles” of Mexico; -tomatoes equal to those of any part of our country, and lettuce always -crisp, dainty, and delicious. For fresh fruit, our main reliance was -upon the “burro” trains coming up from the charming oasis of Hermosillo, -the capital of Sonora—a veritable garden of the Hesperides, in which -Nature was most lavish with her gifts of honey-juiced oranges, sweet -limes, lemons, edible quinces, and luscious apricots; but the apple, the -plum, and the cherry were unknown to us, and the strawberry only -occasionally seen. - -Very frequently the presence of Apaches along the road would cause a -panic in trains coming up from the south, and then there would be a -fruit famine, during which our sole reliance would be upon the mainstay -of boarding-house prosperity—stewed peaches and prunes. There were two -other articles of food which could be relied upon with reasonable -certainty—the red beet, which in the “alkali” lands attains a great -size, and the black fig of Mexico, which, packed in ceroons of cow’s -hide, often was carried about for sale. - -Chile Colorado entered into the composition of every dish, and great, -velvety-skinned, delicately flavored onions as large as dinner plates -ended the list—that is to say, the regular list. On some special -occasion there would be honey brought in from the Tia Juana Ranch in -Lower California, three or four hundred miles westward, and dried -shrimps from the harbor of Guaymas. In the harbor of Guaymas there are -oysters, too, and they are not bad, although small and a trifle coppery -to the taste of those who try them for the first time. Why we never had -any of them was, I suppose, on account of the difficulty of getting them -through in good condition without ice, so we had to be content with the -canned article, which was never any too good. From the Rio Grande in the -neighborhood of El Paso there came the “pasas,” or half-dried grape, in -whose praise too much could not be said. - -The tables were of pine, of the simplest possible construction. All were -bad enough, but some were a trifle more rickety than others. The one -which wobbled the least was placed close to the north side of the -banqueting-hall, where the windows gave the best “view.” - -Around this Belshazzarian board assembled people of such consideration -as Governor Safford, Lieutenant-Governor Bashford, Chief-Justice John -Titus, Attorney-General MacCaffrey, the genial Joe Wasson, Tom Ewing, -and several others. I was on a number of occasions honored with a seat -among them, and enjoyed at one and the same moment their conversation -and the “view” of which I have spoken. - -There was a foreground of old tin tomato cans, and a middle distance of -chicken feathers and chile peppers, with a couple of “burros” in the dim -perspective, and the requisite flitting of lights and shadows in the -foliage of one stunted mesquite-bush, which sheltered from the vertical -rays of the sun the crouching form of old Juanita, who was energetically -pounding between smooth stones the week’s washing of the household, and -supplying in the gaudy stripes of her bright “serape” the amount of -color which old-school critics used to maintain was indispensable to -every landscape. - -Juanita was old and discreet, but her thoughts were not altogether on -the world to come. Her face was ordinarily plastered with flour-paste, -the cosmetic of the Southwest. Why this attention to her toilet, the -wisest failed to tell; Often did I assure her that nothing could improve -her complexion—a statement not to be controverted—and never did she fail -to rebuke me with her most bewitching smile, and the words, “Ah! Don -Juan, you’re such a flatterer.” - -The gentlemen whose names I have just given are nearly all dead or so -well advanced in years and dignity that what I have to say now will not -sound like flattery. They had each and all travelled over a great deal -of the earth’s surface, and several of them were scholars of ripe -learning. I was much younger then than I am now, and of course the -attainments of men so much older than myself made a deep impression upon -me, but even to this day I would place the names of Titus and Bashford -in the list of scholars of erudition whom I have known, and very high up -in the list, too. - -The remainder of the patrons seemed to be about evenly divided between -the cynical grumblers who, having paid their score with regularity, -arrogated to themselves the right to asperse the viands; and the -eulogists who, owing to temporary financial embarrassments, were unable -to produce receipts, and sought to appease their not by any means too -hard-hearted landlady by the most fulsome adulation of the table and its -belongings. - -Like the brokers of Wall Street who are bulls to-day and bears -to-morrow, it not infrequently happened among the “Shoo Fly’s” patrons -that the most obdurate growler of last week changed front and assumed -position as the Advocatus Diaboli of this. - -But, take them for all in all, they were a good-hearted, whole-souled -lot of men, who had roughed it and smoothed it in all parts of the -world, who had basked in the smiles of Fortune and had not winced at her -frown; a trifle too quick on the trigger, perhaps, some of them, to be -perfectly well qualified to act as Sunday-school superintendents, yet -generous to the comrade in distress and polite to all who came near -them. The Western man—the Pacific Sloper especially—is much more urbane -and courteous under such circumstances than his neighbor who has grown -up on the banks of the Delaware or Hudson. There was bitter rivalry -between Mrs. Wallen and Mr. Neugass, the proprietor of the “Palace”—a -rivalry which diffused itself among their respective adherents. - -I make the statement simply to preserve the record of the times, that -the patrons of the “Shoo Fly” never let go an opportunity to insinuate -that the people to be met at the “Palace” were, to a large extent, -composed of the “_nouveaux riches_.” There was not the slightest -foundation for this, as I can testify, because I afterward sat at -Neugass’s tables, when Mrs. Wallen had retired from business and gone -into California, and can recall no difference at all in the character of -the guests. - -Tucson enjoyed the singular felicity of not possessing anything in the -shape of a hotel. Travellers coming to town, and not provided with -letters which would secure them the hospitality of private houses, -craved the privilege of “making down” their blankets in the most -convenient corral, and slept till early morn, undisturbed save by the -barking of dogs, which never ceased all through the night, or the -crowing of loud-voiced chanticleers, which began ere yet the dawn had -signalled with its first rosy flush from the peak of the Santa Rita. It -was the customary thing for wagon trains to halt and go into camp in the -middle of the plaza in front of the cathedral church of San Antonio, and -after the oxen or mules had been tied to the wheels, the drivers would -calmly proceed to stretch out tired limbs in the beautiful moonlight. - -I never could see the advantage of such a state of affairs, and felt -that it belittled the importance of the town, which really did a very -large business with the surrounding country for hundreds of miles. There -are always two and even three different ways of looking at the same -proposition, and to Bob Crandall and Vet Mowry this manner of camping -“_à la belle étoile_” was the one thing “to which they pointed with -pride.” It was proof of the glorious climate enjoyed by Tucson. Where -else in the whole world, sir, could a man camp out night after night all -the year round? Was it in Senegambia? No, sir. In Nova Zembla? No, sir. -In Hong Kong? No, sir. In Ireland?—but by this time one could cut off -the button, if necessary, and break away. - -So there were only three places in which people could get acquainted -with one another—in the “Shoo Fly” or “Palace” restaurants; in the -gambling resorts, which never closed, night or day, Sunday or Monday; -and at the post-office, in the long line of Mexicans and Americans -slowly approaching the little square window to ask for letters. - -For the convenience of my readers and myself, I will take the liberty of -presenting some of my dead and gone friends in the “Shoo Fly,” where we -can have seats upon which to rest, and tables upon which to place our -elbows, if we so desire. - -But first a word or two more about Tucson itself. - -It was in those days the capital of the Territory of Arizona, and the -place of residence of most of the Federal officials. Its geographical -situation was on the right bank of the pretty little stream called the -Santa Cruz, a mile or more above where it ran into the sands. In round -figures, it was on the 32d degree of north latitude, and not far from -the 112th degree west from Greenwich. The valley of the Santa Cruz, -although not much over a mile and a half wide, is wonderfully fertile, -and will yield bountifully of all cereals, as well as of the fruits of -the south temperate or north tropical climes, and could easily have -supported a much larger population, but on account of the bitter and -unrelenting hostilities waged by the Apaches, not more than 3,200 souls -could be claimed, although enthusiasts often deluded themselves into a -belief in much higher figures, owing to the almost constant presence of -trains of wagons hauled by patient oxen or quick-moving mules, or -“carretas” drawn by the philosophical donkey or “burro” from Sonora. The -great prairie-schooners all the way from the Missouri River made a very -imposing appearance, as, linked two, and even three, together, they -rolled along with their heavy burdens, to unload at the warehouses of -the great merchants, Lord & Williams, Tully, Ochoa & De Long, the -Zeckendorfs, Fish & Collingwood, Leopoldo Carrillo, or other of the men -of those days whose transactions ran each year into the hundreds of -thousands of dollars. - -Streets and pavements there were none; lamps were unheard of; drainage -was not deemed necessary, and water, when not bought from the old -Mexican who hauled it in barrels in a dilapidated cart from the cool -spring on the bishop’s farm, was obtained from wells, which were good -and sweet in the first months of their career, but generally became so -impregnated with “alkali” that they had to be abandoned; and as lumber -was worth twenty-five cents a foot, and therefore too costly to be used -in covering them, they were left to dry up of their own accord, and -remain a menace to the lives and limbs of belated pedestrians. There was -no hint in history or tradition of a sweeping of the streets, which were -every bit as filthy as those of New York. - -The age of the garbage piles was distinctly defined by geological -strata. In the lowest portion of all one could often find arrowheads and -stone axes, indicative of a pre-Columbian origin; super-imposed -conformably over these, as the geologists used to say, were skins of -chile Colorado, great pieces of rusty spurs, and other reliquiæ of the -“Conquistadores,” while high above all, stray cards, tomato cans, beer -bottles, and similar evidences of a higher and nobler civilization told -just how long the Anglo-Saxon had called the territory his own. - -This filthy condition of the streets gave rise to a weird system of -topographical designation. “You want to find the Governor’s? Wa’al, -podner, jest keep right down this yere street past the Palace s’loon, -till yer gets ter the second manure-pile on yer right; then keep to yer -left past the post-office, ’n’ yer’ll see a dead burro in th’ middle of -th’ road, ’n’ a mesquite tree ’n yer lef’, near a Mexican ‘tendajon’ -(small store), ’n’ jes’ beyond that’s the Gov.’s outfit. Can’t miss it. -Look out fur th’ dawg down ter Muñoz’s corral; he’s a salviated son ov a -gun.” - -It took some time for the ears of the “tenderfoot” just out from the -States to become habituated to the chronology of that portion of our -vast domain. One rarely heard months, days, or weeks mentioned. The -narrator of a story had a far more convenient method of referring back -to dates in which his auditory might be interested. “Jes’ about th’ time -Pete Kitchen’s ranch was jumped”—which wasn’t very satisfactory, as Pete -Kitchen’s ranch was always getting “jumped.” “Th’ night afore th’ -Maricopa stage war tuck in.” “A week or two arter Winters made his last -’killin’’ in th’ Dragoons.” “Th’ last fight down to th’ Picach.” “Th’ -year th’ Injuns run off Tully, Ochoa ’n’ DeLong bull teams.” - -Or, under other aspects of the daily life of the place, there would be -such references as, “Th’ night after Duffield drawed his gun on Jedge -Titus”—a rather uncertain reference, since Duffield was always “drawin’ -his gun” on somebody. “Th’ time of th’ feast (_i.e._, of Saint -Augustine, the patron saint of the town), when Bob Crandall broke th’ -‘Chusas’ game fur six hundred dollars,” and other expressions of similar -tenor, which replaced the recollections of “mowing time,” and “harvest,” -and “sheep-shearing” of older communities. - -Another strain upon the unduly excitable brain lay in the impossibility -of learning exactly how many miles it was to a given point. It wasn’t -“fifty miles,” or “sixty miles,” or “just a trifle beyond the Cienaga, -and that’s twenty-five miles,” but rather, “Jes’ on th’ rise of the mesa -as you git to th’ place whar Samaniego’s train stood off th’ Apaches;” -or, “A little yan way from whar they took in Colonel Stone’s stage;” or, -“Jes’ whar th’ big ‘killin’’ tuk place on th’ long mesa,” and much more -of the same sort. - -There were watches and clocks in the town, and some Americans went -through the motions of consulting them at intervals. So far as influence -upon the community went, they might just as well have been in the bottom -of the Red Sea. The divisions of the day were regulated and determined -by the bells which periodically clanged in front of the cathedral -church. When they rang out their wild peal for early Mass, the little -world by the Santa Cruz rubbed its eyes, threw off the slight covering -of the night, and made ready for the labors of the day. The alarm clock -of the Gringo might have been sounding for two hours earlier, but not -one man, woman, or child would have paid the slightest attention to the -cursed invention of Satan. When the Angelus tolled at meridian, all made -ready for the noon-day meal and the post-prandial siesta; and when the -hour of vespers sounded, adobes dropped from the palsied hands of -listless workmen, and docile Papagoes, wrapping themselves in their -pieces of “manta” or old “rebosos,” turned their faces southward, -mindful of the curfew signal learned from the early missionaries. - -They were a singular people, the Papagoes; honest, laborious, docile, -sober, and pure—not an improper character among them. Only one white man -had ever been allowed to marry into the tribe—Buckskin Aleck Stevens, of -Cambridge, Mass., and that had to be a marriage with bell, book, and -candle and every formality to protect the bride. - -I do not know anything about the Papagoes of to-day, and am prepared to -hear that they have sadly degenerated. The Americans have had twenty -years in which to corrupt them, and the intimacy can hardly have been to -the advantage of the red man. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - -SOME OF THE FRIENDS MET IN OLD TUCSON—JACK LONG—HIS DIVORCE—MARSHAL - DUFFIELD AND “WACO BILL”—“THEM ’ERE’S MEE VISITIN’ KEE-YARD”—JUDGE - TITUS AND CHARLES O. BROWN—HOW DUFFIELD WAS KILLED—UNCLE BILLY N—— - AND HIS THREE GLASS EYES—AL. GARRETT—DOCTOR SEMIG AND LIEUTENANT - SHERWOOD—DON ESTEVAN OCHOA—BISHOP SALPOINTE—PETE KITCHEN AND HIS - RANCH. - - -“See yar, muchacho, move roun’ lively now, ’n’ git me a Jinny Lin’ -steak.” It was a strong, hearty voice which sounded in my ears from the -table just behind me in the “Shoo Fly,” and made me mechanically turn -about, almost as much perplexed as was the waiter-boy, Miguel, by the -strange request. - -“Would you have any objection, sir, to letting me know what you mean by -a Jenny Lind steak?” - -“A Jinny Lin’ steak, mee son, ’s a steak cut from off a hoss’s upper -lip. I makes it a rule allers to git what I orders; ’n’ ez far’s I kin -see, I’ll get a Jinny Lin’ steak anyhow in this yere outfit, so I’m -kinder takin’ time by the fetlock, ’n’ orderin’ jes’ what I want. My -name’s Jack Long; what mout your’n be?” - -It was apparent, at half a glance, that Jack Long was not “in sassiety,” -unless it might be a “sassiety” decidedly addicted to tobacco, given to -the use of flannel instead of “b’iled” shirts, never without six-shooter -on hip, and indulging in profanity by the wholesale. - -A better acquaintance with old Jack showed that, like the chestnut, his -roughest part was on the outside. Courage, tenderness, truth, and other -manly attributes peered out from under roughness of garb and speech. He -was one of Gray’s “gems of purest ray serene,” born in “the dark, -unfathomed caves” of frontier isolation. - -Jack Long had not always been “Jack” Long. Once, way back in the early -fifties, he and his “podners” had struck it rich on some “placer” -diggings which they had preëmpted on the Yuba, and in less than no time -my friend was heralded to the mountain communities as “Jedge” Long. This -title had never been sought, and, in justice to the recipient, it should -be made known that he discarded it at once, and would none of it. The -title “Jedge” on the frontier does not always imply respect, and Jack -would tolerate nothing ambiguous. - -He was bound to be a gentleman or nothing. Before the week was half over -he was arrayed, not exactly like Solomon, but much more conspicuously, -in the whitest of “b’iled” shirts, in the bosom of which glistened the -most brilliant diamond cluster pin that money could procure from -Sacramento. On the warty red fingers of his right hand sparkled its -mate, and pendent from his waist a liberal handful of the old-fashioned -seals and keys of the time attracted attention to the ponderous gold -chain encircling his neck, and securing the biggest specimen of a watch -known to fact or fiction since the days of Captain Cuttle. - -Carelessly strolling up to the bar of the “Quartz Rock,” the “Hanging -Wall,” or the “Golden West,” he would say, in the cheeriest way: - -“Gents, what’ll yer all hev? It’s mine this time, barkeep.” And, -spurning the change obsequiously tendered by the officiating genius of -the gilded slaughter-house of morality, Jack would push back the -twenty-dollar gold piece with which he usually began his evenings with -“the boys,” and ask, in a tone of injured pride: “Is there any use in -insultin’ a man when he wants to treat his friends?” And barkeeper and -all in the den would voice the sentiment that a “gent” who was as -liberal with his double eagles as Colonel Long was a gent indeed, and a -man anybody could afford to tie to. - -It was the local paper which gave Jack his military title, and alluded -to the growing demand that the colonel should accept the nomination for -Congress. And to Congress he would have gone, too, had not fickle -Fortune turned her back upon her whilom favorite. - -Jack had the bad luck to fall in love and to be married—not for the -first time, as he had had previous experience in the same direction, his -first wife being the youngest daughter of the great Indian chief -“Cut-Mouth John,” of the Rogue River tribe, who ran away from Jack and -took to the mountains when her people went on the war-path. The then -wife was a white woman from Missouri, and, from all I can learn, a very -good mate for Jack, excepting that prosperity turned her head and made -her very extravagant. So long as Jack’s mine was panning out freely Jack -didn’t mind much what she spent, but when it petered, and economy became -necessary, dissensions soon arose between them, and it was agreed that -they were not compatible. - -“If you don’t like me,” said Mrs. Long one day, “give me a divorce and -one-half of what you have, and I’ll leave you.” - -“’Nuff sed,” was Jack’s reply, “’n’ here goes.” - -The sum total in the Long exchequer was not quite $200. Of this, Jack -laid to one side a double eagle, for a purpose soon to be explained. The -remainder was divided into two even piles, one of which was handed over -to his spouse. The doors of the wardrobe stood open, disclosing all of -Jack’s regal raiment. He seized a pair of trousers, tore them leg from -leg, and then served in much the same way every coat, waistcoat, or -undergarment he owned. One pile of remnants was assigned to the -stupefied woman, who ten minutes previously had been demanding a -separation. - -Before another ten had passed her own choicest treasures had shared the -same fate, and her ex-liege lord was devoting his attention to breaking -the cooking stove, with its superstructure of pots and pans and kettles, -into two little hillocks of battered fragments; and no sooner through -with that than at work sawing the tables and chairs in half and knocking -the solitary mirror into smithereens. - -“Thar yer are,” said Jack. “Ye ’v’ got half th’ money, ’n’ yer kin now -tek yer pick o’ what’s left.” - -The stage had come along on its way down to Sacramento, and Jack hailed -the driver. “Mrs. Long’s goin’ down th’ road a bit ter see some o’ her -kin, ’n’ ter get a breath o’ fresh air. Tek her ez fur ez this ’ll pay -fur, ’n’ then _she_’ll tell whar else she wants ter go.” - -And that was Jack Long’s divorce and the reason why he left the mining -regions of California and wandered far and near, beginning the battle of -life anew as packer and prospector, and drifting down into the drainage -of the Gila and into the “Shoo Fly” restaurant, where we have just met -him. - -There shall be many other opportunities of meeting and conversing with -old Jack before the campaigning against the Apaches is half through, so -we need not urge him to remain now that he has finished his meal and is -ready to sally forth. We return heartily the very cheery greeting -tendered by the gentleman who enters the dining-room in his place. It is -ex-Marshal Duffield, a very peculiar sort of a man, who stands credited -in public opinion with having killed thirteen persons. How much of this -is truth and how much is pure gossip, as meaningless as the chatter of -the “pechotas” which gather along the walls of the corral every evening -the moment the grain of the horses is dealt out to them, I cannot say; -but if the reader desire to learn of a unique character in our frontier -history he will kindly permit me to tell something of the only man in -the Territory of Arizona, and I may say of New Mexico and western Texas -as well, who dared wear a plug hat. There was nothing so obnoxious in -the sight of people living along the border as the black silk tile. The -ordinary man assuming such an addition to his attire would have done so -at the risk of his life, but Duffield was no ordinary individual. He -wore clothes to suit himself, and woe to the man who might fancy -otherwise. - -Who Duffield was before coming out to Arizona I never could learn to my -own satisfaction. Indeed, I do not remember ever having any but the most -languid interest in that part of his career, because he kept us so fully -occupied in keeping track of his escapades in Arizona that there was -very little time left for investigations into his earlier movements. Yet -I do recall the whispered story that he had been one of President -Lincoln’s discoveries, and that the reason for his appointment lay in -the courage Duffield had displayed in the New York riots during the war. -It seems—and I tell the tale with many misgivings, as my memory does not -retain all the circumstances—that Duffield was passing along one of the -streets in which the rioters were having things their own way, and there -he saw a poor devil of a colored man fleeing from some drunken pursuers, -who were bent on hanging him to the nearest lamp-post. Duffield allowed -the black man to pass him, and then, as the mob approached on a hot -scent, he levelled his pistol—his constant companion—and blew out the -brains of the one in advance, and, as the story goes, hit two others, as -fast as he could draw bead on them, for I must take care to let my -readers know that my friend was one of the crack shots of America, and -was wont while he lived in Tucson to drive a ten-penny nail into an -adobe wall every day before he would go into the house to eat his -evening meal. At the present moment he was living at the “Shoo Fly,” and -was one of the most highly respected members of the mess that gathered -there. He stood not less than six feet three in his stockings, was -extremely broad-shouldered, powerful, muscular, and finely knit; dark -complexion, black hair, eyes keen as briars and black as jet, fists as -big as any two fists to be seen in the course of a day; disputatious, -somewhat quarrelsome, but not without very amiable qualities. His -bravery, at least, was never called in question. He was no longer United -States marshal, but was holding the position of Mail Inspector, and the -manner in which he discharged his delicate and dangerous duties was -always commendable and very often amusing. - -“You see, it ’s jest like this,” he once remarked to the postmaster of -one of the smallest stations in his jurisdiction, and in speaking the -inspector’s voice did not show the slightest sign of anger or -excitement—“you see, the postmaster-general is growling at me because -there is so much thieving going on along this line, so that I’m gittin’ -kind o’ tired ’n’ must git th’ whole bizz off mee mind; ’n’ ez I’ve -looked into the whole thing and feel satisfied that you’re the thief, I -think you’d better be pilin’ out o’ here without any more nonsense.” - -The postmaster was gone inside of twelve hours, and there was no more -stealing on that line while Duffield held his position. Either the rest -of the twelve dollars per annum postmasters were an extremely honest -set, or else they were scared by the mere presence of Duffield. He used -to be very fond of showing his powerful muscle, and would often seize -one of the heavy oak chairs in the “Congress Hall” bar-room in one hand, -and lift it out at arm’s length; or take some of the people who stood -near him and lift them up, catching hold of the feet only. - -How well I remember the excitement which arose in Tucson the day that -“Waco Bill” arrived in town with a wagon train on its way to Los -Angeles. Mr. “Waco Bill” was a “tough” in the truest sense of the term, -and being from half to three-quarters full of the worst liquor to be -found in Tucson—and I hope I am violating no confidence when I say that -some of the vilest coffin varnish on the mundane sphere was to be found -there by those who tried diligently—was anxious to meet and subdue this -Duffield, of whom such exaggerated praise was sounding in his ears. - -“Whar’s Duffer?” he cried, or hiccoughed, as he approached the little -group of which Duffield was the central figure. “I want Duffer (_hic_); -he ’s my meat. Whoop!” - -The words had hardly left his mouth before something shot out from -Duffield’s right shoulder. It was that awful fist, which could, upon -emergency, have felled an ox, and down went our Texan sprawling upon the -ground. No sooner had he touched Mother Earth than, true to his Texan -instincts, his hand sought his revolver, and partly drew it out of -holster. Duffield retained his preternatural calmness, and did not raise -his voice above a whisper the whole time that his drunken opponent was -hurling all kinds of anathemas at him; but now he saw that something -must be done. In Arizona it was not customary to pull a pistol upon a -man; that was regarded as an act both unchristian-like and wasteful of -time—Arizonanas nearly always shot out of the pocket without drawing -their weapons at all, and into Mr. “Waco Bill’s” groin went the sure -bullet of the man who, local wits used to say, wore crape upon his hat -in memory of his departed virtues. - -The bullet struck, and Duffield bent over with a most Chesterfieldian -bow and wave of the hand: “My name’s Duffield, sir,” he said, “and them -’ere ’s mee visitin’ card.” - -If there was one man in the world who despised another it was -Chief-Justice John Titus in his scorn for the ex-marshal, which found -open expression on every occasion. Titus was a gentleman of the old -school, educated in the City of Brotherly Love, and anxious to put down -the least semblance of lawlessness and disorder; yet here was an officer -of the Government whose quarrels were notorious and of every-day -occurrence. - -Persuasion, kindly remonstrance, earnest warning were alike ineffectual, -and in time the relations between the two men became of the most formal, -not to say rancorous, character. Judge Titus at last made up his mind -that the very first excuse for so doing he would have Duffield hauled up -for carrying deadly weapons, and an occasion arose much sooner than he -imagined. - -There was a “baile” given that same week, and Duffield was present with -many others. People usually went on a peace footing to these -assemblies—that is to say, all the heavy armament was left at home, and -nothing taken along but a few Derringers, which would come handy in case -of accident. - -There were some five or six of us—all friends of Duffield—sitting in a -little back room away from the long saloon in which the dance was going -on, and we had Duffield in such good humor that he consented to produce -some if not all of the weapons with which he was loaded. He drew them -from the arm-holes of his waistcoat, from his boot-legs, from his -hip-pockets, from the back of his neck, and there they all were—eleven -lethal weapons, mostly small Derringers, with one knife. Comment was -useless; for my own part, I did not feel called upon to criticise my -friend’s eccentricities or amiable weaknesses, whatever they might be, -so I kept my mouth shut, and the others followed my example. I suppose -that on a war-footing nothing less than a couple of Gatling guns would -have served to round out the armament to be brought into play. - -Whether it was a true alarm or a false one I couldn’t tell, but the next -day Judge Titus imagined that a movement of Duffield’s hand was intended -to bring to bear upon himself a portion of the Duffield ordnance, and he -had the old man arrested and brought before him on the charge of -carrying concealed deadly weapons. - -The court-room was packed with a very orderly crowd, listening -attentively to a long exordium from the lips of the judge upon the -enormity and the uselessness of carrying concealed deadly weapons. The -judge forgot that men would carry arms so long as danger real or -imaginary encompassed them, and that the opinions prevailing upon that -subject in older communities could not be expected to obtain in the -wilder regions. - -In Arizona, the reader should know, all the officers of the law were -Americans. In New Mexico, on the contrary, they were almost without -exception Mexicans, and the legal practice was entirely different from -our own, as were the usages and customs of various kinds. For example, -one could go before one of those Rio Grande alcaldes in Socorro, San -Antonio, or Sabinal, and wear just what clothes he pleased, or not wear -any if he didn’t please; it would be all right. He might wear a hat, or -go in his shirt sleeves, or go barefoot, or roll himself a cigarrito, -and it would be all right. But let him dare enter with spurs, and the -ushers would throw him out, and it was a matter of great good luck if he -did not find himself in the calaboose to boot, for contempt of court. - -“Call the first witness; call Charles O. Brown.” - -Mr. Charles O. Brown, under oath, stated his name, residence, and -occupation, and was then directed to show to the judge and jury how the -prisoner—Duffield—had drawn his revolver the day previous. - -“Well, jedge, the way he drawed her was jest this.” And suiting the -action to the word, Mr. Charles O. Brown, the main witness for the -prosecution, drew a six-shooter, fully cocked, from the holster on his -hip. There was a ripple of laughter in the courtroom, as every one saw -at once the absurdity of trying to hold one man responsible for the -misdemeanor of which a whole community was guilty, and in a few minutes -the matter was _nolle prossed_. - -I will end up the career of the marshal in this chapter, as we shall -have no further cause to introduce him in these pages. His courage was -soon put to the severest sort of a test when a party of desperadoes from -Sonora, who had been plundering in their own country until driven across -the line, began their operations in Arizona. At the dead of night they -entered Duffield’s house, and made a most desperate assault upon him -while asleep in his bed. By some sort of luck the blow aimed with a -hatchet failed to hit him on head or neck—probably his assailants were -too drunk to see what they were doing—and chopped out a frightful gash -in the shoulder, which would have killed the general run of men. -Duffield, as has been shown, was a giant in strength, and awakened by -the pain, and at once realizing what had happened, he sprang from his -couch and grappled with the nearest of the gang of burglars, choked him, -and proceeded to use him as a weapon with which to sweep out of the -premises the rest of the party, who, seeing that the household had been -alarmed, made good their escape. - -Duffield was too much exhausted from loss of blood to retain his hold -upon the rascal whom he had first seized, so that Justice did not -succeed in laying her hands upon any of the band. When Duffield -recovered sufficiently to be able to reappear on the streets, he did not -seem to be the same man. He no longer took pleasure in rows, but acted -like one who had had enough of battles, and was willing to live at peace -with his fellow-men. Unfortunately, if one acquire the reputation of -being “a bad man” on the frontier, it will stick to him for a generation -after he has sown his wild oats, and is trying to bring about a rotation -of crops. - -Duffield was killed at Tombstone ten years since, not far from the -Contention Mine, by a young man named Holmes, who had taken up a claim -in which Duffield asserted an interest. The moment he saw Duffield -approaching he levelled a shot-gun upon him, and warned him not to move -a foot, and upon Duffield’s still advancing a few paces he filled him -full of buckshot, and the coroner’s jury, without leaving their seats, -returned a verdict of justifiable homicide, because the old, old -Duffield, who was “on the shoot,” was still remembered, and the new man, -who had turned over a new leaf and was trying to lead a new life, was -still a stranger in the land. - -Peace to his ashes! - -There were military as well as non-military men in Tucson, and although -the following incident did not occur under my personal observation, and -was one of those stories that “leak out,” I tell it as filling in a gap -in the description of life as it was in Arizona twenty and twenty-five -years ago. All the persons concerned were boarders at the “Shoo Fly,” -and all are now dead, or out of service years and years ago. - -The first was the old field officer whom, for want of a better name, -every one called “Old Uncle Billy N——.” He had met with a grievous -misfortune, and lost one of his eyes, but bore his trouble with stoicism -and without complaint. During a brief visit to Boston, he had arranged -with an oculist and optician to have made for him three glass eyes. “But -I don’t clearly understand what you want with so many,” said the Boston -man. - -“Well, I’ll tell you,” replied the son of Mars. “You see, I want one for -use when I’m sober, one when I’m drunk, and one when I’m p—— d—— drunk.” - -The glass eyes were soon ready to meet the varying conditions of the -colonel’s life, and gave the old man the liveliest satisfaction. Not -long after his return to the bracing climate of Tucson he made the round -of the gaming-tables at the Feast of Saint Augustine, which was then in -full blast, and happened to “copper” the ace, when he should have bet -“straight,” and bet on the queen when that fickle lady was refusing the -smile of her countenance to all her admirers. It was a gloomy day for -the colonel when he awaked to find himself almost without a dollar, and -no paymaster to be expected from San Francisco for a couple of months. A -brilliant thought struck him; he would economize by sending back to -Boston two of his stock of glass eyes, which he did not really need, as -the “sober” and “tolerably drunk” ones had never been used, and ought to -fetch something of a price at second-hand. - -The Boston dealer, however, curtly refused to negotiate a sale, saying -that he did not do business in that way, and, as if to add insult to -injury, enclosed the two eyes in a loose sheet of paper, which was -inscribed with a pathetic story about “The Drunkard Saved.” It took at -least a dozen rounds of drinks before the colonel could drown his wrath, -and satisfy the inquiries of condoling friends who had learned of the -brutal treatment to which he had been subjected. - -A great friend of the colonel’s was Al. Garrett, who in stature was his -elder’s antithesis, being as short and wiry as the colonel was large and -heavy. Garrett was an extremely good-hearted youngster, and one of the -best horsemen in the whole army. His admirers used to claim that he -could ride anything with four legs to it, from a tarantula to a -megatherium. Semig, the third of the trio, was a Viennese, a very -cultivated man, a graduate in medicine, an excellent musician, a -graceful dancer, well versed in modern languages, and well educated in -every respect. He was the post surgeon at Camp Crittenden, sixty miles -to the south of Tucson, but was temporarily at the latter place. - -He and Garrett and Uncle Billy were making the best of their way home -from supper at the “Shoo Fly” late one evening, and had started to cut -across lots after passing the “Plaza.” - -There were no fences, no covers—nothing at all to prevent pedestrians -from falling into some one of the innumerable abandoned wells which were -to be met with in every block, and it need surprise no one to be told -that in the heat of argument about some trivial matter the worthy -medical officer, who was walking in the middle, fell down plump some -fifteen or twenty feet, landing in a more or less bruised condition upon -a pile of adobes and pieces of rock at the bottom. - -Garrett and his elderly companion lurched against each other and -continued the discussion, oblivious of the withdrawal of their -companion, who from his station at the bottom of the pit, like another -Joseph, was bawling for his heartless brothers to return and take him -out. After his voice failed he bethought him of his revolver, which he -drew from hip, and with which he blazed away, attracting the attention -of a party of Mexicans returning from a dance, who too hastily concluded -that Semig was a “Gringo” spoiling for a fight, whereupon they gave him -their best services in rolling down upon him great pieces of adobe, -which imparted renewed vigor to Semig’s vocalization and finally -awakened the Mexicans to a suspicion of the true state of the case. - -The poor doctor never heard the last of his mishap, and very likely was -glad to receive the order which transferred him to the Modoc War, -wherein he received the wounds of which he afterward died. He showed -wonderful coolness in the Lava Beds, and even after the Indians had -wounded him in the shoulder and he had been ordered off the field, he -refused to leave the wounded under fire until a second shot broke his -leg and knocked him senseless. - -Associated with Semig in my recollection is the name of young Sherwood, -a First Lieutenant in the Twenty-first Infantry, who met his death in -the same campaign. He was a man of the best impulses, bright, brave, and -generous, and a general favorite. - -This rather undersized gentleman coming down the street is a man with a -history—perhaps it might be perfectly correct to say with two or three -histories. He is Don Estevan Ochoa, one of the most enterprising -merchants, as he is admitted to be one of the coolest and bravest men, -in all the southwestern country. He has a handsome face, a keen black -eye, a quick, business-like air, with very polished and courteous -manners. - -During the war the Southern leaders thought they would establish a chain -of posts across the continent from Texas to California, and one of their -first movements was to send a brigade of Texans to occupy Tucson. The -commanding general—Turner by name—sent for Don Estevan and told him that -he had been informed that he was an outspoken sympathizer with the cause -of the Union, but he hoped that Ochoa would see that the Union was a -thing of the past, and reconcile himself to the new state of affairs, -and take the oath to the Confederacy, and thus relieve the new commander -from the disagreeable responsibility of confiscating his property and -setting him adrift outside his lines. - -Don Estevan never hesitated a moment. He was not that kind of a man. His -reply was perfectly courteous, as I am told all the talk on the part of -the Confederate officer had been. Ochoa owed all he had in the world to -the Government of the United States, and it would be impossible for him -to take an oath of fidelity to any hostile power or party. When would -General Turner wish him to leave? - -He was allowed to select one of his many horses, and to take a pair of -saddle-bags filled with such clothing and food as he could get together -on short notice, and then, with a rifle and twenty rounds of ammunition, -was led outside the lines and started for the Rio Grande. How he ever -made his way across those two hundred and fifty miles of desert and -mountains which intervened between the town of Tucson and the Union -outposts nearer to the Rio Grande, I do not know—nobody knows. The -country was infested by the Apaches, and no one of those upon whom he -turned his back expected to hear of his getting through alive. But he -did succeed, and here he is, a proof of devotion to the cause of the -nation for which it would be hard to find a parallel. When the Union -troops reoccupied Tucson Don Estevan resumed business and was soon -wealthy again, in spite of the tribute levied by the raiding Apaches, -who once ran off every head of draught oxen the firm of Tully, Ochoa & -De Long possessed, and never stopped until they had crossed the Rio -Salado, or Salt River, where they killed and “jerked” the meat on the -slope of that high mesa which to this day bears the name of “Jerked Beef -Butte.” - -Another important factor in the formative period of Arizona’s growth is -this figure walking briskly by, clad in the cassock of an ecclesiastic. -It is Bishop Salpointe, a man of learning, great administrative -capacity, and devoted to the interests of his people. He preaches -little, but practises much. In many ways unknown to his flock he is busy -with plans for their spiritual and worldly advancement, and the work he -accomplishes in establishing schools, both in Tucson and in the Papago -village of San Xavier, is something which should not soon be forgotten -by the people benefited. He is very poor. All that one can see in his -house is a crucifix and a volume of precious manuscript notes upon the -Apaches and Papagoes. He seems to be always cheerful. His poverty he -freely shares with his flock, and I have often thought that if he ever -had any wealth he would share that too. - -This one whom we meet upon the street as we leave to visit one of the -gambling saloons is Pete Kitchen. We shall be in luck if he invite us to -visit him at his “ranch,” which has all the airs of a feudal castle in -the days of chivalry. Peter Kitchen has probably had more contests with -Indians than any other settler in America. He comes from the same stock -which sent out from the lovely vales and swales in the Tennessee -Mountains the contingent of riflemen who were to cut such a conspicuous -figure at the battle of New Orleans, and Peter finds just as steady -employment for his trusty rifle as ever was essential in the Delta. - -Approaching Pete Kitchen’s ranch, one finds himself in a fertile valley, -with a small hillock near one extremity. Upon the summit of this has -been built the house from which no effort of the Apaches has ever -succeeded in driving our friend. There is a sentinel posted on the roof, -there is another out in the “cienaga” with the stock, and the men -ploughing in the bottom are obliged to carry rifles, cocked and loaded, -swung to the plough handle. Every man and boy is armed with one or two -revolvers on hip. There are revolvers and rifles and shotguns along the -walls and in every corner. Everything speaks of a land of warfare and -bloodshed. The title of “Dark and Bloody Ground” never fairly belonged -to Kentucky. Kentucky never was anything except a Sunday-school -convention in comparison with Arizona, every mile of whose surface could -tell its tale of horror were the stones and gravel, the sage-brush and -mescal, the mesquite and the yucca, only endowed with speech for one -brief hour. - -Within the hospitable walls of the Kitchen home the traveller was made -to feel perfectly at ease. If food were not already on the fire, some of -the women set about the preparation of the savory and spicy stews for -which the Mexicans are deservedly famous, and others kneaded the dough -and patted into shape the paper-like tortillas with which to eat the -juicy frijoles or dip up the tempting chile colorado. There were women -carding, spinning, sewing—doing the thousand and one duties of domestic -life in a great ranch, which had its own blacksmith, saddler, and -wagonmaker, and all other officials needed to keep the machinery running -smoothly. - -Between Pete Kitchen and the Apaches a ceaseless war was waged, with the -advantages not all on the side of Kitchen. His employees were killed and -wounded, his stock driven away, his pigs filled with arrows, making the -suffering quadrupeds look like perambulating pin-cushions—everything -that could be thought of to drive him away; but there he stayed, -unconquered and unconquerable. - -Men like Estevan Ochoa and Pete Kitchen merit a volume by themselves. -Arizona and New Mexico were full of such people, not all as determined -and resolute as Pete; not all, nor nearly all, so patriotic and -self-denying as Don Estevan, but all with histories full of romance and -excitement. Few of them yet remain, and their deeds of heroism will soon -be forgotten, or, worse luck yet, some of the people who never dreamed -of going down there until they could do so in a Pullman car will be -setting themselves up as heroes, and having their puny biographies -written for the benefit of the coming generations. - -Strangest recollection of all that I have of those persons is the -quietness of their manner and the low tone in which they usually spoke -to their neighbors. They were quiet in dress, in speech, and in -conduct—a marked difference from the more thoroughly dramatized border -characters of later days. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - -THE DIVERSIONS OF TUCSON—THE GAMBLING SALOONS—BOB CRANDALL AND HIS - DIAMOND—“SLAP-JACK BILLY”—TIGHT-ROPE WALKERS—THE THEATRE—THE - DUEÑAS—BAILES—THE NEWSPAPERS—STAGE-DRIVERS. - - -It has been shown that Tucson had no hotels. She did not need any at the -time of which I am writing, as her floating population found all the -ease and comfort it desired in the flare and glare of the gambling -hells, which were bright with the lustre of smoking oil lamps and gay -with the varicolored raiment of moving crowds, and the music of harp and -Pan’s pipes. In them could be found nearly every man in the town at some -hour of the day or night, and many used them as the Romans did their -“Thermæ”—as a place of residence. - -All nationalities, all races were represented, and nearly all conditions -of life. There were cadaverous-faced Americans, and Americans whose -faces were plump; men in shirt sleeves, and men who wore their coats as -they would have done in other places; there were Mexicans wrapped in the -red, yellow, and black striped cheap “serapes,” smoking the inevitable -cigarrito, made on the spot by rolling a pinch of tobacco in a piece of -corn shuck; and there were other Mexicans more thoroughly Americanized, -who were clad in the garb of the people of the North. Of Chinese and -negroes there were only a few—they had not yet made acquaintance to any -extent with that section of our country; but their place was occupied by -civilized Indians, Opatas, Yaquis, and others, who had come up with -“bull” teams and pack trains from Sonora. The best of order prevailed, -there being no noise save the hum of conversation or the click of the -chips on the different tables. Tobacco smoke ascended from cigarritos, -pipes, and the vilest of cigars, filling all the rooms with the foulest -of odors. The bright light from the lamps did not equal the steely glint -in the eyes of the “bankers,” who ceaselessly and imperturbably dealt -out the cards from faro boxes, or set in motion the balls in roulette. - -There used to be in great favor among the Mexicans, and the Americans, -too, for that matter, a modification of roulette called “chusas,” which -never failed to draw a cluster of earnest players, who would remain by -the tables until the first suggestion of daylight. High above the squeak -of Pan’s pipes or the plinkety-plink-plunk of the harps sounded the -voice of the “banker:” “Make yer little bets, gents; make yer little -bets; all’s set, the game’s made, ’n’ th’ ball’s a-rollin’.” Blue chips, -red chips, white chips would be stacked high upon cards or numbers, as -the case might be, but all eventually seemed to gravitate into the maw -of the bank, and when, for any reason, the “game” flagged in energy, -there would be a tap upon the bell by the dealer’s side, and “drinks all -round” be ordered at the expense of the house. - -It was a curious exhibit of one of the saddest passions of human nature, -and a curious jumble of types which would never press against each other -elsewhere. Over by the faro bank, in the corner, stood Bob Crandall, a -faithful wooer of the fickle goddess Chance. He was one of the -handsomest men in the Southwest, and really endowed with many fine -qualities; he had drifted away from the restraints of home life years -ago, and was then in Tucson making such a livelihood as he could pick up -as a gambler, wasting brain and attainments which, if better applied, -would have been a credit to himself and his country. - -The beautiful diamond glistening upon Bob Crandall’s breast had a -romantic history. I give it as I remember it: - -During the months that Maximilian remained in Mexico there was a French -brigade stationed at the two towns of Hermosillo and Magdalena, in -Sonora. Desertions were not rare, and, naturally enough, the fugitives -made their way when they could across the boundary into the United -States, which maintained a by no means dubious attitude in regard to the -foreign occupation. - -One of these deserters approached Crandall on the street, and asked him -for assistance to enable him to get to San Francisco. He had a stone -which he believed was of great value, which was part of the plunder -coming to him when he and some comrades had looted the hacienda of an -affluent Mexican planter. He would sell this for four hundred -francs—eighty dollars. - -Crandall was no judge of gems, but there was something so brilliant -about the bauble offered to him that he closed the bargain and paid over -the sum demanded by the stranger, who took his departure and was seen no -more. Four or five years afterward Crandall was making some purchases in -a jewellery store in San Francisco, when the owner, happening to see the -diamond he was wearing, inquired whether he would be willing to sell it, -and offered fifteen hundred dollars cash for the gem which had been so -lightly regarded. Nothing further was ever learned of its early -ownership, and it is likely enough that its seizure was only one -incident among scores that might be related of the French occupation—not -seizures by the foreigners altogether, but those made also by the -bandits with whom the western side of the republic swarmed for a time. - -There was one poor wretch who could always be seen about the tables; he -never played, never talked to any one, and seemed to take no particular -interest in anything or anybody. What his name was no one knew or cared; -all treated him kindly, and anything he wished for was supplied by the -charity or the generosity of the frequenters of the gaming-tables. He -was a trifle “off,” but perfectly harmless; he had lost all the brain he -ever had through fright in an Apache ambuscade, and had never recovered -his right mind. The party to which he belonged had been attacked not far -from Davidson’s Springs, but he was one of those who had escaped, or at -least he thought he had until he heard the “swish” and felt the pull of -the noose of a lariat which a young Apache hiding behind a sage-brush -had dexterously thrown across his shoulders. The Mexican drew his -ever-ready knife, slashed the raw-hide rope in two, and away he flew on -the road to Tucson, never ceasing to spur his mule until both of them -arrived, trembling, covered with dust and lather, and scared out of -their wits, and half-dead, within sight of the green cottonwoods on the -banks of the Santa Cruz. - -Then one was always sure to meet men like old Jack Dunn, who had -wandered about in all parts of the world, and has since done such -excellent work as a scout against the Chiricahua Apaches. I think that -Jack is living yet, but am not certain. If he is, it will pay some -enterprising journalist to hunt him up and get a few of his stories out -of him; they’ll make the best kind of reading for people who care to -hear of the wildest days on the wildest of frontiers. And there were -others—men who have passed away, men like James Toole, one of the first -mayors of Tucson, who dropped in, much as I myself did, to see what was -to be seen. Opposed as I am to gambling, no matter what protean guise it -may assume, I should do the gamblers of Tucson the justice to say that -they were as progressive an element as the town had. They always had -plank floors, where every other place was content with the bare earth -rammed hard, or with the curious mixture of river sand, bullock’s blood, -and cactus juice which hardened like cement and was used by some of the -more opulent. But with the exception of the large wholesale firms, and -there were not over half a dozen of them all told, the house of the -governor, and a few—a very few—private residences of people like the -Carillos, Sam Hughes, Hiram Stevens, and Aldrich, who desired comfort, -there were no wooden floors to be seen in that country. - -The gaming establishments were also well supplied with the latest -newspapers from San Francisco, Sacramento, and New York, and to these -all who entered, whether they played or not, were heartily welcome. -Sometimes, but not very often, there would be served up about midnight a -very acceptable lunch of “frijoles,” coffee, or chocolate, “chile con -carne,” “enchiladas,” and other dishes, all hot and savory, and all -thoroughly Mexican. The flare of the lamps was undimmed, the -plinkety-plunk of the harps was unchecked, and the voice of the dealer -was abroad in the land from the setting of the sun until the rising of -the same, and until that tired luminary had again sunk to rest behind -the purple caps of the Santa Teresa, and had again risen rejuvenated to -gladden a reawakened earth with his brightest beams. Sunday or Monday, -night or day, it made no difference—the game went on; one dealer taking -the place of another with the regularity, the precision, and the -stolidity of a sentinel. - -“Isn’t it ra-a-a-ther late for you to be open?” asked the tenderfoot -arrival from the East, as he descended from the El Paso stage about four -o’clock one morning, and dragged himself to the bar to get something to -wash the dust out of his throat. - -“Wa-a-al, it _is_ kinder late fur th’ night afore last,” genially -replied the bartender; “but ’s jest ’n th’ shank o’ th’ evenin’ fur -t’-night.” - -It was often a matter of astonishment to me that there were so few -troubles and rows in the gambling establishments of Tucson. They did -occur from time to time, just as they might happen anywhere else, but -not with sufficient frequency to make a feature of the life of the -place. - -Once what threatened to open up as a most serious affair had a very -ridiculous termination. A wild-eyed youth, thoroughly saturated with -“sheep-herder’s delight” and other choice vintages of the country, made -his appearance in the bar of “Congress Hall,” and announcing himself as -“Slap-jack Billy, the Pride of the Pan-handle,” went on to inform a -doubting world that he could whip his weight in “b’ar-meat”— - - “Fur ber-lud’s mee color, - I kerries mee corfin on mee back, - ’N’ th’ hummin’ o’ pistol-balls, bee jingo, - Is me-e-e-u-u-sic in mee ears.” (Blank, blank, blank.) - -Thump! sounded the brawny fist of “Shorty” Henderson, and down went Ajax -struck by the offended lightning. When he came to, the “Pride of the -Pan-handle” had something of a job in rubbing down the lump about as big -as a goose-egg which had suddenly and spontaneously grown under his left -jaw; but he bore no malice and so expressed himself. - -“Podners (blank, blank, blank), this ’ere’s the most sociablest crowd I -ever struck; let’s all hev a drink.” - -If the reader do not care for such scenes, he can find others perhaps -more to his liking in the various amusements which, under one pretext or -another, extracted all the loose change of the town. The first, in -popular estimation, were the “maromas,” or tight-rope walkers and -general acrobats, who performed many feats well deserving of the praise -lavished upon them by the audience. Ever since the days of Cortés the -Mexicans have been noted for gymnastic dexterity; it is a matter of -history that Cortés, upon returning to Europe, took with him several of -the artists in this line, whose agility and cunning surprised those who -saw them perform in Spain and Italy. - -There were trained dogs and men who knew how to make a barrel roll up or -down an inclined plane. All these received a due share of the homage of -their fellow-citizens, but nothing to compare to the enthusiasm which -greeted the advent of the genuine “teatro.” That was _the_ time when all -Tucson turned out to do honor to the wearers of the buskin. If there was -a man, woman, or child in the old pueblo who wasn’t seated on one of the -cottonwood saplings which, braced upon other saplings, did duty as -benches in the corral near the quartermaster’s, it was because that man, -woman, or child was sick, or in jail. It is astonishing how much -enjoyment can be gotten out of life when people set about the task in -dead earnest. - -There were gross violations of all the possibilities, of all the -congruities, of all the unities in the play, “Elena y Jorge,” presented -to an appreciative public the first evening I saw the Mexican strolling -heavy-tragedy company in its glory. But what cared we? The scene was -lighted by bon-fires, by great torches of wood, and by the row of -smoking foot-lights running along the front of the little stage. - -The admission was regulated according to a peculiar plan: for Mexicans -it was fifty cents, but for Americans, one dollar, because the Americans -had more money. Another unique feature was the concentration of all the -small boys in the first row, closest to the actors, and the clowns who -were constantly running about, falling head over heels over the -youngsters, and in other ways managing to keep the audience in the best -of humor during the rather long intervals between the acts. - -The old ladies who sat bunched up on the seats a little farther in rear -seemed to be more deeply moved by the trials of the heroine than the men -or boys, who continued placidly to puff cigarettes or munch sweet -quinces, as their ages and tastes dictated. It was a most harrowing, -sanguinary play. The plot needs very few words. Elena, young, beautiful, -rich, patriotic; old uncle, miser, traitor, mercenary, anxious to sell -lovely heiress to French officer for gold; French officer, coward, liar, -poltroon, steeped in every crime known to man, anxious to wed lovely -heiress for her money alone; Jorge, young, beautiful, brave, -conscientious, an expert in the art of war, in love with heiress for her -own sweet sake, but kept from her side by the wicked uncle and his own -desire to drive the last cursed despot from the fair land of his -fathers. - -(Dirge, by the orchestra; cries of “Muere!” (_i.e._, May he die! or, Let -him die!) from the semi-circle of boys, who ceased work upon their -quinces “for this occasion only.”) - -I despised that French officer, and couldn’t for the life of me -understand how any nation, no matter how depraved, could afford to keep -such a creature upon its military rolls. I don’t think I ever heard any -one utter in the same space of time more thoroughly villainous -sentiments than did that man, and I was compelled, as a matter of -principle, to join with the “muchachos” in their chorus of “Muere!” - -As for Doña Elena, the way she let that miserable old uncle see that his -schemes were understood, and that never, never, would she consent to -become the bride of a traitor and an invader, was enough to make Sarah -Bernhardt turn green with envy. - -And Jorge—well, Jorge was not idle. There he was all the time, concealed -behind a barrel or some other very inadequate cover, listening to every -word uttered by the wicked old uncle, the mercenary French officer, and -the dauntless Helen. He was continually on the go, jumping out from his -concealment, taking the hand of his adored one, telling her his love, -but always interrupted by the sudden return of the avuncular villain or -the foe of his bleeding country. It is all over at last; the curtain -rings down, and the baffled Gaul has been put to flight; the guards are -dragging the wretched uncle off to the calaboose, and Jorge and his best -girl entwine themselves in each other’s arms amid thunders of applause. - -Then the payazo, or clown, comes to the front, waving the red, white, -and green colors of the Mexican republic, and chanting a song in which -the doings of the invaders are held up to obloquy and derision. - -Everybody would be very hungry by this time, and the old crones who made -a living by selling hot suppers to theatre-goers reaped their harvest. -The wrinkled dames whose faces had been all tears only a moment ago over -the woes of Elena were calm, happy, and voracious. Plate after plate of -steaming hot “enchiladas” would disappear down their throats, washed -down by cups of boiling coffee or chocolate; or perhaps appetite -demanded “tamales” and “tortillas,” with plates of “frijoles” and “chile -con carne.” - -“Enchiladas” and “tamales” are dishes of Aztec origin, much in vogue on -the south side of the Rio Grande and Gila. The former may be described -as corn batter cakes, dipped in a stew of red chile, with tomato, -cheese, and onions chopped fine. - -“Tamales” are chopped meat—beef, pork, or chicken, or a mixture of all -three—combined with corn-meal and rolled up in husks and boiled or -baked. Practically, they are croquettes. These dishes are delicious, and -merit an introduction to American tables. No one can deny that when a -Mexican agrees to furnish a hot supper, the hot supper will be -forthcoming. What caloric cannot be supplied by fuel is derived from -chile, red pepper, with white pepper, green, and a trifle of black, -merely to show that the cook has no prejudices on account of color. - -The banquet may not have been any too grand, out in the open air, but -the gratitude of the bright-eyed, sweet-voiced young señoritas who -shared it made it taste delicious. Tucson etiquette in some things was -ridiculously strict, and the occasions when young ladies could go, even -in parties, with representatives of the opposite sex were few and far -between—and all the more appreciated when they did come. - -If ever there was created a disagreeable feature upon the fair face of -nature, it was the Spanish dueña. All that were to be met in those days -in southern Arizona seemed to be possessed of an unaccountable aversion -to the mounted service. No flattery would put them in good humor, no -cajolery would blind them, intimidation was thrown away. There they -would sit, keeping strict, dragon-like watch over the dear little -creatures who responded to the names of Anita, Victoria, Concepcion, -Guadalupe, or Mercedes, and preventing conversation upon any subject -excepting the weather, in which we became so expert that it is a wonder -the science of meteorology hasn’t made greater advances than it has -during the past two decades. - -The bull fight did not get farther west than El Paso. Tucson never had -one that I have heard of, and very little in the way of out-door “sport” -beyond chicken fights, which were often savage and bloody. The rapture -with which the feminine heart welcomed the news that a “baile” was to be -given in Tucson equalled the pleasure of the ladies of Murray Hill or -Beacon Street upon the corresponding occasions in their localities. To -be sure, the ceremony of the Tucson affairs was of the meagrest. The -rooms were wanting in splendor, perhaps in comfort—but the music was on -hand, and so were the ladies, young and old, and their cavaliers, and -all hands would manage to have the best sort of a time. The ball-room -was one long apartment, with earthen floor, having around its sides low -benches, and upon its walls a few cheap mirrors and half a dozen candles -stuck to the adobe by melted tallow, a bit of moist clay, or else held -in tin sconces, from which they emitted the sickliest light upon the -heads and forms of the highly colored saints whose pictures were to be -seen in the most eligible places. If the weather happened to be chilly -enough in the winter season, a petty fire would be allowed to blaze in -one of the corners, but, as a general thing, this was not essential. - -The summer climate of Tucson is sultry, and the heat will often run up -as high as 120° Fahr.; the fall months are dangerous from malaria, and -the springs disagreeable from sand storms, but the winters are -incomparable. Neither Italy nor Spain can compare with southern Arizona -in balminess of winter climate, and I know of no place in the whole -world superior to Tucson as a sanitarium for nervous and pulmonary -diseases, from November to March, when the patient can avoid the -malaria-breeding fall months and the disagreeable sand storms of the -early spring. - -The nights in Tucson during the greater part of the year are so cool -that blankets are agreeable covering for sleepers. There are times in -Tucson, as during the summer of 1870, when for more than a week the -thermometer never indicates lower than 98° by day or night. And there -are localities, like forts or camps—as they were then styled—Grant, -MacDowell, Mojave, Yuma, Beale’s Springs, Verde, and Date Creek, where -this rule of excessive and prolonged heat never seemed to break. The -winter nights of Tucson are cold and bracing, but it is a dry cold, -without the slightest suggestion of humidity, and rarely does the -temperature fall much below the freezing-point. - -The moment you passed the threshold of the ball-room in Tucson you had -broken over your head an egg-shell filled either with cologne of the -most dubious reputation or else with finely cut gold and silver paper. -This custom, preserved in this out-of-the-way place, dates back to the -“Carnestolends” or Shrove-Tuesday pranks of Spain and Portugal, when the -egg was really broken over the head of the unfortunate wight and the -pasty mass covered over with flour. - -Once within the ball-room there was no need of being presented to any -one. The etiquette of the Spaniards is very elastic, and is based upon -common sense. Every man who is good enough to be invited to enter the -house of a Mexican gentleman is good enough to enter into conversation -with all the company he may meet there. - -Our American etiquette is based upon the etiquette of the English. Ever -since King James, the mild-mannered lunatic, sold his orders of nobility -to any cad who possessed the necessary six thousand pounds to pay for an -entrance into good society, the aristocracy of England has been going -down-hill, and what passes with it for manners is the code of the -promoted plutocrat, whose ideas would find no place with the Spaniards, -who believe in “_sangre azul_” or nothing. There was very little -conversation between the ladies and the gentlemen, because the ladies -preferred to cluster together and discuss the neighbors who hadn’t been -able to come, or explain the details of dresses just made or to be made. - -Gentlemen invited whom they pleased to dance, and in the intervals -between the figures there might be some very weak attempt at -conversation, but that was all, except the marching of the gentle female -up to the counter and buying her a handkerchief full of raisins or -candies, which she carefully wrapped up and carried home with her, in -accordance with a custom which obtained among the Aztecs and also among -their Spanish conquerors, and really had a strong foothold in good old -England itself, from which latter island it did not disappear until A.D. -1765. - -While the language of conversation was entirely Spanish, the figures -were called off in English, or what passed for English in those days in -Arizona: “Ally man let ’n’ all shassay;” “Bal’nce t’ yer podners ’n’ all -han’s roun’;” “Dozydozy-chaat ’n’ swing.” - -What lovely times we used to have! What enchanting music from the Pan’s -pipes, the flute, the harp, the bass-drum, and the bull-fiddle all going -at once! How lovely the young ladies were! How bright the rooms were -with their greasy lamps or their candles flickering from the walls! It -can hardly be possible that twenty years and more have passed away, yet -there are the figures in the almanac which cannot lie. - -After the “baile” was over, the rule was for the younger participants to -take the music and march along the streets to the houses of the young -ladies who had been prevented from attending, and there, under the -window, or, rather, in front of the window—because all the houses were -of one story, and a man could not get under the windows unless he -crawled on hands and knees—pour forth their souls in a serenade. - -The Spanish serenader, to judge him by his songs, is a curious blending -of woe and despair, paying court to a damsel whose heart is colder than -the crystalline ice that forms in the mountains. The worst of it all is, -the young woman, whose charms of person are equalled by the charms of -her mind, does not seem to care a rush what becomes of the despairing -songster, who threatens to go away forever, to sail on unknown seas, to -face the nameless perils of the desert, if his suit be not at once -recognized by at least one frosty smile. But at the first indication of -relenting on the part of the adored one, the suitor suddenly recollects -that he cannot possibly stand the fervor of her glance, which rivals the -splendor of the sun, and, accordingly, he begs her not to look upon him -with those beautiful orbs, as he has concluded to depart forever and -sing his woes in distant lands. Having discharged this sad duty at the -windows of Doña Anita Fulana, the serenaders solemnly progress to the -lattice of Doña Mercedes de Zutana, and there repeat the same -heart-rending tale of disappointed affection. - -It was always the same round of music, taken in the same series—“La -Paloma,” “Golondrina,” and the rest. I made a collection of some twenty -of these ditties or madrigals, and was impressed with the poetic fervor -and the absolute lack of common sense shown in them all, which is the -best evidence that as love songs they will bear comparison with any that -have ever been written. The music in many cases was excellent, although -the execution was with very primitive instruments. I do not remember a -single instance where the fair one made the least sign of approval or -pleasure on account of such serenades, and I suppose that the Mexican -idea is that she should not, because if there is a polite creature in -the world it is the Mexican woman, no matter of what degree. - -The most tender strains evoked no response, and the young man, or men, -as the case might be, could have held on until morning and sung himself -or themselves into pneumonia for all the young lady seemed to care. - - “No me mires con esos tus ojos, - (Fluke-fluky-fluke; plink, planky-plink.) - - “Mas hermosos que el sol en el cielo, - (Plinky-plink; plinky-plink.) - - “Que me mires de dicha y consuelo, - (Fluky-fluky-fluke; plink-plink.) - - “Que me mata! que me mata! tu mirar.” - (Plinky-plink, fluky-fluke; plinky-plink; fluke-fluke.) - -But it is morning now, and the bells are clanging for first mass, and we -had better home and to bed. Did we so desire we could enter the church, -but as there is much to be said in regard to the different feasts, which -occurred at different seasons and most acceptably divided the year, we -can leave that duty unfulfilled for the present and give a few brief -sentences to the christenings and funerals, which were celebrated under -our observation. - -The Mexicans used to attach a great deal of importance to the naming of -their children, and when the day for the christening had arrived, -invitations scattered far and near brought together all the relatives -and friends of the family, who most lavishly eulogized the youngster, -and then partook of a hearty collation, which was the main feature of -the entertainment. - -Funerals, especially of children, were generally without coffins, owing -to the great scarcity of lumber, and nearly always with music at the -head of the procession, which slowly wended its way to the church to the -measure of plaintive melody. - -Birthdays were not observed, but in their stead were kept the days of -the saints of the same name. For example, all the young girls named -Anita would observe Saint Ann’s day, without regard to the date of their -own birth, and so with the Guadalupes and Francescas and others. - -I should not omit to state that there were whole blocks of houses in -Tucson which did not have a single nail in them, but had been -constructed entirely of adobes, with all parts of the wooden framework -held together by strips of raw-hide. - -Yet in these comfortless abodes, which did not possess ten dollars’ -worth of furniture, one met with charming courtesy from old and young. -“Ah! happy the eyes that gaze upon thee,” was the form of salutation to -friends who had been absent for a space—“Dichosos los ojos que ven a V.” -“Go thou with God,” was the gentle mode of saying farewell, to which the -American guest would respond, as he shifted the revolvers on his hip and -adjusted the quid of tobacco in his mouth: “Wa-al, I reckon I’ll git.” -But the Mexican would arrange the folds of his serape, bow most -politely, and say: “Ladies, I throw myself at your feet”—“À los pies de -VV., señoritas.” - -Thus far there has been no mention of that great lever of public -opinion—the newspaper. There was one of which I will now say a word, and -a few months later, in the spring of 1870, the town saw a second -established, of which a word shall be said in its turn. The _Weekly -Arizonian_ was a great public journal, an organ of public opinion, -managed by Mr. P. W. Dooner, a very able editor. - -It was the custom in those days to order the acts and resolutions of -Congress to be published in the press of the remoter Territories, thus -enabling the settlers on the frontier to keep abreast of legislation, -especially such as more immediately affected their interests. Ordinarily -the management of the paper went no farther than the supervision of the -publication of such acts, bills, etc.; and the amount of outside -information finding an outlet in the scattered settlements of Arizona -and New Mexico was extremely small, and by no means recent. With a few -exceptions, all the journals of those days were printed either in -Spanish alone, or half in Spanish and half in English, the exceptions -being sheets like the _Miner_, of Prescott, Arizona, which from the -outset maintained the principle that our southwestern territories should -be thoroughly Americanized, and that by no surer method could this be -effected than by a thoroughly American press. Mr. John H. Marion was the -enunciator of this seemingly simple and common-sense proposition, and -although the _Miner_ has long since passed into other hands, he has, in -the columns of the _Courier_, owned and edited by him, advocated and -championed it to the present day. - -There may have been other matter in the _Weekly Arizonian_ besides the -copies of legislative and executive documents referred to, but if so I -never was fortunate enough to see it, excepting possibly once, on the -occasion of my first visit to the town, when I saw announced in bold -black and white that “Colonel” Bourke was paying a brief visit to his -friend, Señor So-and-so. If there is one weak spot in the armor of a -recently-graduated lieutenant, it is the desire to be called colonel -before he dies, and here was the ambition of my youth gratified almost -before the first lustre had faded from my shoulder-straps. It would -serve no good purpose to tell how many hundred copies of that week’s -issue found their way into the earliest outgoing mail, addressed to -friends back in the States. I may be pardoned for alluding to the -reckless profanity of the stage-driver upon observing the great bulk of -the load his poor horses were to carry. The stage-drivers were an -exceptionally profane set, and this one, Frank Francis, was an adept in -the business. He has long since gone to his reward in the skies, killed, -if I have not made a great mistake, by the Apaches in Sonora, in 1881. -He was a good, “square” man, as I can aver from an acquaintance and -friendship cemented in later days, when I had to take many and many a -lonesome and dangerous ride with him in various sections and on various -routes in that then savage-infested region. It was Frank’s boast that no -“Injuns” should ever get either him or the mail under his care. “All -you’ve got to do with ’n Injun ’s to be smarter nor he is. Now, f’r -instance, ’n Injun ’ll allers lie in wait ’longside the road, tryin’ to -ketch th’ mail. Wa’al, I never don’ go ’long no derned road, savey? I -jest cut right ’cross lots, ’n’ dern my skin ef all th’ Injuns this side -o’ Bitter Creek kin tell whar to lay fur _me_.” This and similar bits of -wisdom often served to soothe the frightened fancy of the weary -“tenderfoot” making his first trip into that wild region, especially if -the trip was to be by night, as it generally was. - -Whipping up his team, Frank would take a shoot off to one side or the -other of the road, and never return to it until the faint tinge of light -in the east, or the gladsome crow of chanticleer announced that the dawn -was at hand and Tucson in sight. How long they had both been in coming! -How the chilling air of night had depressed the spirits and lengthened -the hours into eternities! How grand the sky was with its masses of -worlds peeping out from depths of blue, unsounded by the telescopes of -less favored climes! How often, as the stars rose behind some distant -hill-top, did they appear to the fancy as the signal lights of distant -Apache raiding parties, and freeze the blood, already coagulated, by -suddenly coming upon the gaunt, blackened frame of some dead giant -cactus stretching out its warning arms behind a sharp turn in the line -of travel! - -To this feeling of disquietude the yelping of the coyote added no new -horrors; the nervous system was already strained to its utmost tension, -and any and all sounds not immediately along the trail were a pleasant -relief. They gave something of which to think and a little of which to -talk besides the ever-present topic of “Injuns, Injuns.” But far -different was the sensation as the morning drew near, and fluttering -coveys of quail rose with a whirr from their concealment under the -mesquite, or pink-eared jack-rabbits scurried from under the horses’ -feet. Then it was that driver and passenger alike, scared from a fretful -doze, would nervously grasp the ever-ready rifle or revolver, and look -in vain for the flight of arrows or await the lance-thrust of skulking -foes. - -Through it all, however, Frank remained the same kind, entertaining -host; he always seemed to consider it part of his duties to entertain -each one who travelled with him, and there was no lack of conversation, -such as it was. “Never knowed Six-toed Petey Donaldson? Wa’al, I sw’ar! -Look like enough to be Petey’s own brother. Thought mebbe you mout ’a’ -bin comin’ out ter administer on th’ estate. Not thet Petey hed enny t’ -leave, but then it’s kind o’ consolin’ t’ a feller to know thet his -relatives hev come out ter see about him. How did Petey die? Injuns. Th’ -Apaches got him jest this side o’ the Senneky (Cienaga); we’ll see it -jest’s soon ’s we rise th’ hill yander.” By the time that the buckboard -drew up in front of the post-office, what with cold and hunger and -thirst and terror, and bumping over rocks and against giant cactus, and -every other kind of cactus, and having had one or two runaways when the -animals had struck against the adhering thorns of the pestiferous -“cholla,” the traveller was always in a suitable frame of mind to invite -Frank to “take suthin’,” and Frank was too much of a gentleman to think -of refusing. - -“Now, lemme give yer good advice, podner,” Frank would say in his most -gracious way, “’n’ doan’t drink none o’ this yere ’Merican whiskey; it’s -no good. Jes’ stick to mescal; _that’s_ the stuff. Yer see, the alkali -water ’n’ sand hereabouts ’ll combine with mescal, but they p’isens a -man when he tries to mix ’em with whiskey, ’specially this yere Kansas -whiskey” (the “tenderfoot” had most likely just come over from Kansas); -“’n’ ef he doan’ get killed deader nor a door-nail, why, his system’s -all chock full o’ p’isen, ’n’ there you are.” - -The establishment of the rival paper, the _Citizen_, was the signal for -a war of words, waxing in bitterness from week to week, and ceasing only -with the death of the _Arizonian_, which took place not long after. One -of the editors of the _Citizen_ was Joe Wasson, a very capable -journalist, with whom I was afterward associated intimately in the Black -Hills and Yellowstone country during the troubles with the Sioux and -Cheyennes. He was a well-informed man, who had travelled much and seen -life in many phases. He was conscientious in his ideas of duty, and full -of the energy and “snap” supposed to be typically American. He -approached every duty with the alertness and earnestness of a Scotch -terrier. The telegraph was still unknown to Arizona, and for that reason -the _Citizen_ contained an unusually large amount of editorial matter -upon affairs purely local. Almost the very first columns of the paper -demanded the sweeping away of garbage-piles, the lighting of the streets -by night, the establishment of schools, and the imposition of a tax upon -the gin-mills and gambling-saloons. - -Devout Mexicans crossed themselves as they passed this fanatic, whom -nothing would seem to satisfy but the subversion of every ancient -institution. Even the more progressive among the Americans realized that -Joe was going a trifle too far, and felt that it was time to put the -brakes upon a visionary theorist whose war-cry was “Reform!” But no -remonstrance availed, and editorial succeeded editorial, each more -pungent and aggressive than its predecessors. What was that dead burro -doing on the main street? Why did not the town authorities remove it? - -“Valgame! What is the matter with the man? and why does he make such a -fuss over Pablo Martinez’s dead burro, which has been there for more -than two months and nobody bothering about it? Why, it was only last -week that Ramon Romualdo and I were talking about it, and we both agreed -that it ought to be removed some time very soon. Bah! I will light -another cigarette. These Americans make me sick—always in a hurry, as if -the devil were after them.” - -In the face of such antagonism as this the feeble light of the -_Arizonian_ flickered out, and that great luminary was, after the lapse -of a few years, succeeded by the _Star_, whose editor and owner arrived -in the Territory in the latter part of the year 1873, after the Apaches -had been subdued and placed upon reservations. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - -TUCSON INCIDENTS—THE “FIESTAS”—THE RUINED MISSION CHURCH OF SAN XAVIER - DEL BAC—GOVERNOR SAFFORD—ARIZONA MINES—APACHE RAIDS—CAMP GRANT - MASSACRE—THE KILLING OF LIEUTENANT CUSHING. - - -The Feast of San Juan brought out some very curious customs. The Mexican -gallants, mounted on the fieriest steeds they could procure, would call -at the homes of their “dulcineas,” place the ladies on the saddle in -front, and ride up and down the streets, while disappointed rivals threw -fire-crackers under the horses’ feet. There would be not a little superb -equestrianism displayed; the secret of the whole performance seeming to -consist in the nearness one could attain to breaking his neck without -doing so. - -There is another sport of the Mexicans which has almost if not quite -died out in the vicinity of Tucson, but is still maintained in full -vigor on the Rio Grande: running the chicken—“correr el gallo.” In this -fascinating sport, as it looked to be for the horsemen, there is or was -an old hen buried to the neck in the sand, and made the target for each -rushing rider as he swoops down and endeavors to seize the crouching -fowl. If he succeed, he has to ride off at the fastest kind of a run to -avoid the pursuit of his comrades, who follow and endeavor to wrest the -prize from his hands, and the result, of course, is that the poor hen is -pulled to pieces. - -Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to describe for the benefit -of my readers the scenes presenting themselves during the “Funccion of -San Agostin” in Tucson, or that of San Francisco in the Mexican town of -Madalena, a hundred and twenty-five miles, more or less, to the south; -the music, the dancing, the gambling, the raffles, the drinking of all -sorts of beverages strange to the palate of the American of the North; -the dishes, hot and cold, of the Mexican cuisine, the trading going on -in all kinds of truck brought from remote parts of the country, the -religious ceremonial brilliant with lights and sweet with music and -redolent with incense. - -[Illustration: SPOTTED TAIL.] - -For one solid week these “funcciones lasted,” and during the whole time, -from early morn till dewy eve, the thump, thump of the drum, the plinky, -plink, plink of the harp, and the fluky-fluke of the flute accented the -shuffling feet of the unwearied dancers. These and events like them -deserve a volume by themselves. I hope that what has already been -written may be taken as a series of views, but not the complete series -of those upon which we looked from day to day. No perfect picture of -early times in Arizona and New Mexico could be delineated upon my narrow -canvas; the sight was distracted by strange scenes, the ears by strange -sounds, many of each horrible beyond the wildest dreams. There was the -ever-dreadful Apache on the one hand to terrify and torment, and the -beautiful ruin of San Xavier on the other to bewilder and amaze. - -Of all the mission churches within the present limits of the United -States, stretching in the long line from San Antonio, Texas, to the -presidio of San Francisco, and embracing such examples as San Gabriel, -outside of Los Angeles, and the mission of San Diego, there is not one -superior, and there are few equal, to San Xavier del Bac, the church of -the Papago Indians, nine miles above Tucson, on the Santa Cruz. It needs -to be seen to be appreciated, as no literal description, certainly none -of which I am capable, can do justice to its merits and beauty. What I -have written here is an epitome of the experience and knowledge acquired -during years of service there and of familiarity with its people and the -conditions in which they lived. - -My readers should bear in mind that during the whole period of our stay -in or near Tucson we were on the go constantly, moving from point to -point, scouting after an enemy who had no rival on the continent in -coolness, daring, and subtlety. To save repetition, I will say that the -country covered by our movements comprehended the region between the Rio -Azul in New Mexico, on the east, to Camp MacDowell, on the west; and -from Camp Apache, on the north, to the Mexican pueblos of Santa Cruz and -Madalena, far to the south. Of all this I wish to say the least -possible, my intention being to give a clear picture of Arizona as it -was before the arrival of General Crook, and not to enter into -unnecessary details, in which undue reference must necessarily be had to -my own experiences. - -But I do wish to say that we were for a number of weeks accompanied by -Governor Safford, at the head of a contingent of Mexican volunteers, who -did very good service in the mountains on the international boundary, -the Huachuca, and others. We made camp one night within rifle-shot of -what has since been the flourishing, and is now the decayed, mining town -of Tombstone. On still another evening, one of our Mexican guides—old -Victor Ruiz, one of the best men that ever lived on the border—said that -he was anxious to ascertain whether or not his grandfather’s memory was -at fault in the description given of an abandoned silver mine, which -Ruiz was certain could not be very far from where we were sitting. -Naturally enough, we all volunteered to go with him in his search, and -in less than ten minutes we had reached the spot where, under a mass of -earth and stone, was hidden the shaft of which our guide had spoken. - -The stories that have always circulated in Arizona about the fabulous -wealth of her mineral leads as known to the Spaniards have been of such -a character as to turn the brain of the most conservative. The Plancha -de la Plata, where a lump of virgin silver weighing over two thousand -pounds was exhumed; the “Thorn Mine,” or the “Lost Cabin Mine,” in the -Tonto Basin; the “Salero,” where the padre in charge, wishing to -entertain his bishop in proper style, and finding that he had no -salt-cellars ready, ordered certain of the Indians to dig out enough ore -to make a solid silver basin, which was placed in all its crudity before -the superior—all these were ringing in our ears, and made our task of -moving the rocks and débris a very light one. - -Disappointment attended our discovery; the assays of the ore forwarded -to San Francisco were not such as to stimulate the work of development; -the rock was not worth more than seventeen dollars a ton, which in those -years would not half pay the cost of reduction of silver. - -We were among the very first to come upon the rich ledges of copper -which have since furnished the mainstay to the prosperity of the town of -Clifton, on the border of New Mexico, and we knocked off pieces of pure -metal, and brought them back to Tucson to show to the people there, on -returning from our scouts in the upper Gila. - -On one occasion the Apaches ran off the herd of sheep belonging to -Tully, Ochoa & DeLong, which were grazing in the foot-hills of the Santa -Teresa not two miles from town. The young Mexican who was on duty as -“pastor” kept his ears open for the tinkle of the bell, and every now -and then would rouse himself from his doze to look around the mesquite -under which he sat, to ascertain that his flock was all right. -Gradually, the heat of the day became more and more oppressive, and the -poor boy, still hearing the tintinnabulation, was in a delightful -day-dream, thinking of his supper, perhaps, when he half-opened his -eyes, and saw leering at him a full-grown Apache, who had all the while -been gently shaking the bell taken an hour or two before from the neck -of the wether which, with the rest of the flock, was a good long -distance out of sight behind the hills, near the “Punta del Agua.” The -boy, frightened out of his wits, screamed lustily, and the Apache, -delighted by his terror, flung the bell at his head, and then set off at -a run to gain the hills where his comrades were. The alarm soon reached -town, and the sheep were recovered before midnight, and by dawn the next -day were back on their old pasturage, excepting the foot-sore and the -weary, too weak to travel. - -Our scouting had its share of incidents grave, gay, melancholy, -ludicrous; men killed and wounded; Apaches ditto; and the usual amount -of hard climbing by day, or marching by night upon trails which -sometimes led us upon the enemy, and very often did not. - -There was one very good man, Moore, if I remember his name correctly, -who died of the “fever”—malaria—and was carried from the “Grassy Plain” -into old Camp Goodwin, on the Gila, near the Warm Spring. No sooner had -we arrived at Goodwin than one of the men—soldier or civilian employee, -I do not know now—attempted to commit suicide, driven to despair by the -utter isolation of his position; and two of our own company—Sergeant -John Mott and one other, both excellent men—dropped down, broken up with -the “fever,” which would yield to nothing but the most heroic treatment -with quinine. - -In a skirmish with the Apaches near the head of Deer Creek, one of our -men, named Shire, was struck by a rifle ball in the knee-cap, the ball -ranging downward, and lodging in the lower leg near the ankle bone. We -were sore distressed. There was no doctor with the little command, a -criminal neglect for which Cushing was not responsible, and there was no -guide, as Manuel Duran, who generally went out with us, was lying in -Tucson seriously ill. No one was hurt badly enough to excite -apprehension excepting Shire, whose wound was not bleeding at all, the -hemorrhage being on the inside. - -Sergeant Warfield, Cushing, and I stayed up all night talking over the -situation, and doing so in a low tone, lest Shire should suspect that we -had not been telling the truth when we persuaded him to believe that he -had been hit by a glancing bullet, which had benumbed the whole leg but -had not inflicted a very serious wound. - -Our Mexican packers were called into consultation, and the result was -that by four in the morning, as soon as a cup of coffee could be made, I -was on my way over to the Aravaypa Cañon at the head of a small -detachment in charge of the wounded man, who was firmly strapped to his -saddle. We got along very well so long as we were on the high hills and -mountains, where the horse of the sufferer could be led, and he himself -supported by friendly hands on each side. To get down into the chasm of -the Aravaypa was a horse of altogether a different color. The trail was -extremely steep, stony, and slippery, and the soldier, heroic as he was, -could not repress a groan as his horse jarred him by slipping under his -weight on the wretched path. At the foot of the descent it was evident -that something else in the way of transportation would have to be -provided, as the man’s strength was failing rapidly and he could no -longer sit up. - -Lieutenant Cushing’s orders were for me to leave the party just as soon -as I thought I could do so safely, and then ride as fast as the trail -would permit to Camp Grant, and there get all the aid possible. It -seemed to me that there could be no better time for hurrying to the post -than the present, which found the detachment at a point where it could -defend itself from the attack of any roving party of the enemy, and -supplied with grass for the animals and fuel and water for the men. - -Shire had fainted as I mounted and started with one of the men, Corporal -Harrington, for the post, some twelve miles away. We did not have much -more of the cañon to bother us, and made good speed all the way down the -Aravaypa and into the post, where I hurriedly explained the situation -and had an ambulance start up the cañon with blankets and other -comforts, while in the post itself everything was made ready for the -amputation in the hospital, which all knew to be a foregone conclusion, -and a mounted party was sent to Tucson to summon Dr. Durant to assist in -the operation. - -Having done all this, I started back up the cañon and came upon my own -detachment slowly making its way down. In another hour the ambulance had -rolled up to the door of the hospital, and the wounded man was on a cot -under the influence of anæsthetics. The amputation was made at the upper -third of the thigh, and resulted happily, and the patient in due time -recovered, although he had a close call for his life. - -The winter of 1870 and the spring of 1871 saw no let up in the amount of -scouting which was conducted against the Apaches. The enemy resorted to -a system of tactics which had often been tried in the past and always -with success. A number of simultaneous attacks were made at points -widely separated, thus confusing both troops and settlers, spreading a -vague sense of fear over all the territory infested, and imposing upon -the soldiery an exceptional amount of work of the hardest conceivable -kind. - -Attacks were made in southern Arizona upon the stage stations at the San -Pedro, and the Cienaga, as well as the one near the Picacho, and upon -the ranchos in the Barbacomori valley, and in the San Pedro, near Tres -Alamos. Then came the news of a fight at Pete Kitchen’s, and finally, -growing bolder, the enemy drove off a herd of cattle from Tucson itself, -some of them beeves, and others work-oxen belonging to a wagon-train -from Texas. Lastly came the killing of the stage mail-rider, between the -town and the Mission church of San Xavier, and the massacre of the party -of Mexicans going down to Sonora, which occurred not far from the -Sonoita. - -One of the members of this last party was a beautiful young Mexican -lady—Doña Trinidad Aguirre—who belonged to a very respectable family in -the Mexican Republic, and was on her way back from a visit to relatives -in Tucson. - -That one so young, so beautiful and bright, should have been snatched -away by a most cruel death at the hands of savages, aroused the people -of all the country south of the Gila, and nothing was talked of, nothing -was thought of, but vengeance upon the Apaches. - -Cushing all this time had kept our troop moving without respite. There -were fights, and ambuscades, and attacks upon “rancherias,” and -night-marches without number, several resulting in the greatest success. -I am not going to waste any space upon these, because there is much of -the same sort to come, and I am afraid of tiring out the patience of my -readers before reaching portions of this book where there are to be -found descriptions of very spirited engagements. - -The trail of the raiders upon the ranch at the “Cienaga” (now called -“Pantano” by the Southern Pacific Railroad people) took down into the -“Mestinez,” or Mustang Mountains, so called from the fact that a herd of -wild ponies were to be found there or not far off. They did not number -more than sixty all told when I last saw them in 1870, and were in all -probability the last herd of wild horses within the limits of the United -States. In this range, called also the “Whetstone” Mountains, because -there exists a deposit or ledge of the rock known as “novaculite” or -whetstone of the finest quality, we came upon the half calcined bones of -two men burned to death by the Apaches; and after marching out into the -open valley of the San Pedro, and crossing a broad expanse covered with -yucca and sage-brush, we came to a secluded spot close to the San José -range, where the savages had been tearing up the letters contained in -one of Uncle Sam’s mail-bags, parts of which lay scattered about. - -When the work-oxen of the Texans were run off, the Apaches took them -over the steepest, highest and rockiest part of the Sierra Santa -Catalina, where one would not believe that a bird would dare to fly. We -followed closely, guided by Manuel Duran and others, but progress was -difficult and slow, on account of the nature of the trail. As we picked -our way, foot by foot, we could discern the faintest sort of a mark, -showing that a trail had run across there and had lately been used by -the Apaches. But all the good done by that hard march was the getting -back of the meat of the stock which the Apaches killed just the moment -they reached the cañons under the Trumbull Peak. Two or three of the -oxen were still alive, but so nearly run to death that we killed them as -an act of mercy. - -Three of our party were hurt in the mêlée, and we scored three hits, one -a beautiful shot by Manuel, who killed his man the moment he exposed -himself to his aim, and two wounded, how seriously we could not tell, as -by the time we had made our way to the top of the rocks the enemy had -gone with their wounded, leaving only two pools of blood to show where -the bullets had taken effect. - -The trail leading to the place where the Apaches had taken refuge was so -narrow that one of our pack-mules lost his footing and fell down the -precipice, landing upon the top of a tree below and staying there for a -full minute, when the branches broke under him and let him have another -fall, breaking his back and making it necessary to blow his brains out -as soon as the action was over and we could take time to breathe. - -Then followed the fearful scene of bloodshed known as the “Camp Grant -Massacre,” which can only be referred to—a full description would -require a volume of its own. A small party of Apaches had presented -themselves at Camp Grant, and made known to the commanding officer that -they and their friends up in the Aravaypa Cañon were willing and anxious -to make peace and to stay near the post, provided they could get food -and clothing. They were told to return with their whole tribe, which -they soon did, and there is no good reason for supposing that the -greater portion of them were not honest in their professions and -purposes. The blame of what was to follow could not be laid at the doors -of the local military authorities, who exerted themselves in every way -to convey information of what had happened to the Department -headquarters, then at Los Angeles. As previously stated, there was no -mode of communication in Arizona save the stage, which took five days to -make the trip from Tucson to Los Angeles, and as many more for a return -trip, there being no telegraph in existence. - -Weeks and weeks were frittered away in making reports which should have -reached headquarters at once and should have been acted upon without the -delay of a second. The story was circulated and generally believed, that -the first report was returned to the officer sending it, with -instructions to return it to Department headquarters “properly briefed,” -that is, with a synopsis of its contents properly written on the outer -flap of the communication when folded. There was no effort made, as -there should have been made, to separate the peaceably disposed Indians -from those who still preferred to remain out on the warpath, and as a -direct consequence of this neglect ensued one of the worst blots in the -history of American civilization, the “Camp Grant Massacre.” - -A party of more than one hundred Papago Indians, from the village of San -Xavier, led by a small detachment of whites and half-breed Mexicans from -Tucson, took up the trail of one of the parties of raiders which had -lately attacked the settlers and the peaceable Indians in the valley of -the Santa Cruz. What followed is matter of history. The pursuing party -claimed that the trails led straight to the place occupied by the -Apaches who had surrendered at Camp Grant, and it is likely that this is -so, since one of the main trails leading to the country of the Aravaypa -and Gila bands passed under the Sierra Pinaleno, near the point in -question. It was claimed further that a horse belonging to Don Leopoldo -Carrillo was found in the possession of one of the young boys coming out -of the village, and that some of the clothing of Doña Trinidad Aguirre -was also found. - -These stories may be true, and they may be after-thoughts to cover up -and extenuate the ferocity of the massacre which spared neither age nor -sex in its wrath, but filled the valley of the Aravaypa with dead and -dying. The incident, one of the saddest and most terrible in our annals, -is one over which I would gladly draw a veil. To my mind it indicated -the weak spot in all our dealings with the aborigines, a defective point -never repaired and never likely to be. According to our system of -settling up the public lands, there are no such things as colonies -properly so called. Each settler is free to go where he pleases, to take -up such area as the law permits, and to protect himself as best he can. -The army has always been too small to afford all the protection the -frontier needed, and affairs have been permitted to drift along in a -happy-go-lucky sort of a way indicative rather of a sublime faith in -divine providence than of common sense and good judgment. - -The settlers, in all sections of the West, have been representative of -the best elements of the older States from which they set forth, but it -is a well-known fact that among them have been a fair, possibly more -than a fair, share of the reckless, the idle and the dissolute. On the -other hand, among the savages, there have been as many young bloods -anxious to win renown in battle as there have been old wise-heads -desirous of preserving the best feeling with the new neighbors. The -worst members of the two races are brought into contact, and the usual -results follow; trouble springs up, and it is not the bad who suffer, -but the peaceably disposed on each side. - -On the 5th day of May, 1871, Lieutenant Howard B. Cushing, Third -Cavalry, with several civilians and three soldiers, was killed by the -Chiricahua Apaches, under their famous chief “Cocheis,” at the Bear -Springs, in the Whetstone Mountains, about thirty-five miles from Tucson -and about the same distance to the east of old Camp Crittenden. -Cushing’s whole force numbered twenty-two men, the larger part of whom -were led into an ambuscade in the cañon containing the spring. The fight -was a desperate one, and fought with courage and great skill on both -sides. Our forces were surrounded before a shot had been fired; and it -was while Cushing was endeavoring to lead his men back that he received -the wounds which killed him. Had it not been for the courage and good -judgment displayed by Sergeant John Mott, who had seen a great amount of -service against the Apaches, not one of the command would have escaped -alive out of the cañon. - -Mott was in command of the rear-guard, and, in coming up to the -assistance of Lieutenant Cushing, detected the Apaches moving behind a -low range of hills to gain Cushing’s rear. He sent word ahead, and that -induced Lieutenant Cushing to fall back. - -After Cushing dropped, the Apaches made a determined charge and came -upon our men hand to hand. The little detachment could save only those -horses and mules which were ridden at the moment the enemy made the -attack, because the men who had dismounted to fight on foot were unable -to remount, such was the impetuosity of the rush made by the -Chiricahuas. There were enough animals to “ride and tie,” and Mott, by -keeping up on the backbone of the hills running along the Barbacomori -Valley, was enabled to reach Camp Crittenden without being surrounded or -ambuscaded. - -Inside of forty-eight hours there were three troops of cavalry _en -route_ to Crittenden, and in pursuit of the Apaches, but no good could -be effected. Major William J. Ross, at that time in command of Camp -Crittenden, was most energetic in getting word to the various military -commands in the southern part of the country, as well as in extending -every aid and kindness to the wounded brought in by Mott. - -When the combined force had arrived at Bear Spring, there was to be seen -every evidence of a most bloody struggle. The bodies of Lieutenant -Cushing and comrades lay where they had fallen, stripped of clothing, -which the Apaches always carried off from their victims. In all parts of -the narrow little cañon were the carcasses of ponies and horses -half-eaten by the coyotes and buzzards; broken saddles, saddle-bags, -canteens with bullet-holes in them, pieces of harness and shreds of -clothing scattered about, charred to a crisp in the flames which the -savages had ignited in the grass to conceal their line of retreat. - -Of how many Apaches had been killed, there was not the remotest -suggestion to be obtained. That there had been a heavy loss among the -Indians could be suspected from the signs of bodies having been dragged -to certain points, and there, apparently, put on pony-back. - -The Chiricahuas seemed to have ascended the cañon until they had -attained the crest of the range in a fringe of pine timber; but no -sooner did they pass over into the northern foot-hills than they broke -in every direction, and did not re-unite until near our boundary line -with Mexico, where their trail was struck and followed for several days -by Major Gerald Russell of the Third Cavalry. They never halted until -they had regained the depths of the Sierra Madre, their chosen haunt, -and towards which Russell followed them so long as his broken-down -animals could travel. - -Of the distinguished services rendered to Arizona by Lieutenant Cushing, -a book might well be written. It is not intended to disparage anybody -when I say that he had performed herculean and more notable work, -perhaps, than had been performed by any other officer of corresponding -rank either before or since. Southern Arizona owed much to the gallant -officers who wore out strength and freely risked life and limb in her -defence—men of the stamp of Devin, C. C. Carr, Sanford, Gerald Russell, -Winters, Harris, Almy, Carroll, McCleave, Kelly, and many others. They -were all good men and true; but if there were any choice among them I am -sure that the verdict, if left to those soldiers themselves, would be in -favor of Cushing. - -Standing on the summit of the Whetstone Range, which has no great -height, one can see the places, or the hills overlooking them, where -several other officers met their death at the hands of the same foe. To -the west is Davidson’s Cañon, where the Apaches ambushed and killed -Lieutenant Reid T. Stewart and Corporal Black; on the north, the cone of -Trumbull overlooks the San Carlos Agency, where the brave Almy fell; to -the northwest are the Tortolita hills, near which Miller and Tappan were -killed in ambuscade, as already narrated; and to the east are the -Chiricahua Mountains, in whose bosom rests Fort Bowie with its grewsome -graveyard filled with such inscriptions as “Killed by the Apaches,” “Met -his death at the hands of the Apaches,” “Died of wounds inflicted by -Apache Indians,” and at times “Tortured and killed by Apaches.” One -visit to that cemetery was warranted to furnish the most callous with -nightmares for a month. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - -GENERAL CROOK AND THE APACHES—CROOK’S PERSONAL APPEARANCE AND - CHARACTERISTICS—POINTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE APACHES—THEIR SKILL IN - WAR—FOODS AND MODES OF COOKING—MEDICINE MEN—THEIR POWER AND - INFLUENCE. - - -When General Crook received orders to go out to Arizona and assume -command of that savage-infested Department, he at once obeyed the order, -and reached his new post of duty without baggage and without fuss. - -All the baggage he had would not make as much compass as a Remington -type-writer. The only thing with him which could in any sense be classed -as superfluous was a shotgun, but without this or a rifle he never -travelled anywhere. - -He came, as I say, without the slightest pomp or parade, and without any -one in San Francisco, except his immediate superiors, knowing of his -departure, and without a soul in Tucson, not even the driver of the -stage which had carried him and his baggage, knowing of his arrival. -There were no railroads, there were no telegraphs in Arizona, and Crook -was the last man in the world to seek notoriety had they existed. His -whole idea of life was to do each duty well, and to let his work speak -for itself. - -He arrived in the morning, went up to the residence of his old friend, -Governor Safford, with whom he lunched, and before sundown every officer -within the limits of what was then called the southern district of -Arizona was under summons to report to him; that is, if the orders had -not reached them they were on the way. - -From each he soon extracted all he knew about the country, the lines of -travel, the trails across the various mountains, the fords where any -were required for the streams, the nature of the soil, especially its -products, such as grasses, character of the climate, the condition of -the pack-mules, and all pertaining to them, and every other item of -interest a commander could possibly want to have determined. But in -reply not one word, not one glance, not one hint, as to what he was -going to do or what he would like to do. - -This was the point in Crook’s character which made the strongest -impression upon every one coming in contact with him—his ability to -learn all that his informant had to supply, without yielding in return -the slightest suggestion of his own plans and purposes. He refused -himself to no one, no matter how humble, but was possessed of a certain -dignity which repressed any approach to undue familiarity. He was -singularly averse to the least semblance of notoriety, and was as -retiring as a girl. He never consulted with any one; made his own plans -after the most studious deliberation, and kept them to himself with a -taciturnity which at times must have been exasperating to his -subordinates. Although taciturn, reticent, and secretive, moroseness -formed no part of his nature, which was genial and sunny. He took great -delight in conversation, especially in that wherein he did not have to -join if indisposed. - -He was always interested in the career and progress of the young -officers under him, and glad to listen to their plans and learn their -aspirations. No man can say that in him the subaltern did not have the -brightest of exemplars, since Crook was a man who never indulged in -stimulant of any kind—not so much as tea or coffee—never used tobacco, -was never heard to employ a profane or obscene word, and was ever and -always an officer to do, and do without pomp or ceremony, all that was -required of him, and much more. - -No officer could claim that he was ever ordered to do a duty when the -Department commander was present, which the latter would not in person -lead. No officer of the same rank, at least in our service, issued so -few orders. According to his creed, officers did not need to be devilled -with orders and instructions and memoranda; all that they required was -to obtain an insight into what was desired of them, and there was no -better way to inculcate this than by personal example. - -Therefore, whenever there was a trouble of any magnitude under Crook’s -jurisdiction he started at once to the point nearest the skirmish line, -and stayed there so long as the danger existed; but he did it all so -quietly, and with so little parade, that half the time no one would -suspect that there was any hostility threatened until after the whole -matter had blown over or been stamped out, and the General back at his -headquarters. - -This aversion to display was carried to an extreme; he never liked to -put on uniform when it could be avoided; never allowed an orderly to -follow him about a post, and in every manner possible manifested a -nature of unusual modesty, and totally devoid of affectation. He had one -great passion—hunting, or better say, hunting and fishing. Often he -would stray away for days with no companion but his dog and the horse or -mule he rode, and remain absent until a full load of game—deer, wild -turkey, quail, or whatever it might happen to be—rewarded his energy and -patience. From this practice he diverged slightly as he grew older, -yielding to the expostulations of his staff, who impressed upon him that -it was nothing but the merest prudence to be accompanied by an Indian -guide, who could in case of necessity break back for the command or the -post according to circumstances. - -In personal appearance General Crook was manly and strong; he was a -little over six feet in height, straight as a lance, broad and -square-shouldered, full-chested, and with an elasticity and sinewiness -of limb which betrayed the latent muscular power gained by years of -constant exercise in the hills and mountains of the remoter West. - -In his more youthful days, soon after being graduated from the Military -Academy, he was assigned to duty with one of the companies of the Fourth -Infantry, then serving in the Oregon Territory. It was the period of the -gold-mining craze on the Pacific coast, and prices were simply -prohibitory for all the comforts of life. Crook took a mule, a -frying-pan, a bag of salt and one of flour, a rifle and shotgun, and -sallied out into the wilderness. By his energy and skill he kept the -mess fully supplied with every kind of wild meat—venison, quail, duck, -and others—and at the end of the first month, after paying all the -expenses on account of ammunition, was enabled from the funds realized -by selling the surplus meat to miners and others, to declare a dividend -of respectable proportions, to the great delight of his messmates. - -His love for hunting and fishing, which received its greatest impetus in -those days of his service in Oregon and Northern California, increased -rather than diminished as the years passed by. He became not only an -exceptionally good shot, but acquired a familiarity with the habits of -wild animals possessed by but few naturalists. Little by little he was -induced to read upon the subject, until the views of the most eminent -ornithologists and naturalists were known to him, and from this followed -in due sequence a development of his taste for taxidermy, which enabled -him to pass many a lonesome hour in the congenial task of preserving and -mounting his constantly increasing collection of birds and pelts. - -There were few, if any, of the birds or beasts of the Rocky Mountains -and the country west of them to the waters of the Pacific, which had not -at some time furnished tribute to General Crook’s collection. In the -pursuit of the wilder animals he cared nothing for fatigue, hunger, or -the perils of the cliffs, or those of being seized in the jaws of an -angry bear or mountain lion. - -He used to take great, and, in my opinion, reprehensible risks in his -encounters with grizzlies and brown bears, many of whose pelts decorated -his quarters. Many times I can recall in Arizona, Wyoming, and Montana, -where he had left the command, taking with him only one Indian guide as -a companion, and had struck out to one flank or the other, following -some “sign,” until an hour or two later a slender signal smoke warned -the pack-train that he had a prize of bear-meat or venison waiting for -the arrival of the animals which were to carry it back to camp. - -Such constant exercise toughened muscle and sinew to the rigidity of -steel and the elasticity of rubber, while association with the natives -enabled him constantly to learn their habits and ideas, and in time to -become almost one of themselves. - -If night overtook him at a distance from camp, he would picket his -animal to a bush convenient to the best grass, take out his heavy -hunting-knife and cut down a pile of the smaller branches of the pine, -cedar, or sage-brush, as the case might be, and with them make a couch -upon which, wrapped in his overcoat and saddle-blanket, he would sleep -composedly till the rise of the morning star, when he would light his -fire, broil a slice of venison, give his horse some water, saddle up and -be off to look for the trail of his people. - -His senses became highly educated; his keen, blue-gray eyes would detect -in a second and at a wonderful distance the slightest movement across -the horizon; the slightest sound aroused his curiosity, the faintest -odor awakened his suspicions. He noted the smallest depression in the -sand, the least deflection in the twigs or branches; no stone could be -moved from its position in the trail without appealing at once to his -perceptions. He became skilled in the language of “signs” and trails, -and so perfectly conversant with all that is concealed in the great book -of Nature that, in the mountains at least, he might readily take rank as -being fully as much an Indian as the Indian himself. - -There never was an officer in our military service so completely in -accord with all the ideas, views, and opinions of the savages whom he -had to fight or control as was General Crook. In time of campaign this -knowledge placed him, as it were, in the secret councils of the enemy; -in time of peace it enabled him all the more completely to appreciate -the doubts and misgivings of the Indians at the outset of a new life, -and to devise plans by which they could all the more readily be brought -to see that civilization was something which all could embrace without -danger of extinction. - -But while General Crook was admitted, even by the Indians, to be more of -an Indian than the Indian himself, it must in no wise be understood that -he ever occupied any other relation than that of the older and more -experienced brother who was always ready to hold out a helping hand to -the younger just learning to walk and to climb. Crook never ceased to be -a gentleman. Much as he might live among savages, he never lost the -right to claim for himself the best that civilization and enlightenment -had to bestow. He kept up with the current of thought on the more -important questions of the day, although never a student in the stricter -meaning of the term. His manners were always extremely courteous, and -without a trace of the austerity with which small minds seek to hedge -themselves in from the approach of inferiors or strangers. His voice was -always low, his conversation easy, and his general bearing one of quiet -dignity. - -He reminded me more of Daniel Boone than any other character, with this -difference, that Crook, as might be expected, had the advantages of the -better education of his day and generation. But he certainly recalled -Boone in many particulars; there was the same perfect indifference to -peril of any kind, the same coolness, an equal fertility of resources, -the same inner knowledge of the wiles and tricks of the enemy, the same -modesty and disinclination to parade as a hero or a great military -genius, or to obtrude upon public notice the deeds performed in -obedience to the promptings of duty. - -Such was Arizona, and such was General George Crook when he was assigned -to the task of freeing her from the yoke of the shrewdest and most -ferocious of all the tribes encountered by the white man within the -present limits of the United States. - -A condensed account of the Apaches themselves would seem not to be out -of place at this point, since it will enable the reader all the more -readily to comprehend the exact nature of the operations undertaken -against them, and what difficulties, if any, were to be encountered in -their subjugation and in their elevation to a higher plane of -civilization. - -With a stupidity strictly consistent with the whole history of our -contact with the aborigines, the people of the United States have -maintained a bitter and an unrelenting warfare against a people whose -name was unknown to them. The Apache is not the Apache; the name -“Apache” does not occur in the language of the “Tinneh,” by which name, -or some of its variants as “Inde,” “Dinde,” or something similar, our -Indian prefers to designate himself “The Man;” he knows nothing, or did -not know anything until after being put upon the Reservations, of the -new-fangled title “Apache,” which has come down to us from the Mexicans, -who borrowed it from the Maricopas and others, in whose language it -occurs with the signification of “enemy.” - -It was through the country of the tribes to the south that the Spaniards -first were brought face to face with the “Tinneh” of Arizona, and it was -from these Maricopas and others that the name was learned of the -desperate fighters who lived in the higher ranges with the deer, the -elk, the bear, and the coyote. - -And as the Spaniards have always insisted upon the use of a name which -the Apaches have as persistently repudiated; and as the Americans have -followed blindly in the footsteps of the Castilian, we must accept the -inevitable and describe this tribe under the name of the Apaches of -Arizona, although it is much like invading England by way of Ireland, -and writing of the Anglo-Saxons under the Celtic designation of the -“Sassenach.” - -The Apache is the southernmost member of the great Tinneh family, which -stretches across the circumpolar portion of the American Continent, from -the shores of the Pacific to the western line of Hudson’s Bay. In the -frozen habitat of their hyperborean ancestors, the Tinneh, as all -accounts agree, are perfectly good-natured, lively, and not at all hard -to get along with. - -But once forced out from the northern limits of the lake region of -British America—the Great Slave, the Great Bear, and others—whether by -over-population, failure of food, or other cause, the Tinneh appears -upon the stage as a conqueror, and as a diplomatist of the first class; -he shows an unusual astuteness even for an Indian, and a daring which -secures for him at once and forever an ascendency over all the tribes -within reach of him. This remark will apply with equal force to the -Rogue Rivers of Oregon, the Umpquas of northern California, the Hoopas -of the same State, and the Navajoes and Apaches of New Mexico, Chihuahua -and Sonora, all of whom are members of this great Tinneh family. - -In the Apache the Spaniard, whether as soldier or priest, found a foe -whom no artifice could terrify into submission, whom no eloquence could -wean from the superstitions of his ancestors. Indifferent to the bullets -of the arquebuses in the hands of soldiers in armor clad, serenely -insensible to the arguments of the friars and priests who claimed -spiritual dominion over all other tribes, the naked Apache, with no -weapons save his bow and arrows, lance, war-club, knife and shield, -roamed over a vast empire, the lord of the soil—fiercer than the -fiercest of tigers, wilder than the wild coyote he called his brother. - -For years I have collected the data and have contemplated the project of -writing the history of this people, based not only upon the accounts -transmitted to us from the Spaniards and their descendants, the -Mexicans, but upon the Apache’s own story as conserved in his myths and -traditions; but I have lacked both the leisure and the inclination to -put the project into execution. It would require a man with the -even-handed sense of justice possessed by a Guizot, and the keen, -critical, analytical powers of a Gibbon, to deal fairly with a question -in which the ferocity of the savage Red-man has been more than equalled -by the ferocity of the Christian Caucasian; in which the occasional -treachery of the aborigines has found its best excuse in the unvarying -Punic faith of the Caucasian invader; in which promises on each side -have been made only to deceive and to be broken; in which the red hand -of war has rested most heavily upon shrieking mother and wailing babe. - -If from this history the Caucasian can extract any cause of -self-laudation I am glad of it: speaking as a censor who has read the -evidence with as much impartiality as could be expected from one who -started in with the sincere conviction that the only good Indian was a -dead Indian, and that the only use to make of him was that of a -fertilizer, and who, from studying the documents in the case, and -listening little by little to the savage’s own story, has arrived at the -conclusion that perhaps Pope Paul III. was right when he solemnly -declared that the natives of the New World had souls and must be treated -as human beings, and admitted to the sacraments when found ready to -receive them, I feel it to be my duty to say that the Apache has found -himself in the very best of company when he committed any atrocity, it -matters not how vile, and that his complete history, if it could be -written by himself, would not be any special cause of self-complacency -to such white men as believe in a just God, who will visit the sins of -parents upon their children even to the third and the fourth generation. - -We have become so thoroughly Pecksniffian in our self-laudation, in our -exaltation of our own virtues, that we have become grounded in the error -of imagining that the American savage is more cruel in his war customs -than other nations of the earth have been; this, as I have already -intimated, is a misconception, and statistics, for such as care to dig -them out, will prove that I am right. The Assyrians cut their conquered -foes limb from limb; the Israelites spared neither parent nor child; the -Romans crucified head downward the gladiators who revolted under -Spartacus; even in the civilized England of the past century, the wretch -convicted of treason was executed under circumstances of cruelty which -would have been too much for the nerves of the fiercest of the Apaches -or Sioux. Instances in support of what I here assert crop up all over -the page of history; the trouble is not to discover them, but to keep -them from blinding the memory to matters more pleasant to remember. -Certainly, the American aborigine is not indebted to his pale-faced -brother, no matter of what nation or race he may be, for lessons in -tenderness and humanity. - -Premising the few remarks which I will allow myself to make upon this -subject, by stating that the territory over which the Apache roamed a -conqueror, or a bold and scarcely resisted raider, comprehended the -whole of the present Territories of Arizona and New Mexico, one half of -the State of Texas—the half west of San Antonio—and the Mexican states -of Sonora and Chihuahua, with frequent raids which extended as far as -Durango, Jalisco, and even on occasion the environs of Zacatecas, I can -readily make the reader understand that an area greater than that of the -whole German Empire and France combined was laid prostrate under the -heel of a foe as subtle, as swift, as deadly, and as uncertain as the -rattle-snake or the mountain lion whose homes he shared. - -From the moment the Castilian landed on the coast of the present Mexican -Republic, there was no such thing thought of as justice for the American -Indian until the authorities of the Church took the matter in hand, and -compelled an outward regard for the rights which even animals have -conceded to them. - -Christopher Columbus, whom some very worthy people are thinking of -having elevated to the dignity of a saint, made use of bloodhounds for -running down the inhabitants of Hispaniola. - -The expedition of D’Ayllon to the coast of Chicora, now known as South -Carolina, repaid the kind reception accorded by the natives by the -basest treachery; two ship-loads of the unfortunates enticed on board -were carried off to work in the mines of the invaders. - -Girolamo Benzoni, one of the earliest authors, describes the very -delightful way the Spaniards had of making slaves of all the savages -they could capture, and branding them with a red-hot iron on the hip or -cheek, so that their new owners could recognize them the more readily. - -Cabeza de Vaca and his wretched companions carried no arms, but met with -nothing but an ovation from the simple-minded and grateful natives, -whose ailments they endeavored to cure by prayer and the sign of the -cross. - -Yet, Vaca tells us, that as they drew near the settlements of their own -countrymen they found the whole country in a tumult, due to the efforts -the Castilians were making to enslave the populace, and drive them by -fire and sword to the plantations newly established. Humboldt is -authority for the statement that the Apaches resolved upon a war of -extermination upon the Spaniards, when they learned that all their -people taken captive by the king’s forces had been driven off, to die a -lingering death upon the sugar plantations of Cuba or in the mines of -Guanaxuato. - -Drawing nearer to our own days, we read the fact set down in the -clearest and coldest black and white, that the state governments of -Sonora and Chihuahua had offered and paid rewards of three hundred -dollars for each scalp of an Apache that should be presented at certain -designated headquarters, and we read without a tremor of horror that -individuals, clad in the human form—men like the Englishman Johnson, or -the Irishman Glanton—entered into contracts with the governor of -Chihuahua to do such bloody work. - -Johnson was “a man of honor.” He kept his word faithfully, and invited a -large band of the Apaches in to see him and have a feast at the old -Santa Rita mine in New Mexico—I have been on the spot and seen the exact -site—and while they were eating bread and meat, suddenly opened upon -them with a light fieldpiece loaded to the muzzle with nails, bullets, -and scrap-iron, and filled the court-yard with dead. - -Johnson, I say, was “a gentleman,” and abided by the terms of his -contract; but Glanton was a blackguard, and set out to kill anything and -everything in human form, whether Indian or Mexican. His first “victory” -was gained over a band of Apaches with whom he set about arranging a -peace in northern Chihuahua, not far from El Paso. The bleeding scalps -were torn from the heads of the slain, and carried in triumph to the -city of Chihuahua, outside of whose limits the “conquerors” were met by -a procession of the governor, all the leading state dignitaries and the -clergy, and escorted back to the city limits, where—as we are told by -Ruxton, the English officer who travelled across Chihuahua on horse-back -in 1835-1837—the scalps were nailed with frantic joy to the portals of -the grand cathedral, for whose erection the silver mines had been taxed -so outrageously. - -Glanton, having had his appetite for blood excited, passed westward -across Arizona until he reached the Colorado River, near where Fort Yuma -now stands. There he attempted to cross to the California or western -bank, but the Yuma Indians, who had learned of his pleasant -eccentricities of killing every one, without distinction of age, sex, or -race, who happened to be out on the trail alone, let Glanton and his -comrades get a few yards into the river, and then opened on them from an -ambush in the reeds and killed the last one. - -And then there have been “Pinole Treaties,” in which the Apaches have -been invited to sit down and eat repasts seasoned with the exhilarating -strychnine. So that, take it for all in all, the honors have been easy -so far as treachery, brutality, cruelty, and lust have been concerned. -The one great difference has been that the Apache could not read or -write and hand down to posterity the story of his wrongs as he, and he -alone, knew them. - -When the Americans entered the territory occupied or infested by the -Apaches, all accounts agree that the Apaches were friendly. The -statements of Bartlett, the commissioner appointed to run the new -boundary line between the United States and Mexico, are explicit upon -this point. Indeed, one of the principal chiefs of the Apaches was -anxious to aid the new-comers in advancing farther to the south, and in -occupying more of the territory of the Mexicans than was ceded by the -Gadsden purchase. One of Bartlett’s teamsters—a Mexican teamster named -Jesus Vasquez—causelessly and in the coldest blood drew bead upon a -prominent Apache warrior and shot him through the head. The Apaches did -nothing beyond laying the whole matter before the new commissioner, -whose decision they awaited hopefully. Bartlett thought that the sum of -thirty dollars, deducted from the teamster’s pay in monthly instalments, -was about all that the young man’s life was worth. The Apaches failed to -concur in this estimate, and took to the war-path; and, to quote the -words of Bartlett, in less than forty-eight hours had the whole country -for hundreds of miles in every direction on fire, and all the settlers -that were not killed fleeing for their lives to the towns on the Rio -Grande. A better understanding was reached a few years after, through -the exertions of officers of the stamp of Ewell, who were bold in war -but tender in peace, and who obtained great influence over a simple race -which could respect men whose word was not written in sand. - -At the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion, affairs in Arizona and New -Mexico became greatly tangled. The troops were withdrawn, and the -Apaches got the notion into their heads that the country was to be left -to them and their long-time enemies, the Mexicans, to fight for the -mastery. - -Rafael Pumpelly, who at that time was living in Arizona, gives a vivid -but horrifying description of the chaotic condition in which affairs -were left by the sudden withdrawal of the troops, leaving the mines, -which, in each case, were provided with stores or warehouses filled with -goods, a prey to the Apaches who swarmed down from the mountains and the -Mexican bandits who poured in from Sonora. - -There was scarcely any choice between them, and occasionally it -happened, when the mining superintendent had an unusual streak of good -luck, that he would have them both to fight at once, as in Pumpelly’s -own case. - -Not very long previous to this, Arizona had received a most liberal -contingent of the toughs and scalawags banished from San Francisco by -the efforts of its Vigilance Committee, and until these last had shot -each other to death, or until they had been poisoned by Tucson whiskey -or been killed by the Apaches, Arizona’s chalice was filled to the brim, -and the most mendacious real-estate boomer would have been unable to -recommend her as a suitable place for an investment of capital. - -It is among the possibilities that the Apaches could have been kept in a -state of friendliness toward the Americans during these troublous days, -had it not been for one of those accidents which will occur to disturb -the most harmonious relations, and destroy the effect of years of good -work. The Chiricahua Apaches, living close to what is now Fort Bowie, -were especially well behaved, and old-timers have often told me that the -great chief, Cocheis, had the wood contract for supplying the “station” -of the Southern Overland Mail Company at that point with fuel. The -Pinals and the other bands still raided upon the villages of northern -Mexico; in fact, some of the Apaches have made their home in the Sierra -Madre, in Mexico; and until General Crook in person led a small -expedition down there, and pulled the last one of them out, it was -always understood that there was the habitat and the abiding place of a -very respectable contingent—so far as numbers were concerned—of the -tribe. - -A party of the Pinal Apaches had engaged in trade with a party of -Mexicans close to Fort Bowie—and it should be understood that there was -both trade and war with the Castilian, and, worst of all, what was -stolen from one Mexican found ready sale to another, the plunder from -Sonora finding its way into the hands of the settlers in Chihuahua, or, -if taken up into our country, selling without trouble to the Mexicans -living along the Rio Grande—and during the trade had drunk more whiskey, -or mescal, than was good for them; that is to say, they had drunk more -than one drop, and had then stolen or led away with them a little boy, -the child of an Irish father and a Mexican mother, whom the Mexicans -demanded back. - -The commanding officer, a lieutenant of no great experience, sent for -the brother of Cocheis, and demanded the return of the babe; the reply -was made, and, in the light of years elapsed, the reply is known to have -been truthful, that the Chiricahuas knew nothing of the kidnapped -youngster and therefore could not restore him. The upshot of the affair -was that Cocheis’s brother was killed “while resisting arrest.” In -Broadway, if a man “resist arrest,” he is in danger of having his head -cracked by a policeman’s club; but in the remoter West, he is in great -good luck, sometimes, if he don’t find himself riddled with bullets. - -It is an excellent method of impressing an Indian with the dignity of -being arrested; but the cost of the treatment is generally too great to -make it one that can fairly be recommended for continuous use. In the -present instance, Cocheis, who had also been arrested, but had cut his -way out of the back of the tent in which he was confined, went on the -war-path, and for the next ten years made Arizona and New Mexico—at -least the southern half of them—and the northern portions of Sonora and -Chihuahua, about the liveliest places on God’s footstool. - -The account, if put down by a Treasury expert, would read something like -this: - - DR. - - “The United States to Cocheis, -“For one brother, killed ‘while resisting arrest.’” - - CR. - -“By ten thousand (10,000) men, women, and children killed, wounded, or - tortured to death, scared out of their senses or driven out of the - country, their wagon and pack-trains run off and destroyed, ranchos - ruined, and all industrial development stopped.” - -If any man thinks that I am drawing a fancy sketch, let him write to -John H. Marion, Pete Kitchen, or any other old pioneer whose residence -in either Arizona or New Mexico has been sufficiently long to include -the major portion of the time that the whole force of the Apache nation -was in hostilities. - -I have said that the exertions of the missionaries of the Roman Catholic -Church, ordinarily so successful with the aborigines of our Continent, -were nugatory with the Apaches of Arizona; I repeat this, at the same -time taking care to say that unremitting effort was maintained to open -up communication with the various bands nearest to the pueblos which, -from the year 1580, or thereabout, had been brought more or less -completely under the sway of the Franciscans. - -With some of these pueblos, as at Picuris, the Apaches had intermarried, -and with others still, as at Pecos, they carried on constant trade, and -thus afforded the necessary loop-hole for the entrance of zealous -missionaries. The word of God was preached to them, and in several -instances bands were coaxed to abandon their nomadic and predatory life, -and settle down in permanent villages. The pages of writers, like John -Gilmary Shea, fairly glow with the recital of the deeds of heroism -performed in this work; and it must be admitted that perceptible traces -of it are still to be found among the Navajo branch of the Apache -family, which had acquired the peach and the apricot, the sheep and the -goat, the cow, the donkey and the horse, either from the Franciscans -direct, or else from the pueblo refugees who took shelter with them in -1680 at the time of the Great Rebellion, in which the pueblos of New -Mexico arose _en masse_ and threw off the yoke of Spain and the Church, -all for twelve years of freedom, and the Moquis threw it off forever. -Arizona—the Apache portion of it—remained a sealed book to the friars, -and even the Jesuits, in the full tide of their career as successful -winners of souls, were held at arm’s length. - -There is one point in the mental make-up of the Apache especially worthy -of attention, and that is the quickness with which he seizes upon the -salient features of a strategetical combination, and derives from them -all that can possibly be made to inure to his own advantage. For -generations before the invasion by the Castilians—that is to say, by the -handful of Spaniards, and the colony of Tlascaltec natives and -mulattoes, whom Espejo and Onate led into the valley of the Rio Grande -between 1580 and 1590—the Apache had been the unrelenting foe of the -Pueblo tribes; but the moment that the latter determined to throw off -the galling yoke which had been placed upon their necks, the Apache -became their warm friend, and received the fugitives in the recesses of -the mountains, where he could bid defiance to the world. Therefore, we -can always depend upon finding in the records of the settlements in the -Rio Grande valley, and in Sonora and Chihuahua, that every revolt or -attempted revolt, of the Pueblos or sedentary tribes meant a -corresponding increase in the intensity of the hostilities prosecuted by -the Apache nomads. - -In the revolts of 1680, as well as those of 1745 and 1750, the Apache -swept the country far to the south. The great revolt of the Pueblos was -the one of 1680, during which they succeeded in driving the governor and -the surviving Spanish colonists from Santa Fé down to the present town -of Juarez (formerly El Paso del Norte), several hundred miles nearer -Mexico. At that place Otermin made a stand, but it was fully twelve -years before the Spanish power was re-established through the efforts of -Vargas and Cruzate. The other two attempts at insurrection failed -miserably, the second being merely a local one among the Papagoes of -Arizona. It may be stated, in round terms, that from the year 1700 until -they were expelled from the territory of Mexico, the exertions of the -representatives of the Spanish power in “New Spain” were mainly in the -direction of reducing the naked Apache, who drove them into a frenzy of -rage and despair by his uniform success. - -The Tarahumaris, living in the Sierra Madre south of the present -international boundary, were also for a time a thorn in the side of the -European; but they submitted finally to the instructions of the -missionaries who penetrated into their country, and who, on one occasion -at least, brought them in from the war-path before they had fired a -shot. - -The first reference to the Apaches by name is in the account of Espejo’s -expedition—1581—where they will be found described as the “Apichi,” and -from that time down the Spaniards vie with each other in enumerating the -crimes and the atrocities of which these fierce Tinneh have been guilty. -Torquemada grows eloquent and styles them the Pharaohs (“Faraones”) who -have persecuted the chosen people of Israel (meaning the settlers on the -Rio Grande). - -Yet all the while that this black cloud hung over the fair face of -nature—raiding, killing, robbing, carrying women and children into -captivity—Jesuit and Franciscan vied with each other in schemes for -getting these savages under their control. - -Father Eusebio Kino, of whom I have already spoken, formulated a plan in -or about 1710 for establishing, or re-establishing, a mission in the -villages of the Moquis, from which the Franciscans had been driven in -the great revolt and to which they had never permanently returned. -Questions of ecclesiastical jurisdiction seem to have had something to -do with delaying the execution of the plan, which was really one for the -spiritual and temporal conquest of the Apache, by moving out against him -from all sides, and which would doubtless have met with good results had -not Kino died at the mission of Madalena a few months after. Father -Sotomayor, another Jesuit, one of Kino’s companions, advanced from the -“Pimeria,” or country of the Pimas, in which Tucson has since grown up, -to and across the Salt River on the north, in an unsuccessful attempt to -begin negotiations with the Apaches. - -The overthrow of the Spanish power afforded another opportunity to the -Apache to play his cards for all they were worth; and for fully fifty -years he was undisputed master of Northwestern Mexico—the disturbed -condition of public affairs south of the Rio Grande, the war between the -United States and the Mexican Republic, and our own Civil War, being -additional factors in the equation from which the Apache reaped the -fullest possible benefit. - -It is difficult to give a fair description of the personal appearance of -the Apaches, because there is no uniform type to which reference can be -made; both in physique and in facial lineaments there seem to be two -distinct classes among them. Many of the tribes are scarcely above -medium size, although they look to be still smaller from their great -girth of chest and width of shoulders. Many others are tall, well-made, -and straight as arrows. There are long-headed men, with fine brows, -aquiline noses, well-chiselled lips and chins, and flashing eyes; and -there are others with the flat occiput, flat nose, open nostrils, thin, -everted lips, and projecting chins. - -One general rule may be laid down: the Apache, to whichever type he may -belong, is strongly built, straight, sinewy, well-muscled, extremely -strong in the lower limbs, provided with a round barrel chest, showing -good lung power, keen, intelligent-looking eyes, good head, and a mouth -showing determination, decision, and cruelty. He can be made a firm -friend, but no mercy need be expected from him as an enemy. - -He is a good talker, can argue well from his own standpoint, cannot be -hoodwinked by sophistry or plausible stories, keeps his word very -faithfully, and is extremely honest in protecting property or anything -placed under his care. No instance can be adduced of an Apache sentinel -having stolen any of the government or other property he was appointed -to guard. The Chiricahua and other Apache scouts, who were enlisted to -carry on General Crook’s campaign against “Geronimo,” remained for -nearly one week at Fort Bowie, and during that time made numbers of -purchases from the post-trader, Mr. Sydney R. De Long. These were all on -credit, as the scouts were about leaving with the gallant and lamented -Crawford on the expedition which led to his death. Some months after, as -I wished to learn something definite in regard to the honesty of this -much-maligned people, I went to Mr. De Long and asked him to tell me -what percentage of bad debts he had found among the Apaches. He examined -his books, and said slowly: “They have bought seventeen hundred and -eighty dollars’ worth, and they have paid me back every single cent.” - -“And what percentage of bad debts do you find among your white -customers?” - -A cynical smile and a pitying glance were all the reply vouchsafed. - -Around his own camp-fire the Apache is talkative, witty, fond of telling -stories, and indulging in much harmless raillery. He is kind to -children, and I have yet to see the first Indian child struck for any -cause by either parent or relative. The children are well provided with -games of different kinds, and the buckskin doll-babies for the little -girls are often very artistic in make-up. The boys have fiddles, flutes, -and many sorts of diversion. but at a very early age are given bows and -arrows, and amuse themselves as best they can with hunting for birds and -small animals. They have sham-fights, wrestling matches, footraces, -games of shinny and “muskha,” the last really a series of lance-throws -along the ground, teaching the youngster steadiness of aim and keeping -every muscle fully exercised. They learn at a very early age the names -and attributes of all the animals and plants about them; the whole -natural kingdom, in fact, is understood as far as their range of -knowledge in such matters extends. They are inured to great fatigue and -suffering, to deprivation of water, and to going without food for long -periods. - -Unlike the Indians of the Plains, east of the Rocky Mountains, they -rarely become good horsemen, trusting rather to their own muscles for -advancing upon or escaping from an enemy in the mountainous and desert -country with which they, the Apaches, are so perfectly familiar. Horses, -mules, and donkeys, when captured, were rarely held longer than the time -when they were needed to be eaten; the Apache preferred the meat of -these animals to that of the cow, sheep, or goat, although all the -last-named were eaten. Pork and fish were objects of the deepest -repugnance to both men and women; within the past twenty years—since the -Apaches have been enrolled as scouts and police at the agencies—this -aversion to bacon at least has been to a great extent overcome; but no -Apache would touch fish until Geronimo and the men with him were -incarcerated at Fort Pickens. Florida, when they were persuaded to eat -the pompano and other delicious fishes to be found in Pensacola Bay. - -When we first became apprised of this peculiarity of the Apache -appetite, we derived all the benefit from it that we could in driving -away the small boys who used to hang around our mess-canvas in the hope -of getting a handful of sugar, or a piece of cracker, of which all -hands, young and old, were passionately fond. All we had to do was to -set a can of salmon or lobster in the middle of the canvas, and the -sight of that alone would drive away the bravest Apache boy that ever -lived; he would regard as uncanny the mortals who would eat such vile -stuff. They could not understand what was the meaning of the -red-garmented Mephistophelian figure on the can of devilled ham, and -called that dish “Chidin-bitzi” (ghost meat), because they fancied a -resemblance to their delineations of their gods or spirits or ghosts. - -The expertness of the Apache in all that relates to tracking either man -or beast over the rocky heights, or across the interminable sandy wastes -of the region in which he makes his home, has been an occasion of -astonishment to all Caucasians who have had the slightest acquaintance -with him. He will follow through grass, over sand or rock, or through -the chapparal of scrub oak, up and down the flanks of the steepest -ridges, traces so faint that to the keenest-eyed American they do not -appear at all. - -Conversely, he is fiendishly dexterous in the skill with which he -conceals his own line of march when a pursuing enemy is to be thrown off -the track. No serpent can surpass him in cunning; he will dodge and -twist and bend in all directions, boxing the compass, doubling like a -fox, scattering his party the moment a piece of rocky ground is reached -over which it would, under the best circumstances, be difficult to -follow. Instead of moving in file, his party will here break into -skirmishing order, covering a broad space and diverging at the most -unexpected moment from the primitive direction, and not perhaps -reuniting for miles. Pursuit is retarded and very frequently baffled. -The pursuers must hold on to the trail, or all is lost. There must be no -guesswork. Following a trail is like being on a ship: so long as one is -on shipboard, he is all right; but if he once go overboard, he is all -wrong. So with a trail: to be a mile away from it is fully as bad as -being fifty, if it be not found again. In the meantime the Apache -raiders, who know full well that the pursuit must slacken for a while, -have reunited at some designated hill, or near some spring or water -“tank,” and are pushing across the high mountains as fast as legs harder -than leather can carry them. If there be squaws with the party, they -carry all plunder on their backs in long, conical baskets of their own -make, unless they have made a haul of ponies, in which case they -sometimes ride, and at all times use the animals to pack. - -At the summit of each ridge, concealed behind rocks or trees, a few -picked men, generally not more than two or three, will remain waiting -for the approach of pursuit; when the tired cavalry draw near, and -begin, dismounted, the ascent of the mountain, there are always good -chances for the Apaches to let them have half a dozen well-aimed -shots—just enough to check the onward movement, and compel them to halt -and close up, and, while all this is going on, the Apache rear-guard, -whether in the saddle or on foot, is up and away, as hard to catch as -the timid quail huddling in the mesquite. - -Or it may so happen the Apache prefers, for reasons best known to -himself, to await the coming of night, when he will sneak in upon the -herd and stampede it, and set the soldiery on foot, or drive a few -arrows against the sentinels, if he can discern where they may be moving -in the gloom. - -All sorts of signals are made for the information of other parties of -Apaches. At times, it is an inscription or pictograph incised in the -smooth bark of a sycamore; at others, a tracing upon a smooth-faced rock -under a ledge which will protect it from the elements; or it may be a -knot tied in the tall sacaton or in the filaments of the yucca; or one -or more stones placed in the crotch of a limb, or a sapling laid against -another tree, or a piece of buckskin carelessly laid over a branch. All -these, placed as agreed upon, afford signals to members of their own -band, and only Apaches or savages with perceptions as keen would detect -their presence. - -When information of some important happening is to be communicated to a -distance and at once, and the party is situated upon the summit of a -mountain chain or in other secure position, a fire is lighted of the -cones of the resinous pine, and the smoke is instantaneously making its -way far above the tracery of the foliage. A similar method is employed -when they desire to apprise kinsfolk of the death of relatives; in the -latter case the brush “jacal” of the deceased—the whole village, in -fact—is set on fire and reduced to ashes. - -The Apache was a hard foe to subdue, not because he was full of wiles -and tricks and experienced in all that pertains to the art of war, but -because he had so few artificial wants and depended almost absolutely -upon what his great mother—Nature—stood ready to supply. Starting out -upon the war-path, he wore scarcely any clothing save a pair of buckskin -moccasins reaching to mid-thigh and held to the waist by a string of the -same material; a piece of muslin encircling the loins and dangling down -behind about to the calves of the legs, a war-hat of buckskin surmounted -by hawk and eagle plumage, a rifle (the necessary ammunition in belt) or -a bow, with the quiver filled with arrows reputed to be poisonous, a -blanket thrown over the shoulders, a watertight wicker jug to serve as a -canteen, and perhaps a small amount of “jerked” meat, or else of -“pinole” or parched corn-meal. - -That is all, excepting his sacred relics and “medicine,” for now is the -time when the Apache is going to risk no failure by neglecting the -precaution needed to get all his ghosts and gods on his side. He will -have sacred cords of buckskin and shells, sacred sashes ornamented with -the figures of the powers invoked to secure him success; possibly, if he -be very opulent, he may have bought from a “medicine man” a sacred -shirt, which differs from the sash merely in being bigger and in having -more figures; and a perfect menagerie of amulets and talismans and -relics of all kinds, medicine arrows, pieces of crystal, petrified wood, -little bags of the sacred meal called “hoddentin,” fragments of wood -which has been struck by lightning, and any and all kinds of trash which -his fancy or his fears have taught him are endowed with power over the -future and the supernatural. Like the Roman he is not content with -paying respect to his own gods; he adopts those of all the enemies who -yield to his power. In many and many an instance I have seen dangling -from the neck, belt or wrist of an Apache warrior the cross, the medals, -the _Agnus Dei_ or the rosary of the Mexican victims whom his rifle or -arrow had deprived of life. - -To his captives the Apache was cruel, brutal, merciless; if of full age, -he wasted no time with them, unless on those rare occasions when he -wanted to extract some information about what his pursuers were doing or -contemplated doing, in which case death might be deferred for a few -brief hours. Where the captive was of tender years, unable to get along -without a mother’s care, it was promptly put out of its misery by having -its brains dashed against a convenient rock or tree; but where it -happened that the raiders had secured boys or girls sufficiently old to -withstand the hardships of the new life, they were accepted into the -band and treated as kindly as if Apache to the manner-born. - -It was often a matter of interest to me to note the great amount of -real, earnest, affectionate good-will that had grown up between the -Mexican captives and the other members of the tribe; there were not a -few of these captives who, upon finding a chance, made their escape back -to their own people, but in nearly all cases they have admitted to me -that their life among the savages was one of great kindness, after they -had learned enough of the language to understand and be understood. - -Many of these captives have risen to positions of influence among the -Apaches. There are men and women like “Severiano,” “Concepcion,” -“Antonio,” “Jesus Maria,” “Victor,” “Francesca,” “Maria,” and others I -could name, who have amassed property and gained influence among the -people who led them into slavery. - -A brief account of the more prominent of foods entering into the dietary -of the Apache may not be out of place, as it will serve to emphasize my -remarks concerning his ability to practically snap his fingers at any -attempts to reduce him to starvation by the ordinary methods. The same -remarks, in a minor degree, apply to all our wilder tribes. Our -Government had never been able to starve any of them until it had them -placed on a reservation. The Apache was not so well provided with meat -as he might have been, because the general area of Arizona was so arid -and barren that it could not be classed as a game country; nevertheless, -in the higher elevations of the Sierra Mogollon and the San Francisco, -there were to be found plenty of deer, some elk, and, in places like the -Grand Cañon of the Colorado, the Cañon of the Rio Salado, and others, -there were some Rocky Mountain sheep; down on the plains or deserts, -called in the Spanish idiom “playas” or “beaches,” there were quite -large herds of antelope, and bears were encountered in all the high and -rocky places. - -Wild turkeys flock in the timbered ranges, while on the lower levels, in -the thickets of sage-brush and mesquite, quail are numerous enough to -feed Moses and all the Israelites were they to come back to life again. -The jack-rabbit is caught by being “rounded up,” and the field-rat adds -something to the meat supply. The latter used to be caught in a very -peculiar way. The rat burrowed under a mesquite or other bush, and cast -up in a mound all the earth excavated from the spot selected for its -dwelling; and down through this cut or bored five or six entrances, so -that any intruder, such as a snake, would be unable to bar the retreat -of the inmates, who could seek safety through some channel other than -the one seized upon by the invader. - -The Apache was perfectly well acquainted with all this, and laid his -plans accordingly. Three or four boys would surround each habitation, -and, while one took station at the main entrance and laid the curved end -of his “rat-stick” across its mouth, the others devoted themselves to -prodding down with their sticks into the other channels. The rats, of -course, seeing one hole undisturbed, would dart up that, and, when each -had reached the opening, he would rest for a moment, with his body just -half out, while he scanned the horizon to see where the enemy was. That -was the supreme moment for both rat and Apache, and, with scarcely any -percentage of errors worth mentioning, the Apache was nearly always -successful. He would quickly and powerfully draw the stick towards him -and break the back of the poor rodent, and in another second have it -dangling from his belt. One gash of the knife would eviscerate the -little animal, and then it was thrown upon a bed of hot coals, which -speedily burned off all the hair and cooked it as well. - -The above completed the list of meats of which use was made, unless we -include the horses, cows, oxen, donkeys, sheep, and mules driven off -from Mexicans and Americans, which were all eaten as great delicacies. -Some few of the meats prepared by the Apache cooks are palatable, and I -especially remember their method of baking a deer’s head surrounded and -covered by hot embers. They roast a side of venison to perfection over a -bed of embers, and broil liver and steak in a savory manner; but their -_bonne bouche_, when they can get it, is an unborn fawn, which they -believe to be far more delicious than mule meat. - -The mainstay of the Apache larder was always the mescal, or agave—the -American aloe—a species of the so-called century plant. This was cut -down by the squaws and baked in “mescal-pits,” made for all the world -like a clam-bake. There would be first laid down a course of stones, -then one of wet grass, if procurable, then the mescal, then another -covering of grass, and lastly one of earth. All over Arizona old -“mescal-pits” are to be found, as the plant was always cooked as close -as possible to the spot where it was cut, thus saving the women -unnecessary labor. - -Three days are required to bake mescal properly, and, when done, it has -a taste very much like that of old-fashioned molasses candy, although -its first effects are those of all the aloe family. The central stalk is -the best portion, as the broad, thorny leaves, although yielding a sweet -mass, are so filled with filament that it is impossible to chew them, -and they must be sucked. - -The fruit of the Spanish bayonet, when dried, has a very pleasant taste, -not unlike that of a fig. It can also be eaten in the raw or pulpy -state, but will then, so the Apaches tell me, often bring on fever. - -Of the bread made from mesquite beans, as of the use made of the fruit -of the giant cactus, mention has already been made in the beginning of -this work. Sweet acorns are also used freely. - -The “nopal,” or Indian fig, supplies a fruit which is very good, and is -much liked by the squaws and children, but it is so covered with a beard -of spines, that until I had seen some of the squaws gathering it, I -could not see how it could be so generally employed as an article of -food. They would take in one hand a small wooden fork made for the -purpose, and with that seize the fruit of the plant; with the other -hand, a brush made of the stiff filaments of the sacaton was passed -rapidly over the spines, knocking them all off much sooner than it has -taken to write this paragraph on the typewriter. It requires no time at -all to fill a basket with them, and either fresh or dried they are good -food. - -The seeds of the sunflower are parched and ground up with corn-meal or -mesquite beans to make a rich cake. - -There are several varieties of seed-bearing grasses of importance to the -Apache. The squaws show considerable dexterity in collecting these; they -place their conical baskets under the tops of the stalks, draw these -down until they incline over the baskets, and then hit them a rap with a -small stick, which causes all the seed to fall into the receptacle -provided. - -In damp, elevated swales the wild potatoes grow plentifully. These are -eaten by both Apaches and Navajoes, who use with them a pinch of clay to -correct acridity. A small black walnut is eaten, and so is a wild -cherry. The wild strawberry is too rare to be noticed in this treatise, -but is known to the Apaches. Corn was planted in small areas by the -Sierra Blanca band whenever undisturbed by the scouting parties of their -enemies. After General Crook had conquered the whole nation and placed -the various bands upon reservations, he insisted upon careful attention -being paid to the planting of either corn or barley, and immense -quantities of each were raised and sold to the United States Government -for the use of its horses and mules. Of this a full description will -follow in due time. - -The Apaches have a very strict code of etiquette, as well as morals, -viewed from their own standpoint. It is considered very impolite for a -stranger to ask an Apache his name, and an Apache will never give it, -but will allow the friend at his side to reply for him; the names of the -dead are never referred to, and it is an insult to speak of them by -name. Yet, after a good long while has elapsed, the name of a warrior -killed in battle or distinguished in any way may be conferred upon his -grandchild or some other relative. - -No Apache, no matter what his standing may be in society, will speak to -or of his mother-in-law—a courtesy which the old lady reciprocates. One -of the funniest incidents I can remember was seeing a very desperate -Chiricahua Apache, named “Ka-e-tennay,” who was regarded as one of the -boldest and bravest men in the whole nation, trying to avoid running -face to face against his mother-in-law; he hung on to stones, from which -had he fallen he would have been dashed to pieces or certainly broken -several of his limbs. There are times at the Agencies when Indians have -to be counted for rations—even then the rule is not relaxed. The -mother-in-law will take a seat with her son-in-law and the rest of the -family; but a few paces removed, and with her back turned to them all; -references to her are by signs only—she is never mentioned otherwise. - -When an Apache young man begins to feel the first promptings of love for -any particular young damsel, he makes known the depth and sincerity of -his affection by presenting the young woman with a calico skirt, cut and -sewed by his own fair fingers. The Apache men are good sewers, and the -Navajo men do all the knitting for their tribe, and the same may be said -of the men of the Zunis. - -Only ill-bred Americans or Europeans, who have never had any “raising,” -would think of speaking of the Bear, the Snake, the Lightning or the -Mule, without employing the reverential prefix “Ostin,” meaning “Old -Man,” and equivalent to the Roman title “Senator.” But you can’t teach -politeness to Americans, and the Apache knows it and wastes no time or -vain regrets on the defects of their training. - -“You must stop talking about bear,” said a chief to me one night at the -camp-fire, “or we’ll not have a good hunt.” - -In the same manner no good will come from talking about owls, whose -hooting, especially if on top of a “jacal,” or in the branches of a tree -under which people are seated or sleeping, means certain death. I have -known of one case where our bravest scouts ran away from a place where -an owl had perched and begun its lugubrious ditty, and at another time -the scouts, as we were about entering the main range of the Sierra -Madre, made a great fuss and would not be pacified until one of the -whites of our command had released a little owl which he had captured. -This same superstition obtained with equal force among the Romans, and, -indeed, there are few if any spots in the world, where the owl has not -been regarded as the messenger of death or misfortune. - -When an Apache starts out on the war-path for the first four times, he -will refrain from letting water touch his lips; he will suck it through -a small reed or cane which he carries for the purpose. Similarly, he -will not scratch his head with the naked fingers, but resorts to a small -wooden scratcher carried with the drinking-tube. Traces of these two -superstitions can also be found in other parts of the globe. There are -all kinds of superstitions upon every conceivable kind of subject, but -there are too many of them to be told _in extenso_ in a book treating of -military campaigning. - -As might be inferred, the “medicine men” wield an amount of influence -which cannot be understood by civilized people who have not been brought -into intimate relations with the aborigines in a wild state. The study -of the religious life and thought of our savage tribes has always been -to me of the greatest interest and of supreme importance; nothing has -been so neglected by the Americans as an examination into the mental -processes by which an Indian arrives at his conclusions, the omens, -auguries, hopes and fears by which he is controlled and led to one -extreme or the other in all he does, or a study of the leaders who keep -him under control from the cradle to the grave. Certainly, if we are in -earnest in our protestations of a desire to elevate and enlighten the -aborigine—which I for one most sincerely doubt—then we cannot begin too -soon to investigate all that pertains to him mentally as well as -physically. Looking at the subject in the strictest and most completely -practical light, we should save millions of dollars in expenditure, and -many valuable lives, and not be making ourselves a holy show and a -laughing-stock for the rest of the world by massing troops and munitions -of war from the four corners of the country every time an Indian -medicine man or spirit doctor announces that he can raise the dead. -Until we provide something better, the savage will rely upon his own -religious practices to help him through all difficulties, and his -medicine man will be called upon to furnish the singing, drumming and -dancing that may be requisite to cure the sick or avert disease of any -kind. - -The “cures” of the medicine men are effected generally by incantations, -the sprinkling of hoddentin or sacred powder, sweat-baths, and at times -by suction of the arm, back or shoulder in which pain may have taken up -its abode. If they fail, as they very often do, then they cast about and -pretty soon have indicated some poor old crone as the maleficent -obstacle to the success of their ministrations, and the miserable bag is -very soon burnt or stoned to death. - -The influence quietly exerted upon tribal councils by the women of the -Apache and Navajo tribes has been noted by many observers. - -I will curtail my remarks upon the manners and customs of the Apaches at -this point, as there will necessarily be many other allusions to them -before this narrative shall be completed. One thing more is all I care -to say. The endurance of their warriors while on raids was something -which extorted expressions of wonder from all white men who ever had -anything to do with their subjugation. Seventy-five miles a day was -nothing at all unusual for them to march when pursued, their tactics -being to make three or four such marches, in the certainty of being able -to wear out or throw off the track the most energetic and the most -intelligent opponents. - -Their vision is so keen that they can discern movements of troops or the -approach of wagon-trains for a distance of thirty miles, and so inured -are they to the torrid heats of the burning sands of Arizona south of -the Gila and Northern Mexico, that they seem to care nothing for -temperatures under which the American soldier droops and dies. The -Apache, as a matter of fact, would strip himself of everything and -travel naked, which the civilized man would not do; but the amount of -clothing retained by the soldiers was too small to be considered a very -important factor. - -If necessary, the Apache will go without water for as long a time almost -as a camel. A small stone or a twig inserted in the mouth will cause a -more abundant flow of saliva and assuage his thirst. He travels with -fewer “impedimenta” than any other tribe of men in the world, not even -excepting the Australians, but sometimes he allows himself the luxury or -comfort of a pack of cards, imitated from those of the Mexicans, and -made out of horse-hide, or a set of the small painted sticks with which -to play the game of “Tze-chis,” or, on occasions when an unusually large -number of Apaches happen to be travelling together, some one of the -party will be loaded with the hoops and poles of the “mushka;” for, be -it known, that the Apache, like savages everywhere, and not a few -civilized men, too, for that matter, is so addicted to gambling that he -will play away the little he owns of clothing and all else he possesses -in the world. - -Perhaps no instance could afford a better idea of the degree of -ruggedness the Apaches attain than the one coming under my personal -observation in the post hospital of Fort Bowie, in 1886, where one of -our Apache scouts was under treatment for a gunshot wound in the thigh. -The moment Mr. Charles Lummis and myself approached the bedside of the -young man, he asked for a “tobacco-shmoke,” which he received in the -form of a bunch of cigarettes. One of these he placed in his mouth, and, -drawing a match, coolly proceeded to strike a light on his foot, which, -in its horny, callous appearance, closely resembled the back of a mud -tortoise. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - -CROOK’S FIRST MOVEMENTS AGAINST THE APACHES—THE SCOUTS—MIRAGES—THE - FLORAL WEALTH OF ARIZONA—RUNNING IN UPON THE HOSTILE APACHES—AN - ADVENTURE WITH BEARS—CROOK’S TALK WITH THE APACHES—THE GREAT - MOGOLLON PLATEAU—THE TONTO BASIN—MONTEZUMA’S WELL—CLIFF - DWELLINGS—THE PACK TRAINS. - - -How it all came about I never knew; no one ever knew. There were no -railroads and no telegraphs in those days, and there were no messages -flashed across the country telling just what was going to be done and -when and how. But be all that as it may, before any officer or man knew -what had happened, and while the good people in Tucson were still asking -each other whether the new commander had a “policy” or not—he had not, -but that’s neither here nor there—we were out on the road, five full -companies of cavalry, and a command of scouts and trailers gathered -together from the best available sources, and the campaign had begun. - -Rumors had reached Tucson—from what source no one could tell—that the -Government would not permit Crook to carry on offensive operations -against the Apaches, and there were officers in the Department, some -even in our own command, who were inclined to lend an ear to them. They -were enthusiasts, however, who based their views upon the fact that -“Loco” and “Victorio,” prominent chiefs of the Warm Springs band over in -New Mexico, had been ever since September of the year 1869, a period of -not quite two years, encamped within sight of old Fort Craig, New -Mexico, on the Rio Grande, waiting to hear from the Great Father in -regard to having a Reservation established for them where they and their -children could live at peace. - -The more conservative sadly shook their heads. They _knew_ that there -had not been time for the various documents and reports in the case to -make the round of the various bureaus in Washington, and lead to the -formulation of any scheme in the premises. It used to take from four to -six months for such a simple thing as a requisition for rations or -clothing to produce any effect, and, of course, it would seem that the -caring for a large body would consume still longer time for -deliberation. But, no matter what Washington officialism might do or not -do, General Crook was not the man to delay at his end of the line. We -were on our way to Fort Bowie, in the eastern section of Arizona, -leaving Tucson at six o’clock in the morning of July 11, 1871, and -filing out on the mail road where the heat before ten o’clock attained -110° Fahrenheit in the shade, as we learned from the party left behind -in Tucson to bring up the mail. - -As it happened, Crook’s first movement was stopped; but not until it had -almost ended and been, what it was intended to be, a “practice march” of -the best kind, in which officers and men could get acquainted with each -other and with the country in which at a later moment they should have -to work in earnest. Our line of travel lay due east one hundred and ten -miles to old Fort Bowie, thence north through the mountains to Camp -Apache, thence across an unmapped region over and at the base of the -great Mogollon range to Camp Verde and Prescott on the west. In all, -some six hundred and seventy-five miles were travelled, and most of it -being in the presence of a tireless enemy, made it the best kind of a -school of instruction. The first man up in the morning, the first to be -saddled, the first ready for the road, was our indefatigable commander, -who, in a suit of canvas, and seated upon a good strong mule, with his -rifle carried across the pommel of his saddle, led the way. - -With the exception of Colonel Guy V. Henry, Captain W. W. Robinson of -the Seventh Cavalry, and myself, none of the officers of that scout are -left in the army. Major Ross, our capable quartermaster, is still alive -and is now a citizen of Tucson. Crook, Stanwood, Smith, Meinhold, -Mullan, and Brent are dead, and Henry has had such a close call for his -life (at the Rosebud, June 17, 1876) that I am almost tempted to include -him in the list. - -The detachment of scouts made a curious ethnographical collection. There -were Navajoes, Apaches, Opatas, Yaquis, Pueblos, Mexicans, Americans, -and half-breeds of any tribe one could name. It was an _omnium -gatherum_—the best that could be summoned together at the time; some -were good, and others were good for nothing. They were a fair sample of -the social driftwood of the Southwest, and several of them had been -concerned in every revolution or counter-revolution in northwestern -Mexico since the day that Maximilian landed. Manuel Duran, the old -Apache, whom by this time I knew very intimately, couldn’t quite make it -all out. He had never seen so many troops together before without -something being in the wind, and what it meant he set about unravelling. -He approached, the morning we arrived at Sulphur Springs, and in the -most confidential manner asked me to ride off to one side of the road -with him, which I, of course, did. - -“You are a friend of the new Comandante,” he said, “and I am a friend of -yours. You must tell me _all_.” - -“But, Manuel, I do not fully understand what you are driving at.” - -“Ah, mi teniente, you cannot fool me. I am too old; I know all about -such things.” - -“But, tell me, Manuel, what is this great mystery you wish to know?” - -Manuel’s right eyelid dropped just a trifle, just enough to be called a -wink, and he pointed with his thumb at General Crook in advance. His -voice sank to a whisper, but it was still perfectly clear and plain, as -he asked: “When is the new Comandante going to pronounce?” - -I didn’t explode nor roll out of the saddle, although it was with the -greatest difficulty I kept from doing either; but the idea of General -Crook, with five companies of cavalry and one of scouts, revolting -against the general Government and issuing a “pronunciamiento,” was too -much for my gravity, and I yelled. Often in succeeding years I have -thought of that talk with poor Manuel, and never without a chuckle. - -We learned to know each other, we learned to know Crook, we learned to -know the scouts and guides, and tell which of them were to be relied -upon, and which were not worth their salt; we learned to know a great -deal about packers, pack-mules and packing, which to my great surprise I -found to be a science and such a science that as great a soldier as -General Crook had not thought it beneath his genius to study it; and, -applying the principles of military discipline to the organization of -trains, make them as nearly perfect as they ever have been or can be in -our army history. Last, but not least, we learned the country—the -general direction of the rivers, mountains, passes, where was to be -found the best grazing, where the most fuel, where the securest shelter. -Some of the command had had a little experience of the same kind -previously, but now we were all in attendance at a perambulating -academy, and had to answer such questions as the general commanding -might wish to propound on the spot. - -Side scouts were kept out constantly, and each officer, upon his return, -was made to tell all he had learned of the topography and of Indian -“sign.” There was a great plenty of the latter, but none of it very -fresh; in the dim distance, on the blue mountain-tops, we could discern -at frequent intervals the smoke sent up in signals by the Apaches; -often, we were at a loss to tell whether it was smoke or the -swift-whirling “trebillon” of dust, carrying off in its uncanny embrace -the spirit of some mighty chief. While we slowly marched over “playas” -of sand, without one drop of water for miles, we were tantalized by the -sight of cool, pellucid lakelets from which issued water whose gurgle -and ripple could almost be heard, but the illusion dissipated as we drew -nearer and saw that the mirage-fiend had been mocking our thirst with -spectral waters. - -Our commanding general showed himself to be a man who took the deepest -interest in everything we had to tell, whether it was of peccaries -chased off on one side of the road, of quail flushed in great numbers, -of the swift-walking, long-tailed road-runner—the “paisano” or -“chapparal cock,” of which the Mexicans relate that it will imprison the -deadly rattler by constructing around its sleeping coils a fence of -cactus spines; of tarantulas and centipedes and snakes—possibly, some of -the snake-stories of Arizona may have been a trifle exaggerated, but -then we had no fish, and a man must have something upon which to let his -imagination have full swing; of badgers run to their holes; of coyotes -raced to death; of jackass-rabbits surrounded and captured; and all the -lore of plant and animal life in which the Mexican border is so rich. -Nothing was too insignificant to be noted, nothing too trivial to be -treasured up in our memories; such was the lesson taught during our -moments of conversation with General Crook. The guides and trailers soon -found that although they who had been born and brought up in that vast -region could tell Crook much, they could never tell him anything twice, -while as for reading signs on the trail there was none of them his -superior. - -At times we would march for miles through a country in which grew only -the white-plumed yucca with trembling, serrated leaves; again, mescal -would fill the hillsides so thickly that one could almost imagine that -it had been planted purposely; or we passed along between masses of the -dust-laden, ghostly sage-brush, or close to the foul-smelling joints of -the “hediondilla.” The floral wealth of Arizona astonished us the moment -we had gained the higher elevations of the Mogollon and the other -ranges. Arizona will hold a high place in any list that may be prepared -in this connection; there are as many as twenty and thirty different -varieties of very lovely flowers and blossoms to be plucked within a -stone’s-throw of one’s saddle after reaching camp of an -evening,—phloxes, marguerites, chrysanthemums, verbenas, golden-rod, -sumach, columbines, delicate ferns, forget-me-nots, and many others for -which my very limited knowledge of botany furnishes no name. The flowers -of Arizona are delightful in color, but they yield no perfume, probably -on account of the great dryness of the atmosphere. - -As for grasses one has only to say what kind he wants, and lo! it is at -his feet—from the coarse sacaton which is deadly to animals except when -it is very green and tender; the dainty mesquite, the bunch, and the -white and black grama, succulent and nutritious. But I am speaking of -the situations where we would make camp, because, as already stated, -there are miles and miles of land purely desert, and clothed only with -thorny cacti and others of that ilk. I must say, too, that the wild -grasses of Arizona always seemed to me to have but slight root in the -soil, and my observation is that the presence of herds of cattle soon -tears them up and leaves the land bare. - -If the marching over the deserts had its unpleasant features, certainly -the compensation offered by the camping places in the cañons, by limpid -streams of rippling water, close to the grateful foliage of cottonwood, -sycamore, ash, or walnut; or, in the mountains, the pine and juniper, -and sheltered from the sun by walls of solid granite, porphyry or -basalt, was a most delightful antithesis, and one well worthy of the -sacrifices undergone to attain it. Strong pickets were invariably -posted, as no risks could be run in that region; we were fortunate to -have just enough evidence of the close proximity of the Apaches to -stimulate all to keep both eyes open. - -“F” troop of the Third Cavalry, to which I belonged, had the misfortune -to give the alarm to a large band of Chiricahua Apaches coming down the -Sulphur Springs Valley from Sonora, with a herd of ponies or cattle; we -did not have the remotest idea that there were Indians in the country, -not having seen the faintest sign, when all of a sudden at the close of -a night march, very near where the new post of Camp Grant has since been -erected on the flank of the noble Sierra Bonita or Mount Graham, we came -upon their fires with the freshly slaughtered beeves undivided, and the -blood still warm; but our advance had alarmed the enemy, and they had -moved off, scattering as they departed. - -Similarly, Robinson I think it was, came so close upon the heels of a -party of raiders that they dropped a herd of fifteen or twenty “burros” -with which they had just come up from the Mexican border. Our -pack-trains ran in upon a band of seven bears in the Aravaypa cañon -which scared the mules almost out of their senses, but the packers soon -laid five of the ursines low and wounded the other two which, however, -escaped over the rough, dangerous rocks. - -There were sections of country passed over which fairly reeked with the -baleful malaria, like the junction of the San Carlos and the Gila. There -were others along which for miles and miles could be seen nothing but -lava, either in solid waves, or worse yet, in “nigger-head” lumps of all -sizes. There were mountain ranges with flanks hidden under a solid -matting of the scrub-oak, and others upon whose summits grew dense -forests of graceful pines, whose branches, redolent with balsamic odors, -screened from the too fierce glow of the noonday sun. There were broad -stretches of desert, where the slightest movement raised clouds of dust -which would almost stifle both men and beasts; and gloomy ravines and -startling cañons, in whose depths flowed waters as swift and clear and -cool as any that have ever rippled along the pages of poetry. - -Camp Apache was reached after a march and scout of all the intermediate -country and a complete familiarization with the course of all the -streams passed over _en route_. Nature had been more than liberal in her -apportionment of attractions at this point, and there are truly few -fairer scenes in the length and breadth of our territory. The post, -still in the rawest possible state and not half-constructed, was -situated upon a gently sloping mesa, surrounded by higher hills running -back to the plateaux which formed the first line of the Mogollon range. -Grass was to be had in plenty, while, as for timber, the flanks of every -elevation, as well as the summits of the mountains themselves, were -covered with lofty pine, cedar, and oak, with a sprinkling of the -“madroño,” or mountain mahogany. - -Two branches of the Sierra Blanca River unite almost in front of the -camp, and supply all the water needed for any purpose, besides being -stocked fairly well with trout, a fish which is rare in other sections -of the Territory. Hunting was very good, and the sportsman could find, -with very slight trouble, deer, bear, elk, and other varieties of -four-footed animals, with wild turkey and quail in abundance. In the -vicinity of this lovely site lived a large number of the Apaches, under -chiefs who were peaceably disposed towards the whites—men like the old -Miguel, Eskitistsla, Pedro, Pitone, Alchise, and others, who expressed -themselves as friendly, and showed by their actions the sincerity of -their avowals. They planted small farms with corn, gathered the wild -seeds, hunted, and were happy as savages are when unmolested. Colonel -John Green, of the First Cavalry, was in command, with two troops of his -own regiment and two companies of the Twenty-third Infantry. Good -feeling existed between the military and the Indians, and the latter -seemed anxious to put themselves in “the white man’s road.” - -General Crook had several interviews with Miguel and the others who came -in to see him, and to them he explained his views. To my surprise he -didn’t have any “policy,” in which respect he differed from every other -man I have met, as all seem to have “policies” about the management of -Indians, and the less they know the more “policy” they seem to keep in -stock. Crook’s talk was very plain; a child could have understood every -word he said. He told the circle of listening Indians that he had not -come to make war, but to avoid it if possible. Peace was the best -condition in which to live, and he hoped that those who were around him -would see that peace was not only preferable, but essential, and not for -themselves alone, but for the rest of their people as well. The white -people were crowding in all over the Western country, and soon it would -be impossible for any one to live upon game; it would be driven away or -killed off. Far better for every one to make up his mind to plant and to -raise horses, cows, and sheep, and make his living in that way; his -animals would thrive and increase while he slept, and in less than no -time the Apache would be wealthier than the Mexican. So long as the -Apache behaved himself he should receive the fullest protection from the -troops, and no white man should be allowed to do him harm; but so long -as any fragment of the tribe kept out on the war-path, it would be -impossible to afford all the protection to the well-disposed that they -were entitled to receive, as bad men could say that it was not easy to -discriminate between those who were good and those who were bad. -Therefore, he wished to ascertain for himself just who were disposed to -remain at peace permanently and who preferred to continue in hostility. -He had no desire to punish any man or woman for any acts of the past. He -would blot them all out and begin over again. It was no use to try to -explain how the war with the whites had begun. All that he cared to say -was, that it must end, and end at once. He would send out to all the -bands still in the mountains, and tell them just the same thing. He did -not intend to tell one story to one band and another to another; but to -all the same words, and it would be well for all to listen with both -ears. If every one came in without necessitating a resort to bloodshed -he should be very glad; but, if any refused, then he should expect the -good men to aid him in running down the bad ones. That was the way the -white people did; if there were bad men in a certain neighborhood, all -the law-abiding citizens turned out to assist the officers of the law in -arresting and punishing those who would not behave themselves. He hoped -that the Apaches would see that it was their duty to do the same. He -hoped to be able to find work for them all. It was by work, and by work -only, that they could hope to advance and become rich. - -He wanted them always to tell him the exact truth, as he should never -say anything to them which was not true; and he hoped that as they -became better acquainted, they would always feel that his word could be -relied on. He would do all in his power for them, but would never make -them a promise he could not carry out. There was no good in such a -manner of doing, and bad feeling often grew up between good friends -through misunderstandings in regard to promises not kept. He would make -no such promises; and as the way in which they might remember a thing -might happen to be different from the way in which he remembered it, he -would do all he could to prevent misunderstandings, by having every word -he said to them put down in black and white on paper, of which, if they -so desired, they could keep a copy. When men were afraid to put their -words on paper, it looked as if they did not mean half what they said. -He wanted to treat the Apache just the same as he would treat any other -man—as a man. He did not believe in one kind of treatment for the white -and another for the Indian. All should fare alike; but so long as the -Indian remained ignorant of our laws and language it was for his own -good that the troops remained with him, and he must keep within the -limits of the Reservations set apart for him. He hoped the time would -soon come when the children of the Apaches would be going to school, -learning all the white men had to teach to their own children, and all -of them, young or old, free to travel as they pleased all over the -country, able to work anywhere, and not in fear of the white men or the -white men of them. Finally, he repeated his urgent request that every -effort should be made to spread these views among all the others who -might still be out in the mountains, and to convince them that the -safest and best course for all to adopt was that of peace with all -mankind. After a reasonable time had been given for all to come in, he -intended to start out in person and see to it that the last man returned -to the Reservations or died in the mountains. - -To all this the Apaches listened with deep attention, at intervals -expressing approbation after their manner by heavy grunts and the -utterance of the monosyllable “Inju” (good). - -The Apaches living in the vicinity of Camp Apache are of purer Tinneh -blood than those bands which occupied the western crest of the long -Mogollon plateau, or the summits of the lofty Matitzal. The latter have -very appreciably intermixed with the conquered people of the same stock -as the Mojaves and Yumas of the Colorado valley, and the consequence is -that the two languages are, in many cases, spoken interchangeably, and -not a few of the chiefs and head men possess two names—one in the -Apache, the other in the Mojave tongue. - -After leaving Camp Apache, the command was greatly reduced by the -departure of three of the companies in as many directions; one of -these—Guy V. Henry’s—ran in on a party of hostile Apaches and exchanged -shots, killing one warrior whose body fell into our hands. The course of -those who were to accompany General Crook was nearly due west, along the -rim of what is called the Mogollon Mountain or plateau, a range of very -large size and great elevation, covered on its summits with a forest of -large pine-trees. It is a strange upheaval, a strange freak of nature, a -mountain canted up on one side; one rides along the edge and looks down -two and three thousand feet into what is termed the “Tonto Basin,” a -weird scene of grandeur and rugged beauty. The “Basin” is a basin only -in the sense that it is all lower than the ranges enclosing it—the -Mogollon, the Matitzal and the Sierra Ancha—but its whole triangular -area is so cut up by ravines, arroyos, small stream beds and hills of -very good height, that it may safely be pronounced one of the roughest -spots on the globe. It is plentifully watered by the affluents of the -Rio Verde and its East Fork, and by the Tonto and the Little Tonto; -since the subjugation of the Apaches it has produced abundantly of -peaches and strawberries, and potatoes have done wonderfully on the -summit of the Mogollon itself in the sheltered swales in the pine -forest. At the date of our march all this section of Arizona was still -unmapped, and we had to depend upon Apache guides to conduct us until -within sight of the Matitzal range, four or five days out from Camp -Apache. - -The most singular thing to note about the Mogollon was the fact that the -streams which flowed upon its surface in almost every case made their -way to the north and east into Shevlon’s Fork, even where they had their -origin in springs almost upon the crest itself. One exception is the -spring named after General Crook (General’s Springs), which he -discovered, and near which he had such a narrow escape from being killed -by Apaches—that makes into the East Fork of the Verde. It is an -awe-inspiring sensation to be able to sit or stand upon the edge of such -a precipice and look down upon a broad expanse mantled with juicy -grasses, the paradise of live stock. There is no finer grazing section -anywhere than the Tonto Basin, and cattle, sheep, and horses all now do -well in it. It is from its ruggedness eminently suited for the purpose, -and in this respect differs from the Sulphur Springs valley which has -been occupied by cattlemen to the exclusion of the farmer, despite the -fact that all along its length one can find water by digging a few feet -beneath the surface. Such land as the Sulphur Springs valley would be -more profitably employed in the cultivation of the grape and cereals -than as a range for a few thousand head of cattle as is now the case. - -The Tonto Basin was well supplied with deer and other wild animals, as -well as with mescal, Spanish bayonet, acorn-bearing oak, walnuts, and -other favorite foods of the Apaches, while the higher levels of the -Mogollon and the other ranges were at one and the same time pleasant -abiding-places during the heats of summer, and ramparts of protection -against the sudden incursion of an enemy. I have already spoken of the -wealth of flowers to be seen in these high places; I can only add that -throughout our march across the Mogollon range—some eleven days in -time—we saw spread out before us a carpet of colors which would rival -the best examples of the looms of Turkey or Persia. - -Approaching the western edge of the plateau, we entered the country -occupied by the Tonto Apaches, the fiercest band of this wild and -apparently incorrigible family. We were riding along in a very lovely -stretch of pine forest one sunny afternoon, admiring the wealth of -timber which would one day be made tributary to the world’s commerce, -looking down upon the ever-varying colors of the wild flowers which -spangled the ground for leagues (because in these forests upon the -summits of all of Arizona’s great mountain ranges there is never any -underbrush, as is the case in countries where there is a greater amount -of humidity in the atmosphere), and ever and anon exchanging expressions -of pleasure and wonder at the vista spread out beneath us in the immense -Basin to the left and front, bounded by the lofty ridges of the Sierra -Ancha and the Matitzal; each one was talking pleasantly to his neighbor, -and as it happened the road we were pursuing—to call it road where human -being had never before passed—was so even and clear that we were riding -five and six abreast, General Crook, Lieutenant Ross, Captain Brent, Mr. -Thomas Moore, and myself a short distance in advance of the cavalry, and -the pack-train whose tinkling bells sounded lazily among the trees—and -were all delighted to be able to go into camp in such a romantic -spot—when “whiz! whiz!” sounded the arrows of a small party of Tontos -who had been watching our advance and determined to try the effects of a -brisk attack, not knowing that we were merely the advance of a larger -command. - -The Apaches could not, in so dense a forest, see any distance ahead; but -did not hesitate to do the best they could to stampede us, and -consequently attacked boldly with arrows which made no noise to arouse -the suspicions of the white men in rear. The arrows were discharged with -such force that one of them entered a pine-tree as far as the feathers, -and another not quite so far, but still too far to allow of its -extraction. There was a trifle of excitement until we could get our -bearings and see just what was the matter, and in the mean time every -man had found his tree without waiting for any command. The Apaches—of -the Tonto band—did not number more than fifteen or twenty at most and -were already in retreat, as they saw the companies coming up at a brisk -trot, the commanders having noticed the confusion in the advance. Two of -the Apaches were cut off from their comrades, and as we supposed were -certain to fall into our hands as prisoners. This would have been -exactly what General Crook desired, because he could then have the means -of opening communication with the band in question, which had refused to -respond to any and all overtures for the cessation of hostilities. - -There they stood; almost entirely concealed behind great boulders on the -very edge of the precipice, their bows drawn to a semi-circle, eyes -gleaming with a snaky black fire, long unkempt hair flowing down over -their shoulders, bodies almost completely naked, faces streaked with the -juice of the baked mescal and the blood of the deer or antelope—a most -repulsive picture and yet one in which there was not the slightest -suggestion of cowardice. They seemed to know their doom, but not to fear -it in the slightest degree. The tinkling of the pack-train bells showed -that all our command had arrived, and then the Apaches, realizing that -it was useless to delay further, fired their arrows more in bravado than -with the hope of inflicting injury, as our men were all well covered by -the trees, and then over the precipice they went, as we supposed, to -certain death and destruction. We were all so horrified at the sight, -that for a moment or more it did not occur to any one to look over the -crest, but when we did it was seen that the two savages were rapidly -following down the merest thread of a trail outlined in the vertical -face of the basalt, and jumping from rock to rock like mountain sheep. -General Crook drew bead, aimed quickly and fired; the arm of one of the -fugitives hung limp by his side, and the red stream gushing out showed -that he had been badly hurt; but he did not relax his speed a particle, -but kept up with his comrade in a headlong dash down the precipice, and -escaped into the scrub-oak on the lower flanks although the evening air -resounded with the noise of carbines reverberating from peak to peak. It -was so hard to believe that any human beings could escape down such a -terrible place, that every one was rather in expectation of seeing the -Apaches dashed to pieces, and for that reason no one could do his best -shooting. - -At this time we had neither the detachment of scouts with which we had -left Tucson—they had been discharged at Camp Apache the moment that -General Crook received word that the authorities in Washington were -about to make the trial of sending commissioners to treat with the -Apaches—nor the small party of five Apaches who had conducted us out -from Camp Apache until we had reached the centre of the Mogollon; and, -as the country was unmapped and unknown, we had to depend upon ourselves -for reaching Camp Verde, which no one in the party had ever visited. - -We had reached the eastern extremity of the plateau, and could see the -Bradshaw and other ranges to the west and south, and the sky-piercing -cone of the San Francisco to the northwest, but were afraid to trust -ourselves in the dark and forbidding mass of brakes and cañons of great -depth which filled the country immediately in our front. It was the -vicinity of the Fossil Creek cañon, some fifteen hundred to two thousand -feet deep, which we deemed it best to avoid, although had we known it we -might have crossed in safety by an excellent, although precipitous, -trail. Our only guide was Archie Macintosh, who belonged up in the -Hudson’s Bay Company’s territory, and was totally unacquainted with -Arizona, but a wonderful man in any country. He and General Crook and -Tom Moore conferred together, and concluded it was best to strike due -north and head all the cañons spoken of. This we did, but the result was -no improvement, as we got into the Clear Creek cañon, which is one of -the deepest and most beautiful to look upon in all the Southwest, but -one very hard upon all who must descend and ascend. When we descended we -found plenty of cold, clear water, and the banks of the stream lined -with the wild hop, which loaded the atmosphere with a heavy perfume of -lupulin. - -Still heading due north, we struck the cañon of Beaver Creek, and were -compelled to march along its vertical walls of basalt, unable to reach -the water in the tiny, entrancing rivulet below, but at last ran in upon -the wagon-road from the Little Colorado to Camp Verde. We were getting -rapidly down from the summit of the Mogollon, and entering a country -exactly similar to that of the major portion of Southern Arizona. There -was the same vegetation of yucca, mescal, nopal, Spanish bayonet, giant -cactus, palo verde, hediondilla, mesquite, and sage-brush, laden with -the dust of summer, but there was also a considerable sprinkling of the -cedar, scrub-pine, scrub-oak, madroño, or mountain mahogany, and some -little mulberry. - -Near this trail there are to be seen several archæological curiosities -worthy of a visit from the students of any part of the world. There is -the wonderful “Montezuma’s Well,” a lakelet of eighty or ninety feet in -depth, situated in the centre of a subsidence of rock, in which is a -cave once inhabited by a prehistoric people, while around the -circumference of the pool itself are the cliff-dwellings, of which so -many examples are to be encountered in the vicinity. One of these -cliff-dwellings, in excellent preservation when I last visited it, is -the six-story house of stone on the Beaver Creek, which issues from the -cave at Montezuma’s Wells, and flows into the Verde River, near the post -of the same name. We came upon the trails of scouting parties descending -the Mogollon, and learned soon after that they had been made by the -commands of Lieutenants Crawford and Morton, both of whom had been doing -excellent and arduous work against the hostile bands during the previous -summer. - -I have already remarked that during this practice march all the members -of our command learned General Crook, but of far greater consequence -than that was the fact that he learned his officers and men. He was the -most untiring and indefatigable man I ever met; and, whether climbing up -or down the rugged face of some rocky cañon, facing sun or rain, never -appeared to be in the slightest degree distressed or annoyed. No matter -what happened in the camp, or on the march, he knew it; he was always -awake and on his feet the moment the cook of the pack-train was aroused -to prepare the morning meal, which was frequently as early as two -o’clock, and remained on his feet during the remainder of the day. I am -unable to explain exactly how he did it, but I can assure my readers -that Crook learned, while on that march, the name of every plant, -animal, and mineral passed near the trail, as well as the uses to which -the natives put them, each and all; likewise the habits of the birds, -reptiles, and animals, and the course and general character of all the -streams, little or big. The Indians evinced an awe for him from the -first moment of their meeting; they did not seem to understand how it -was that a white man could so quickly absorb all that they had to teach. - -In the character of General Crook there appeared a very remarkable -tenderness for all those for whose care he in any manner became -responsible; this tenderness manifested itself in a way peculiar to -himself, and, as usual with him, was never made the occasion or excuse -for parade. He was at all times anxious to secure for his men while on -campaign all the necessaries of life, and to do that he knew from his -very wide experience that there was nothing to compare to a thoroughly -organized and well-equipped pack-train, which could follow a command by -night or by day, and into every locality, no matter how rocky, how -thickly wooded, or how hopelessly desert. He made the study of -pack-trains the great study of his life, and had always the satisfaction -of knowing that the trains in the department under his control were in -such admirable condition, that the moment trouble was threatened in -other sections, his pack-trains were selected as being best suited for -the most arduous work. He found the nucleus ready to hand in the system -of pack-transportation which the exigencies of the mining communities on -the Pacific coast had caused to be brought up from Chili, Peru, and the -western States of the Mexican Republic. - -The fault with these trains was that they were run as money-making -concerns, and the men, as well as the animals belonging to them, were in -nearly every case employed as temporary makeshifts, and as soon as the -emergency had ended were discharged. The idea upon which Crook worked, -and which he successfully carried out, was to select trains under the -pack-masters who had enjoyed the widest experience, and were by nature -best adapted to the important duties they would be called upon to -perform. Those who were too much addicted to alcoholic stimulants, or -were for other cause unsuited, were as opportunity presented replaced by -better material. As with the men, so with the animals; the ill-assorted -collections of bony giants and undersized Sonora “rats,” whose withers -were always a mass of sores and whose hoofs were always broken and out -of sorts, were as speedily as possible sold off or transferred to other -uses, and in their places we saw trains of animals which in weight, size -and build, were of the type which experience had shown to be most -appropriate. - -The “aparejos,” or pack-cushions, formerly issued by the quartermaster’s -department, had been burlesques, and killed more mules than they helped -in carrying their loads. Crook insisted upon having each mule provided -with an “aparejo” made especially for him, saying that it was just as -ridiculous to expect a mule to carry a burden with an ill-fitting -“aparejo” as it would be to expect a soldier to march comfortably with a -knapsack which did not fit squarely to his back and shoulders. Every -article used in these pack-trains had to be of the best materials, for -the very excellent reason that while out on scout, it was impossible to -replace anything broken, and a column might be embarrassed by the -failure of a train to arrive with ammunition or rations—therefore, on -the score of economy, it was better to have all the very best make in -the first place. - -According to the nomenclature then in vogue in pack-trains, there were -to be placed upon each mule in due order of sequence a small cloth -extending from the withers to the loins, and called from the office it -was intended to perform, the “suadera,” or sweat-cloth. Then came, -according to the needs of the case, two or three saddle blankets, then -the “aparejo” itself—a large mattress, we may say, stuffed with hay or -straw—weighing between fifty-five and sixty-five pounds, and of such -dimensions as to receive and distribute to best advantage all over the -mule’s back the burden to be carried which was known by the Spanish term -of “cargo.” Over the “aparego,” the “corona,” and over that the -“suvrinhammer,” and then the load or “cargo” evenly divided so as to -balance on the two sides. In practice, the “corona” is not now used, -except to cover the “aparejo” after reaching camp, but there was a time -way back in Andalusia and in the Chilean Andes when the heart of the -“arriero” or muleteer, or “packer,” as he is called in the dreadfully -prosy language of the quartermaster’s department, took the greatest -delight in devising the pattern, quaint or horrible, but always gaudy -and in the gayest of colors, which should decorate and protect his -favorite mules. I do not know how true it is, but “Chileno John” and -others told me that the main service expected of the “corona” was to -enable the “arriero” who couldn’t read or write to tell just where his -own “aparejos” were, but of this I am unable to say anything positively. - -The philological outrage which I have written phonetically as -“suvrin-hammer” would set devout Mohammedans crazy were they to know of -its existence; it is a base corruption of the old Hispano-Moresque term -“sobre-en-jalma,”—over the jalma,—the Arabic word for pack-saddle, which -has wandered far away, far from the date-palms of the Sahara, and the -rippling fountains of Granada, to gladden the hearts and break the -tongues of Cape Cod Yankees in the Gila Valley. In the same boat with it -is the Zuni word “Tinka” for the flux to be used in working silver; it -is a travelled word, and first saw the light in the gloomy mountain -ranges of far-off Thibet, where it was pronounced “Tincal” or “Atincal,” -and meant borax; thence, it made its way with caravans to and through -Arabia and Spain to the Spanish settlements in the land of the West. -Everything about a pack-train was Spanish or Arabic in origin, as I have -taken care to apprise my readers in another work, but it may be proper -to repeat here that the first, as it was the largest organized -pack-train in history, was that of fifteen thousand mules which Isabella -the Catholic called into the service of the Crown of Castile and Leon at -the time she established the city of Santa Fé in the “Vega,” and began -in good earnest the siege of Granada. - -One could pick up not a little good Spanish in a pack-train in the times -of which I speak—twenty-one years ago—and there were many expressions in -general use which preserved all the flavor of other lands and other -ideas. Thus the train itself was generally known as the “atajo;” the -pack-master was called the “patron;” his principal assistant, whose -functions were to attend to everything pertaining to the loads, was -styled “cargador;” the cook was designated the “cencero,” from the fact -that he rode the bell-mare, usually a white animal, from the -superstition prevailing among Spanish packers that mules liked the color -white better than any other. - -Packers were always careful not to let any stray colts in among the -mules, because they would set the mules crazy. This idea is not an -absurd one, as I can testify from my personal observation. The mules are -so anxious to play with young colts that they will do nothing else; and, -being stronger than the youngster, will often injure it by crowding up -against it. The old mules of a train know their business perfectly well. -They need no one to show them where their place is when the evening’s -“feed” is to be apportioned on the canvas, and in every way deport -themselves as sedate, prim, well-behaved members of society, from whom -all vestiges of the frivolities of youth have been eradicated. They -never wander far from the sound of the bell, and give no trouble to the -packers “on herd.” - -But a far different story must be told of the inexperienced, skittish -young mule, fresh from the blue grass of Missouri or Nebraska. He is the -source of more profanity than he is worth, and were it not that the -Recording Angel understands the aggravation in the case, he would have -his hands full in entering all the “cuss words” to which the green -pack-mule has given rise. He will not mind the bell, will wander away -from his comrades on herd, and in sundry and divers ways demonstrates -the perversity of his nature. To contravene his maliciousness, it is -necessary to mark him in such a manner that every packer will see at a -glance that he is a new arrival, and thereupon set to work to drive him -back to his proper place in his own herd. The most certain, as it is the -most convenient way to effect this, is by neatly roaching his mane and -shaving his tail so that nothing is left but a pencil or tassel of hair -at the extreme end. He is now known as a “shave-tail,” and everybody can -recognize him at first sight. His sedate and well-trained comrade is -called a “bell-sharp.” - -These terms, in frontier sarcasm, have been transferred to officers of -the army, who, in the parlance of the packers, are known as -“bell-sharps” and “shave-tails” respectively; the former being the old -captain or field-officer of many “fogies,” who knows too much to be -wasting his energies in needless excursions about the country, and the -latter, the youngster fresh from his studies on the Hudson, who fondly -imagines he knows it all, and is not above having people know that he -does. He is a “shave-tail”—all elegance of uniform, spick-span new, well -groomed, and without sense enough to come in for “feed” when the bell -rings. On the plains these two classes of very excellent gentlemen used -to be termed “coffee-coolers” and “goslings.” - -There are few more animated sights than a pack-train at the moment of -feeding and grooming the mules. The care shown equals almost that given -to the average baby, and the dumb animals seem to respond to all -attentions. General Crook kept himself posted as to what was done to -every mule, and, as a result, had the satisfaction of seeing his trains -carrying a net average of three hundred and twenty pounds to the mule, -while a pamphlet issued by the Government had explicitly stated that the -highest average should not exceed one hundred and seventy-five. So that, -viewed in the most sordid light, the care which General Crook bestowed -upon his trains yielded wonderful results. Not a day passed that General -Crook did not pass from one to two hours in personal inspection of the -workings of his trains, and he has often since told me that he felt then -the great responsibility of having his transportation in the most -perfect order, because so much was to be demanded of it. - -The packers themselves were an interesting study, drawn as they were -from the four corners of the earth, although the major portion, as was -to be expected, was of Spanish-American origin. Not an evening passed on -this trip across the mountains of the Mogollon Range that Crook did not -quietly take a seat close to the camp-fire of some of the packers, and -listen intently to their “reminiscences” of early mining days in -California or “up on the Frazer in British Columbia.” “Hank ’n Yank,” -Tom Moore, Jim O’Neill, Charlie Hopkins, Jack Long, Long Jim Cook, and -others, were “forty-niners,” and well able to discuss the most exciting -times known to the new Pactolus, with its accompanying trying days of -the vigilance committee and other episodes of equal interest. These were -“men” in the truest sense of the term; they had faced all perils, -endured all privations, and conquered in a manly way, which is the one -unfailing test of greatness in human nature. Some of the narratives were -mirth-provoking beyond my powers of repetition, and for General Crook -they formed an unfailing source of quiet amusement whenever a chance -offered to listen to them as told by the packers. - -One of our men—I have forgotten to mention him sooner—was Johnnie Hart, -a very quiet and reserved person, with a great amount of force, to be -shown when needed. There was little of either the United States or -Mexico over which he had not wandered as a mining “prospector,” delving -for metals, precious or non-precious. Bad luck overtook him in Sonora -just about when that country was the scene of the liveliest kind of a -time between the French and the native Mexicans, and while the hostile -factions of the Gandaras and the Pesquieras were doing their best to -destroy what little the rapacity of the Gallic invaders left intact. -Johnnie was rudely awakened one night by a loud rapping at the door of -the hut in which he had taken shelter, and learned, to his great -surprise, that he was needed as a “voluntario,” which meant, as nearly -as he could understand, that he was to put on handcuffs and march with -the squad to division headquarters, and there be assigned to a company. -In vain he explained, or thought he was explaining, that he was an -American citizen and not subject to conscription. All the satisfaction -he got was to be told that every morning and evening he was to cheer -“for our noble Constitution and for General Pesquiera.” - -After all, it was not such a very hard life. The marches were short, and -the country well filled with chickens, eggs, and goats. What more could -a soldier want? So, our friend did not complain, and went about his few -duties with cheerfulness, and was making rapid progress in the -shibboleth of “Long live our noble Constitution and General -Pesquiera,”—when, one evening, the first sergeant of his company hit him -a violent slap on the side of the head, and said: “You idiot, do you not -know enough to cheer for General Gandara?” And then it was that poor -Johnnie learned for the first time—he had been absent for several days -on a foraging expedition and had just returned—that the general -commanding had sold out the whole division to General Gandara the -previous day for a dollar and six bits a head. - -This was the last straw. Johnnie Hart was willing to fight, and it made -very little difference to him on which side; but he could not put up -with such a sudden swinging of the pendulum, and as he expressed it, -“made up his mind to skip the hull outfit ’n punch the breeze fur -Maz’tlan.” - -All the packers were sociable, and inclined to be friendly to every one. -The Spaniards, like “Chileno John,” José de Leon, Lauriano Gomez, and -others, were never more happy—work completed—than in explaining their -language to such Americans as evinced a desire to learn it. Gomez was -well posted in Spanish literature, especially poetry, and would often -recite for us with much animation and expression the verses of his -native tongue. He preferred the madrigals and love ditties of all kinds; -and was never more pleased than when he had organized a quartette and -had begun to awaken the echoes of the grand old cañons or forests with -the deliciously plaintive notes of “La Golondrina,” “Adios de Guaymas,” -or other songs in minor key, decidedly nasalized. I may say that at a -later date I have listened to a recitation by a packer named Hale, of -Espronceda’s lines—“The Bandit Chief”—in a very creditable style in the -balsam-breathing forests of the Sierra Madre. - -The experiences of old Sam Wisser, in the more remote portions of Sonora -and Sinaloa, never failed to “bring down the house,” when related in his -homely Pennsylvania-German brogue. I will condense the story for the -benefit of those who may care to listen. Sam’s previous business had -been “prospecting” for mines, and, in pursuit of his calling, he had -travelled far and near, generally so intent upon the search for wealth -at a distance that he failed to secure any of that which often lay at -his feet. Equipped with the traditional pack-mule, pick, spade, -frying-pan, and blankets, he started out on his mission having as a -companion a man who did not pretend to be much of a “prospector,” but -was travelling for his health, or what was left of it. They had not -reached the Eldorado of their hopes; but were far down in Sinaloa when -the comrade died, and it became Sam’s sad duty to administer upon the -“estate.” The mule wasn’t worth much and was indeed almost as badly worn -out as its defunct master. The dead man’s clothing was buried with him, -and his revolver went a good ways in paying the expenses of interment. -There remained nothing but a very modest-looking valise nearly filled -with bottles, pillboxes, and pots of various medicinal preparations -warranted to cure all the ills that flesh is heir to. An ordinary man -would have thrown all this away as so much rubbish, but our friend was a -genius—he carefully examined each and every package, and learned exactly -what they were all worth according to the advertisements. Nothing -escaped his scrutiny, from the picture of the wretch “before taking,” to -that of the rubicund, aldermanic, smiling athlete “after taking six -bottles.” All the testimonials from shining lights of pulpit and bar -were read through from date to signature, and the result of it all was -that Sam came to the very logical conclusion that if he had in his -possession panaceas for all ailments, why should he not practise the -healing art? The next morning dawned upon a new Esculapius, and lighted -up the legend “Medico” tacked upon the frame of the door of Sam’s hovel. -It made no difference to the budding practitioner what the disorder was; -he had the appropriate remedy at hand, and was most liberal in the -amount of dosing to be given to his patients, which went far to increase -their confidence in a man who seemed so willing to give them the full -worth of their money. The only trouble was that Sam never gave the same -dose twice to the same patient; this was because he had no memorandum -books, and could not keep in mind all the circumstances of each case. -The man who had Croton-oil pills in the morning received a tablespoonful -of somebody’s “Siberian Solvent” at night, and there was such a crowd -that poor Sam was kept much more busy than he at first supposed he -should be, because the people were not disposed to let go by an -opportunity of ridding themselves of all infirmities, when the same -could be eradicated by a physician who accepted in payment anything from -a two-bit-piece to a string of chile colorado. Sam’s practice was not -confined to any one locality. It reached from the southern end of the -Mexican State of Sinaloa to the international boundary. Sam, in other -words, had become a travelling doctor—he kept travelling—but as his mule -had had a good rest and some feed in the beginning of its master’s new -career, the pursuers were never able to quite catch up with the Gringo -quack whose nostrums were depopulating the country. - -From the valley of the Verde to the town of Prescott, according to the -steep roads and trails connecting them in 1871, was something over -fifty-five miles, the first part of the journey extremely rough and -precipitous, the latter half within sight of hills clad with graceful -pines and cooled by the breezes from the higher ranges. The country was -well grassed; there was a very pleasing absence of the cactus vegetation -to be seen farther to the south, adobe houses were replaced by -comfortable-looking dwellings and barns of plank or stone; the water in -the wells was cold and pure, and the lofty peaks, the San Francisco and -the Black Range and the Bradshaw, were for months in the year buried in -snow. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - -THE PICTURESQUE TOWN OF PRESCOTT—THE APACHES ACTIVE NEAR - PRESCOTT—“TOMMY” BYRNE AND THE HUALPAIS—THIEVING INDIAN AGENTS—THE - MOJAVES, PI-UTES AND AVA-SUPAIS—THE TRAVELS OF FATHERS ESCALANTE AND - GARCES—THE GODS OF THE HUALPAIS—THE LORING MASSACRE—HOW PHIL DWYER - DIED AND WAS BURIED—THE INDIAN MURDERERS AT CAMP DATE CREEK PLAN TO - KILL CROOK—MASON JUMPS THE RENEGADES AT THE “MUCHOS - CAÑONES”—DELT-CHE AND CHA-LIPUN GIVE TROUBLE—THE KILLING OF BOB - WHITNEY. - - -A few words should be spoken in praise of a community which of all those -on the southwestern frontier preserved the distinction of being -thoroughly American. Prescott was not merely picturesque in location and -dainty in appearance, with all its houses neatly painted and surrounded -with paling fences and supplied with windows after the American style—it -was a village transplanted bodily from the centre of the Delaware, the -Mohawk, or the Connecticut valley. Its inhabitants were Americans; -American men had brought American wives out with them from their old -homes in the far East, and these American wives had not forgotten the -lessons of elegance and thrift learned in childhood. Everything about -the houses recalled the scenes familiar to the dweller in the country -near Pittsburgh or other busy community. The houses were built in -American style; the doors were American doors and fastened with American -bolts and locks, opened by American knobs, and not closed by letting a -heavy cottonwood log fall against them. - -The furniture was the neat cottage furniture with which all must be -familiar who have ever had the privilege of entering an American country -home; there were carpets, mirrors, rocking-chairs, tables, lamps, and -all other appurtenances, just as one might expect to find them in any -part of our country excepting Arizona and New Mexico. There were -American books, American newspapers, American magazines—the last -intelligently read. The language was American, and nothing else—the man -who hoped to acquire a correct knowledge of Castilian in Prescott would -surely be disappointed. Not even so much as a Spanish advertisement -could be found in the columns of _The Miner_, in which, week after week, -John H. Marion fought out the battle of “America for the Americans.” The -stores were American stores, selling nothing but American goods. In one -word, the transition from Tucson to Prescott was as sudden and as -radical as that between Madrid and Manchester. - -In one respect only was there the slightest resemblance: in Prescott, as -in Tucson, the gambling saloons were never closed. Sunday or Monday, -night or morning, the “game” went, and the voice of the “dealer” was -heard in the land. Prescott was essentially a mining town deriving its -business from the wants of the various “claims” on the Agua Fria, the -Big Bug and Lynx Creek on the east, and others in the west as far as -Cerbat and Mineral Park. There was an air of comfort about it which -indicated intelligence and refinement rather than wealth which its -people did not as yet enjoy. - -At this time, in obedience to orders received from the Secretary of War, -I was assigned to duty as aide-de-camp, and in that position had the -best possible opportunity for becoming acquainted with the country, the -Indians and white people in it, and to absorb a knowledge of all that -was to be done and that was done. General Crook’s first move was to -bring the department headquarters to Prescott; they had been for a long -while at Los Angeles, California, some five hundred miles across the -desert, to the west, and in the complete absence of railroad and -telegraph facilities they might just as well have been in Alaska. His -next duty was to perfect the knowledge already gained of the enormous -area placed under his charge, and this necessitated an incredible amount -of travelling on mule-back, in ambulance and buckboard, over roads, or -rather trails, which eclipsed any of the horrors portrayed by the pencil -of Doré. There was great danger in all this, but Crook travelled without -escort, except on very special occasions, as he did not wish to break -down his men by overwork. - -The Apaches had been fully as active in the neighborhood of Prescott as -they had been in that of Tucson, and to this day such names as “The -Burnt Ranch”—a point four miles to the northwest of the town—commemorate -attacks and massacres by the aborigines. The mail-rider had several -times been “corraled” at the Point of Rocks, very close to the town, and -all of this portion of Arizona had groaned under the depredations not of -the Apaches alone but of the Navajos, Hualpais, and Apache-Mojaves, and -now and then of the Sevinches, a small band of thieves of Pi-Ute stock, -living in the Grand Cañon of the Colorado on the northern boundary of -the territory. I have still preserved as relics of those days copies of -_The Miner_ of Prescott and of _The Citizen_ of Tucson, in every column -of which are to be found references to Indian depredations. - -There should still be in Washington a copy of the petition forwarded by -the inhabitants pleading for more adequate protection, in which are -given the names of over four hundred American citizens killed in -encounters with the savages within an extremely limited period—two or -three years—and the dates and localities of the occurrences. - -Fort Whipple, the name of the military post within one mile of the town, -was a ramshackle, tumble-down palisade of unbarked pine logs hewn from -the adjacent slopes; it was supposed to “command” something, exactly -what, I do not remember, as it was so dilapidated that every time the -wind rose we were afraid that the palisade was doomed. The quarters for -both officers and men were also log houses, with the exception of one -single-room shanty on the apex of the hill nearest to town, which was -constructed of unseasoned, unpainted pine planks, and which served as -General Crook’s “Headquarters,” and, at night, as the place wherein he -stretched his limbs in slumber. He foresaw that the negotiations which -Mr. Vincent Collyer had been commissioned to carry on with the roving -bands of the Apaches would result in naught, because the distrust of the -savages for the white man, and all he said and did, had become so -confirmed that it would take more than one or two pleasant talks full of -glowing promises to eradicate it. Therefore, General Crook felt that it -would be prudent for him to keep himself in the best physical trim, to -be the better able to undergo the fatigues of the campaigns which were -sure to come, and come very soon. - -The Apaches are not the only tribe in Arizona; there are several others, -which have in the past been a source of trouble to the settlers and of -expense to the authorities. One of these was the Hualpais, whose place -of abode was in the Grand Cañon, and who were both brave and crafty in -war; they were then at Camp Beale Springs in northwestern Arizona, -forty-five miles from the Colorado River, and under the care of an -officer long since dead—Captain Thomas Byrne, Twelfth Infantry, who was -a genius in his way. “Old Tommy,” as he was affectionately called by -every one in the service or out of it, had a “deludherin’ tongue,” which -he used freely in the cause of peace, knowing as he did that if this -small tribe of resolute people should ever return to the war-path, it -would take half a dozen regiments to dislodge them from the dizzy cliffs -of the “Music,” the “Sunup,” the “Wickyty-wizz,” and the “Diamond.” - -So Tommy relied solely upon his native eloquence, seconded by the -scantiest allowance of rations from the subsistence stores of the camp. -He acquired an ascendancy over the minds of the chiefs and head -men—“Sharum,” “Levy-Levy,” “Sequonya,” “Enyacue-yusa,” “Ahcula-watta,” -“Colorow,” and “Hualpai Charlie”—which was little short of miraculous. -He was an old bachelor, but seemed to have a warm spot in his heart for -all the little naked and half-naked youngsters in and around his camp, -to whom he gave most liberally of the indigestible candy and sweet cakes -of the trader’s store. - -The squaws were allowed all the hard-tack they could eat, but only on -the most solemn occasions could they gratify their taste for castor -oil—the condition of the medical supplies would not warrant the issue of -all they demanded. I have read that certain of the tribes of Africa use -castor oil in cooking, but I know of no other tribe of American Indians -so greedy for this medicine. But taste is at best something which cannot -be explained or accounted for; I recall that the trader at the San -Carlos Agency once made a bad investment of money in buying cheap -candies; they were nearly all hoarhound and peppermint, which the -Apaches would not buy or accept as a gift. - -Tommy had succeeded in impressing upon the minds of his savage wards the -importance of letting him know the moment anything like an outbreak, no -matter how slight it might be, should be threatened. There was to be no -fighting, no firing of guns and pistols, and no seeking redress for -injuries excepting through the commanding officer, who was the court of -last appeal. One day “Hualpai Charlie” came running in like an antelope, -all out of breath, his eyes blazing with excitement: “Cappy Byrne—get -yo’ sogy—heap quick. White man over da Min’nul Pa’k, all bloke out.” An -investigation was made, and developed the cause of “Charlie’s” -apprehensions: the recently established mining town of “Mineral Park” in -the Cerbat range had “struck it rich,” and was celebrating the event in -appropriate style; bands of miners, more or less sober, were staggering -about in the one street, painting the town red. There was the usual -amount of shooting at themselves and at the few lamps in the two -saloons, and “Charlie,” who had not yet learned that one of the -inalienable rights of the Caucasian is to make a fool of himself now and -then, took fright, and ran in the whole fourteen miles to communicate -the first advices of the “outbreak” to his commanding officer and -friend. - -Captain Byrne was most conscientious in all his dealings with these -wild, suspicious people, and gained their affection to an extent not to -be credited in these days, when there seems to be a recurrence to the -ante-bellum theory that the only good Indian—be it buck, squaw, or -puling babe—is the dead one. I have seen the old man coax sulking -warriors back into good humor, and persuade them that the best thing in -the world for them all was the good-will of the Great Father. “Come now, -Sharum,” I have heard him say, “shure phat is de matther wid yiz? Have -yiz ivir axed me for anythin’ that oi didn’t _promise_ it to yiz?” - -Poor Tommy was cut off too soon in life to redeem all his pledges, and I -fear that there is still a balance of unpaid promises, comprehending -mouth organs, hoop skirts, velocipedes, anything that struck the fancy -of a chief and for which he made instant demand upon his military -patron. To carry matters forward a little, I wish to say that Tommy -remained the “frind,” as he pronounced the term, of the Hualpais to the -very last, and even after he had been superseded by the civil agent, or -acting agent, he remained at the post respected and regarded by all the -tribe as their brother and adviser. - -Like a flash of lightning out of a clear sky, the Hualpais went on the -war-path, and fired into the agency buildings before leaving for their -old strongholds in the Cañon of the Colorado. No one knew why they had -so suddenly shown this treacherous nature, and the territorial press -(there was a telegraph line in operation by this time) was filled with -gloomy forebodings on account of the “well-known treachery of the Indian -character.” Tommy Byrne realized full well how much it would cost Uncle -Sam in blood and treasure if this outbreak were not stopped in its -incipiency, and without waiting for his spirited little horse to be -saddled—he was a superb rider—threw himself across its back and took out -into the hills after the fugitives. When the Hualpais saw the cloud of -dust coming out on the road, they blazed into it, but the kind -Providence, which is said to look out for the Irish under all -circumstances, took pity on the brave old man, and spared him even after -he had dashed up—his horse white with foam—to the knot of chiefs who -stood on the brow of a lava mesa. - -At first the Hualpais were sullen, but soon they melted enough to tell -the story of their grievances, and especially the grievance they had -against Captain Byrne himself. The new agent had been robbing them in -the most bare-faced manner, and in their ignorance they imagined that it -was Tommy Byrne’s duty to regulate all affairs at his camp. They did not -want to hurt him, and would let him go safely back, but for them there -was nothing but the war-path and plenty of it. - -Tommy said gently, “Come back with me, and I’ll see that you are -righted.” Back they went, following after the one, unarmed man. Straight -to the beef scales went the now thoroughly aroused officer, and in less -time than it takes to relate, he had detected the manner in which false -weights had been secured by a tampering with the poise. A two-year-old -Texas steer, which, horns and all, would not weigh eight hundred pounds, -would mark seventeen hundred, and other things in the same ratio. Nearly -the whole amount of the salt and flour supply had been sold to the -miners in the Cerbat range, and the poor Hualpais, who had been such -valiant and efficient allies, had been swindled out of everything but -their breath, and but a small part of that was left. - -Tommy seized upon the agency and took charge; the Hualpais were -perfectly satisfied, but the agent left that night for California and -never came back. A great hubbub was raised about the matter, but nothing -came of it, and a bitter war was averted by the prompt, decisive action -of a plain, unlettered officer, who had no ideas about managing savages -beyond treating them with kindness and justice. - -General Crook not only saw to the condition of the Hualpais, but of -their relatives, the Mojaves, on the river, and kept them both in good -temper towards the whites; not only this, but more than this—he sent up -among the Pi-Utes of Nevada and Southern Utah and explained the -situation to them and secured the promise of a contingent of one hundred -of their warriors for service against the Apaches, should the latter -decline to listen to the propositions of the commissioner sent to treat -with them. When hostilities did break out, the Pi-Utes sent down the -promised auxiliaries, under their chief, “Captain Tom,” and, like the -Hualpais, they rendered faithful service. - -What has become of the Pi-Utes I cannot say, but of the Hualpais I am -sorry to have to relate that the moment hostilities ended, the Great -Father began to ignore and neglect them, until finally their condition -became so deplorable that certain fashionable ladies of New York, who -were doing a great deal of good unknown to the world at large, sent -money to General Crook to be used in keeping them from starving to -death. - -Liquor is freely given to the women, who have become fearfully -demoralized, and I can assert of my own knowledge that five years since -several photographers made large sales along the Atlantic and Pacific -railroad of the pictures of nude women of this once dreaded band, which -had committed no other offence than that of trusting in the faith of the -Government of the United States. - -In the desolate, romantic country of the Hualpais and their brothers, -the Ava-Supais, amid the Cyclopean monoliths which line the cañons of -Cataract Creek, the Little Colorado, the Grand Cañon or the Diamond, one -may sit and listen, as I have often listened, to the simple tales and -myths of a wild, untutored race. There are stories to be heard of the -prowess of “Mustamho” and “Matyavela,” of “Pathrax-sapa” and -“Pathrax-carrawee,” of the goddess “Cuathenya,” and a multiplicity of -deities—animal and human—which have served to beguile the time after the -day’s march had ended and night was at hand. All the elements of nature -are actual, visible entities for these simple children—the stars are -possessed of the same powers as man, all the chief animals have the -faculty of speech, and the coyote is the one who is man’s good friend -and has brought him the great boon of fire. The gods of the Hualpais are -different in name though not in functions or peculiarities from those of -the Apaches and Navajos, but are almost identical with those of the -Mojaves. - -As with the Apaches, so with the Hualpais, the “medicine men” wield an -unknown and an immeasurable influence, and claim power over the forces -of nature, which is from time to time renewed by rubbing the body -against certain sacred stones not far from Beale Springs. The Hualpai -medicine men also indulge in a sacred intoxication by breaking up the -leaves, twigs, and root of the stramonium or “jimson weed,” and making a -beverage which, when drunk, induces an exhilaration, in the course of -which the drunkard utters prophecies. - -While the colonies along the Atlantic coast were formulating their -grievances against the English crown and preparing to throw off all -allegiance to the throne of Great Britain, two priests of the Roman -Catholic Church were engaged in exploring these desolate wilds, and in -making an effort to win the Hualpais and their brothers to Christianity. - -Father Escalante started out from Santa Fé, New Mexico, in the year -1776, and travelling northwest through Utah finally reached the Great -Salt Lake, which he designated as the Lake of the Timpanagos. This name -is perfectly intelligible to those who happen to know of the existence -down to the present day of the band of Utes called the Timpanoags, who -inhabit the cañons close to the present city of Salt Lake. Travelling on -foot southward, Escalante passed down through Utah and crossed the Grand -Cañon of the Colorado, either at what is now known as Lee’s Ferry, or -the mouth of the Kanab Wash, or the mouth of the Diamond; thence east -through the Moqui and the Zuni villages back to Santa Fé. Escalante -expected to be joined near the Grand Cañon by Father Garces, who had -travelled from the mission of San Gabriel, near Los Angeles, and crossed -the Colorado in the country inhabited by the Mojaves; but, although each -performed the part assigned to him, the proposed meeting did not take -place. - -It is impossible to avoid reference to these matters, which will obtrude -themselves upon the mind of any one travelling through Arizona. There is -an ever-present suggestion of the past and unknown, that has a -fascination all its own for those who yield to it. Thus, at Bowers’ -Ranch on the Agua Fria, eighteen miles northeast from Prescott, one sits -down to his supper in a room which once formed part of a prehistoric -dwelling; and the same thing may be said of Wales Arnold’s, over near -Montezuma’s Wells, where many of the stones used in the masonry came -from the pueblo ruins close at hand. - -Having visited the northern line of his department, General Crook gave -all his attention to the question of supplies; everything consumed in -the department, at that date, had to be freighted at great expense from -San Francisco, first by steamship around Cape San Lucas to the mouth of -the Rio Colorado, then up the river in small steamers as far as -Ehrenburg and Fort Mojave, and the remainder of the distance—two hundred -miles—by heavy teams. To a very considerable extent, these supplies were -distributed from post to post by pack-trains, a proceeding which evoked -the liveliest remonstrances from the contractors interested in the -business of hauling freight, but their complaints availed them nothing. -Crook foresaw the demands that the near future would surely make upon -his pack-trains, which he could by no surer method keep in the highest -discipline and efficiency than by having them constantly on the move -from post to post carrying supplies. The mules became hardened, the -packers made more skilful in the use of all the “hitches”—the “Diamond” -and others—constituting the mysteries of their calling, and the -detachments sent along as escorts were constantly learning something new -about the country as well as how to care for themselves and animals. - -Sixty-two miles from Prescott to the southwest lay the sickly and dismal -post of Camp Date creek, on the creek of the same name. Here were -congregated about one thousand of the band known as the Apache-Yumas, -with a sprinkling of Apache-Mojaves, tribes allied to the Mojaves on the -Colorado, and to the Hualpais, but differing from them in disposition, -as the Date Creek people were not all anxious for peace, but would now -and then send small parties of their young men to raid and steal from -the puny settlements like Wickenburg. The culmination of the series was -the “Loring” or “Wickenburg” massacre, so-called from the talented young -scientist, Loring, a member of the Wheeler surveying expedition, who, -with his companions—a stage-load—was brutally murdered not far from -Wickenburg; of the party only two escaped, one a woman named Shephard, -and the other a man named Kruger, both badly wounded. - -General Crook was soon satisfied that this terrible outrage had been -committed by a portion of the irreconcilable element at the Date Creek -Agency, but how to single them out as individuals and inflict the -punishment their crime deserved, without entailing disaster upon -well-meaning men, women, and babies who had not been implicated, was for -a long while a most serious problem. There were many of the tribe -satisfied to cultivate peaceful relations with the whites, but none so -favorably disposed as to impart the smallest particle of information in -regard to the murder, as it was no part of their purpose to surrender -any of their relatives for punishment. - -It would take too much time to narrate in detail the “patient search and -vigil long” attending the ferreting out of the individuals concerned in -the Loring massacre; it was a matter of days and weeks and months, but -Crook knew that he had the right clew, and, although many times baffled, -he returned to the scent with renewed energy and determination. The -culprits, who included in their ranks, or at least among their -sympathizers, some very influential men of the tribe, had also begun, on -their side, to suspect that all was not right; one of them, I -understood, escaped to Southern California, and there found work in some -of the Mexican settlements, which he could do readily as he spoke -Spanish fluently, and once having donned the raiment of civilization, -there would be nothing whatever to distinguish him from the average of -people about him. - -Word reached General Crook, through the Hualpais, that when next he -visited Camp Date Creek, he was to be murdered with all those who might -accompany him. He was warned to be on the look-out, and told that the -plan of the conspirators was this: They would appear in front of the -house in which he should take up his quarters, and say that they had -come for a talk upon some tribal matter of importance; when the General -made his appearance, the Indians were to sit down in a semicircle in -front of the door, each with his carbine hidden under his blanket, or -carelessly exposed on his lap. The conversation was to be decidedly -harmonious, and there was to be nothing said that was not perfectly -agreeable to the whites. After the “talk” had progressed a few minutes, -the leading conspirator would remark that they would all be the better -for a little smoke, and as soon as the tobacco was handed out to them, -the chief conspirator was to take some and begin rolling a cigarette. -(The Indians of the southwest do not ordinarily use the pipe.) When the -first puff was taken from the cigarette, the man next to the chief was -to suddenly level his weapon and kill General Crook, the others at the -very same moment taking the lives of the whites closest to them. The -whole tribe would then be made to break away from the reserve and take -to the inaccessible cliffs and cañons at the head of the Santa Maria -fork of the Bill Williams. The plan would have succeeded perfectly, had -it not been for the warning received, and also for the fact that the -expected visit had to be made much sooner than was anticipated, and thus -prevented all the gang from getting together. - -Captain Philip Dwyer, Fifth Cavalry, the officer in command of the camp, -suddenly died, and this took me down post-haste to assume command. Dwyer -was a very brave, handsome, and intelligent soldier, much beloved by all -his comrades. He was the only officer left at Date Creek—all the others -and most of the garrison were absent on detached service of one kind and -another—and there was no one to look after the dead man but Mr. Wilbur -Hugus, the post trader, and myself. The surroundings were most dismal -and squalid; all the furniture in the room in which the corpse lay was -two or three plain wooden chairs, the bed occupied as described, and a -pine table upon which stood a candlestick, with the candle melted and -burned in the socket. Dwyer had been “ailing” for several days, but no -one could tell exactly what was the matter with him; and, of course, no -one suspected that one so strong and athletic could be in danger of -death. - -One of the enlisted men of his company, a bright young trumpeter, was -sitting up with him, and about the hour of midnight, Dwyer became a -trifle uneasy and asked: “Can you sing that new song, ‘Put me under the -daisies’?” - -“Oh, yes, Captain,” replied the trumpeter; “I have often sung it, and -will gladly sing it now.” - -So he began to sing, very sweetly, the ditty, which seemed to calm the -nervousness of his superior officer. But the candle had burned down in -the socket, and when the young soldier went to replace it, he could find -neither candle nor match, and he saw in the flickering light and shadow -that the face of the Captain was strangely set, and of a ghastly -purplish hue. The trumpeter ran swiftly to the nearest house to get -another light, and to call for help, but upon returning found the -Captain dead. - -Many strange sights have I seen, but none that produced a stranger or -more pathetic appeal to my emotions than the funeral of Phil Dwyer; we -got together just as good an apology for a coffin as that timberless -country would furnish, and then wrapped our dead friend in his -regimentals, and all hands were then ready to start for the cemetery. - -At the head marched Mr. Hugus, Doctor Williams (the Indian agent), -myself, and Lieutenant Hay, of the Twenty-third Infantry, who arrived at -the post early in the morning; then came the troop of cavalry, -dismounted, and all the civilians living in and around the camp; and -lastly every Indian—man, woman, or child—able to walk or toddle, for all -of them, young or old, good or bad, loved Phil Dwyer. The soldiers and -civilians formed in one line at the head of the grave, and the -Apache-Yumas in two long lines at right angles to them, and on each -side. The few short, expressive, and tender sentences of the burial -service were read, then the bugles sang taps, and three volleys were -fired across the hills, the clods rattled down on the breast of the -dead, and the ceremony was over. - -As soon as General Crook learned of the death of Dwyer, he hurried to -Date Creek, now left without any officer of its proper garrison, and -informed the Indians that he intended having a talk with them on the -morrow, at a place designated by himself. The conspirators thought that -their scheme could be carried out without trouble, especially since they -saw no signs of suspicion on the part of the whites. General Crook came -to the place appointed, without any escort of troops, but carelessly -strolling forward were a dozen or more of the packers, who had been -engaged in all kinds of mêlées since the days of early California -mining. Each of these was armed to the teeth, and every revolver was on -the full cock, and every knife ready for instant use. The talk was very -agreeable, and not an unpleasant word had been uttered on either side, -when all of a sudden the Indian in the centre asked for a little -tobacco, and, when it was handed to him, began rolling a cigarette; -before the first puff of smoke had rolled away from his lips one of the -warriors alongside of him levelled his carbine full at General Crook, -and fired. Lieutenant Ross, aide-de-camp to the General, was waiting for -the movement, and struck the arm of the murderer so that the bullet was -deflected upwards, and the life of the General was saved. The scrimmage -became a perfect Kilkenny fight in another second or two, and every man -made for the man nearest to him, the Indian who had given the signal -being grasped in the vise-like grip of Hank Hewitt, with whom he -struggled vainly. Hewitt was a man of great power and able to master -most men other than professional athletes or prize-fighters; the Indian -was not going to submit so long as life lasted, and struggled, bit, and -kicked to free himself, but all in vain, as Hank had caught him from the -back of the head, and the red man was at a total disadvantage. Hewitt -started to drag his captive to the guard-house, but changed his mind, -and seizing the Apache-Mojave by both ears pulled his head down -violently against the rocks, and either broke his skull or brought on -concussion of the brain, as the Indian died that night in the -guard-house. - -Others of the party were killed and wounded, and still others, with the -ferocity of tigers, fought their way out through our feeble lines, and -made their way to the point of rendezvous at the head of the Santa -Maria. Word was at once sent to them by members of their own tribe that -they must come in and surrender at once, or else the whole party must -expect to be punished for what was originally the crime of a few. No -answer was received, and their punishment was arranged for; they were -led to suppose that the advance was to be made from Date Creek, but, -after letting them alone for several weeks—just long enough to allay to -some extent their suspicions—Crook pushed out a column of the Fifth -Cavalry under command of Colonel Julius W. Mason, and by forced marches -under the guidance of a strong detachment of Hualpai scouts, the -encampment of the hostiles was located just where the Hualpais said it -would be, at the “Muchos Cañones,” a point where five cañons united to -form the Santa Maria; and there the troops and the scouts attacked -suddenly and with spirit, and in less than no time everything was in our -hands, and the enemy had to record a loss of more than forty. It was a -terrible blow, struck at the beginning of winter and upon a band which -had causelessly slaughtered a stageful of our best people, not as an act -of war, which would have been excusable, but as an act of highway -robbery, by sneaking off the reservation where the Government was -allowing them rations and clothing in quantity sufficient to eke out -their own supplies of wild food. This action of the “Muchos Cañones” had -a very beneficial effect upon the campaign which began against the -Apaches in the Tonto Basin a few weeks later. It humbled the pride of -those of the Apache-Yumas who had never been in earnest in their -professions of peace, and strengthened the hands of the chiefs like -“Jam-aspi,” “Ochacama,” “Hoch-a-chi-waca,” “Quaca-thew-ya,” and “Tom,” -who were sincerely anxious to accept the new condition of things. There -was a third element in this tribe, led by a chief of ability, -“Chimahuevi-Sal,” which did not want to fight, if fighting could be -avoided, but did not care much for the new white neighbors whom they saw -crowding in upon them. “Chimahuevi-Sal” made his escape from the -reservation with about one hundred and fifty of his followers, intending -to go down on the south side of the Mexican line and find an asylum -among the Cocopahs. They were pursued and brought back without bloodshed -by Captain James Burns, a brave and humane officer of the Fifth Cavalry, -who died sixteen years ago worn out by the hard work demanded in -Arizona. - -It does not seem just, at first sight, to deny to Indians the right to -domicile themselves in another country if they so desire, and if a -peaceful life can be assured them; but, in the end, it will be found -that constant visiting will spring up between the people living in the -old home and the new, and all sorts of complications are sure to result. -The Apache-Mojaves and the Apache-Tontos, living in the Tonto Basin, -misapprehending the reasons for the cessation of scouting against them, -had become emboldened to make a series of annoying and destructive -attacks upon the ranchos in the Agua Fria Valley, upon those near -Wickenburg, and those near what is now the prosperous town of Phœnix, in -the Salt River Valley. Their chiefs “Delt-che” (The Red Ant) and -“Cha-lipun” (The Buckskin-colored Hat) were brave, bold, able, and -enterprising, and rightfully regarded as among the worst enemies the -white men ever had. The owners of two of the ranchos attacked were very -peculiar persons. One of them, Townsend, of the Dripping Springs in the -Middle Agua Fria, was supposed to be a half-breed Cherokee from the -Indian Nation; he certainly had all the looks—the snapping black eyes, -the coal-black, long, lank hair, and the swarthy skin—of the -full-blooded aborigine, with all the cunning, shrewdness, contempt for -privation and danger, and ability to read “sign,” that distinguish the -red men. It was his wont at the appearance of the new moon, when raiding -parties of Apaches might be expected, to leave his house, make a wide -circuit in the mountains and return, hoping to be able to “cut” the -trail of some prowlers; if he did, he would carefully secrete himself in -the rocks on the high hills overlooking his home, and wait until the -Apaches would make some movement to let him discover where they were and -what they intended doing. - -He was a dead shot, cunning as a snake, wily and brave, and modest at -the same time, and the general belief was that he had sent twenty-seven -Apaches to the Happy Hunting Grounds. Townsend and Boggs, his next-door -neighbor who lived a mile or two from him, had made up their minds that -they would “farm” in the fertile bottom lands of the Agua Fria; the -Apaches had made up their minds that they should not; hence it goes -without saying that neither Townsend nor Boggs, nor any of their hired -men, ever felt really lonesome in the seclusion of their lovely valley. -The sequel to this story is the sequel to all such stories about early -Arizona: the Apaches “got him” at last, and my friend Townsend has long -been sleeping his last sleep under the shadow of a huge bowlder within a -hundred yards of his home at the “Dripping Springs.” - -The antipodes of Townsend’s rancho, as its proprietor was the antipodes -of Townsend himself, was the “station” of Darrel Duppa at the “sink” of -the same Agua Fria, some fifty miles below. Darrel Duppa was one of the -queerest specimens of humanity, as his ranch was one of the queerest -examples to be found in Arizona, and I might add in New Mexico and -Sonora as well. There was nothing superfluous about Duppa in the way of -flesh, neither was there anything about the “station” that could be -regarded as superfluous, either in furniture or ornament. Duppa was -credited with being the wild, harum-scarum son of an English family of -respectability, his father having occupied a position in the diplomatic -or consular service of Great Britain, and the son having been born in -Marseilles. Rumor had it that Duppa spoke several languages—French, -Spanish, Italian, German—that he understood the classics, and that, when -sober, he used faultless English. I can certify to his employment of -excellent French and Spanish, and what had to my ears the sound of -pretty good Italian, and I know too that he was hospitable to a fault, -and not afraid of man or devil. Three bullet wounds, received in three -different fights with the Apaches, attested his grit, although they -might not be accepted as equally conclusive evidence of good judgment. -The site of his “location” was in the midst of the most uncompromising -piece of desert in a region which boasts of possessing more desert land -than any other territory in the Union. The surrounding hills and mesas -yielded a perennial crop of cactus, and little of anything else. - -The dwelling itself was nothing but a “ramada,” a term which has already -been defined as a roof of branches; the walls were of rough, unplastered -wattle work, of the thorny branches of the ironwood, no thicker than a -man’s finger, which were lashed by thongs of raw-hide to horizontal -slats of cottonwood; the floor of the bare earth, of course—that almost -went without saying in those days—and the furniture rather too simple -and meagre even for Carthusians. As I recall the place to mind, there -appears the long, unpainted table of pine, which served for meals or -gambling, or the rare occasions when any one took into his head the -notion to write a letter. This room constituted the ranch in its -entirety. Along the sides were scattered piles of blankets, which about -midnight were spread out as couches for tired laborers or travellers. At -one extremity, a meagre array of Dutch ovens, flat-irons, and -frying-pans revealed the “kitchen,” presided over by a hirsute, -husky-voiced gnome, half Vulcan, half Centaur, who, immersed for most of -the day in the mysteries of the larder, at stated intervals broke the -stillness with the hoarse command: “Hash pile! Come a’ runnin’!” There -is hardly any use to describe the rifles, pistols, belts of ammunition, -saddles, spurs, and whips, which lined the walls, and covered the joists -and cross-beams; they were just as much part and parcel of the -establishment as the dogs and ponies were. To keep out the sand-laden -wind, which blew fiercely down from the north when it wasn’t blowing -down with equal fierceness from the south, or the west, or the east, -strips of canvas or gunny-sacking were tacked on the inner side of the -cactus branches. - -My first visit to this Elysium was made about midnight, and I remember -that the meal served up was unique if not absolutely paralyzing on the -score of originality. There was a great plenty of Mexican figs in -raw-hide sacks, fairly good tea, which had the one great merit of -hotness, and lots and lots of whiskey; but there was no bread, as the -supply of flour had run short, and, on account of the appearance of -Apaches during the past few days, it had not been considered wise to -send a party over to Phœnix for a replenishment. A wounded Mexican, -lying down in one corner, was proof that the story was well founded. All -the light in the ranch was afforded by a single stable lantern, by the -flickering flames from the cook’s fire, and the glinting stars. In our -saddle-bags we had several slices of bacon and some biscuits, so we did -not fare half so badly as we might have done. What caused me most wonder -was why Duppa had ever concluded to live in such a forlorn spot; the -best answer I could get to my queries was that the Apaches had attacked -him at the moment he was approaching the banks of the Agua Fria at this -point, and after he had repulsed them he thought he would stay there -merely to let them know he could do it. This explanation was -satisfactory to every one else, and I had to accept it. - -We should, before going farther, cast a retrospective glance upon the -southern part of the territory, where the Apaches were doing some -energetic work in be-devilling the settlers; there were raids upon -Montgomery’s at “Tres Alamos,” the “Cienaga,” and other places not very -remote from Tucson, and the Chiricahuas apparently had come up from -Sonora bent upon a mission of destruction. They paid particular -attention to the country about Fort Bowie and the San Simon, and had -several brushes with Captain Gerald Russell’s Troop “K” of the Third -Cavalry. While watering his horses in the narrow, high, rock-walled -defile in the Dragoon Mountains, known on the frontier at that time as -“Cocheis’s Stronghold,” Russell was unexpectedly assailed by Cocheis and -his band, the first intimation of the presence of the Chiricahuas being -the firing of the shot, which, striking the guide, Bob Whitney, in the -head, splashed his brains out upon Russell’s face. Poor Bob Whitney was -an unusually handsome fellow, of great courage and extended service -against the Apaches; he had been wounded scores of times, I came near -saying, but to be exact, he had been wounded at least half a dozen times -by both bullets and arrows. He and Maria Jilda Grijalva, an escaped -Mexican prisoner, who knew every foot of the southern Apache country, -had been guides for the commands of Winters and Russell, and had seen -about as much hard work as men care to see in a whole generation. - -So far as the army was concerned, the most distressing of all these -skirmishes and ambuscades was that in which Lieutenant Reid T. Steward -lost his life in company with Corporal Black, of his regiment, the Fifth -Cavalry. They were ambushed near the spring in the Davidson Cañon, -twenty-five or thirty miles from Tucson, and both were killed at the -same moment. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - -CROOK BEGINS HIS CAMPAIGN—THE WINTER MARCH ACROSS THE MOGOLLON - PLATEAU—THE GREAT PINE BELT—BOBBY-DOKLINNY, THE MEDICINE MAN—COOLEY - AND HIS APACHE WIFE—THE APACHE CHIEF ESQUINOSQUIZN—THE APACHE GUIDE - NANAAJE—THE FEAST OF DEAD-MULE MEAT—THE FIGHT IN THE CAVE IN THE - SALT RIVER CAÑON—THE DEATH-CHANT—THE CHARGE—THE DYING MEDICINE - MAN—THE SCENE IN THE CAVE. - - -So long as the representative of the Government, Mr. Vincent Collyer, -remained in Arizona; so long as there flickered the feeblest ray of -light and hope that hostilities might be averted and peace secured, -Crook persisted in keeping his troops ready to defend the exposed -ranchos and settlements as fully as possible, but no offensive movements -were permitted, lest the Apaches should have reason to believe that our -people meant treachery, and were cloaking military operations under the -mask of peace negotiations. These conferences, or attempts at -conferences, came to naught, and at last, about the date of the attack -made upon General Crook and his party at Camp Date Creek, orders were -received to drive the Apaches upon the reservations assigned them and to -keep them there. - -The time fixed by General Crook for the beginning of his campaign -against the Apaches had been the 15th of November, 1872—a date which -would have marked the beginning of winter and made the retreat of the -different bands to the higher elevations of the mountain ranges a source -of great discomfort, not to say of suffering to them, as their almost -total want of clothing would cause them to feel the fullest effects of -the colder temperature, and also there would be increased danger of -detection by the troops, to whose eyes, or those of the Indian scouts -accompanying them, all smokes from camp-fires would be visible. - -The incident just related as happening at Camp Date Creek precipitated -matters somewhat, but not to a very appreciable extent, since Mason’s -attack upon the bands of Apache-Mojaves and Apache-Yumas in the “Muchos -Cañones” did not take place until the last days of the month of -September, and those bands having but slender relations with the other -portions of the Apache family over in the Tonto Basin, the latter would -not be too much on their guard. Crook started out from his headquarters -at Fort Whipple on the day set, and marched as fast as his animals would -carry him by way of Camp Verde and the Colorado Chiquito to Camp Apache, -a distance, as the roads and trails then measured, of about two hundred -and fifty miles. Upon the summit of the Colorado plateau, which in -places attains an elevation of more than ten thousand feet, the cold was -intense, and we found every spring and creek frozen solid, thus making -the task of watering our stock one of great difficulty. - -Our line of march led through the immense pine forests, and to the right -of the lofty snow-mantled peak of San Francisco, one of the most -beautiful mountains in America. It seems to have been, at some period -not very remote, a focus of volcanic disturbance, pouring out lava in -inconceivable quantities, covering the earth for one hundred miles -square, and to a depth in places of five hundred feet. This depth can be -ascertained by any geologist who will take the trail out from the -station of Ash Fork, on the present Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, and -go north-northeast, to the Cataract Cañon, to the village of the -Ava-Supais. In beginning the descent towards the Cataract Cañon, at the -“Black Tanks,” the enormous depth of the “flow” can be seen at a glance. -What was the “forest primeval” at that time on the Mogollon has since -been raided by the rapacious forces of commerce, and at one -point—Flagstaff, favorably located in the timber belt—has since been -established the great Ayers-Riordan saw and planing mill, equipped with -every modern appliance for the destruction of the old giants whose heads -had nodded in the breezes of centuries. Man’s inhumanity to man is an -awful thing. His inhumanity to God’s beautiful trees is scarcely -inferior to it. Trees are nearly human; they used to console man with -their oracles, and I must confess my regret that the Christian -dispensation has so changed the opinions of the world that the soughing -of the evening wind through their branches is no longer a message of -hope or a solace to sorrow. Reflection tells me that without the use of -this great belt of timber the construction of the railroad from El Paso -to the City of Mexico would have been attended with increased expense -and enhanced difficulty—perhaps postponed for a generation—but, for all -that, I cannot repress a sentiment of regret that the demands of -civilization have caused the denudation of so many square miles of our -forests in all parts of the timbered West. - -Our camp was aroused every morning at two o’clock, and we were out on -the road by four, making long marches and not halting until late in the -afternoon. Camp Apache was reached by the time expected, and the work of -getting together a force of scouts begun at once. One of the first young -men to respond to the call for scouts to enlist in the work of ferreting -out and subjugating the hostiles was “Na-kay-do-klunni,” called -afterwards by the soldiers “Bobby Doklinny.” I have still in my -possession, among other papers, the scrap of manuscript upon which is -traced in lead pencil the name of this Apache, whom I enrolled among the -very first at Camp Apache on this occasion. The work of enlistment was -afterwards turned over to Lieutenant Alexander O. Brodie, of the First -Cavalry, as I was obliged to leave with General Crook for the south. -“Bobby,” to adopt the soldiers’ name, became in his maturity a great -“medicine man” among his people, and began a dance in which he used to -raise the spirits of his ancestors. Of course, he scared the people of -the United States out of their senses, and instead of offering him a -bonus for all the ghosts he could bring back to life, the troops were -hurried hither and thither, and there was an “outbreak,” as is always -bound to be the case under such circumstances. “Bobby Doklinny” was -killed, and with him a number of his tribe, while on our side there was -grief for the death of brave officers and gallant men. - -One of the white men met at Camp Apache was Corydon E. Cooley, who had -married a woman of the Sierra Blanca band, and had acquired a very -decided influence over them. Cooley’s efforts were consistently in the -direction of bringing about a better understanding between the two -races, and so far as “Pedro’s” and “Miguel’s” people were concerned, his -exertions bore good fruit. But it is of Mrs. Cooley I wish to speak at -this moment. She was, and I hope still is, because I trust that she is -still alive, a woman of extraordinary character, anxious to advance and -to have her children receive all the benefits of education. She tried -hard to learn, and was ever on the alert to imitate the housekeeping of -the few ladies who followed their husbands down to Camp Apache, all of -whom took a great and womanly interest in the advancement of their -swarthy sister. On my way back from the snake dance of the Moquis I once -dined at Cooley’s ranch in company with Mr. Peter Moran, the artist, and -can assure my readers that the little home we entered was as clean as -homes generally are, and that the dinner served was as good as any to be -obtained in Delmonico’s. - -For those readers who care to learn of such things I insert a brief -description of “Cooley’s Ranch” as we found it in that year, 1881, of -course many years after the Apaches had been subdued. The ranch was on -the summit of the Mogollon plateau, at its eastern extremity, near the -head of Show Low Creek, one of the affluents of the Shevlons Fork of the -Colorado Chiquito. The contour of the plateau is here a charming series -of gentle hills and dales, the hills carpeted with juicy black “grama,” -and spangled with flowers growing at the feet of graceful pines and -majestic oaks; and the dales, watered by babbling brooks flowing through -fields of ripening corn and potatoes. In the centre of a small but -exquisitely beautiful park, studded with pine trees without undergrowth, -stood the frame house and the outbuildings of the ranch we were seeking. -Cooley was well provided with every creature comfort to be looked for in -the most prosperous farming community in the older States. His fields -and garden patches were yielding bountifully of corn, pumpkins, -cucumbers, wheat, peas, beans, cabbage, potatoes, barley, oats, -strawberries, gooseberries, horse-radish, and musk-melons. He had set -out an orchard of apple, crab, dwarf pear, peach, apricot, quince, plum, -and cherry trees, and could supply any reasonable demand for butter, -cream, milk, eggs, or fresh meat from his poultry yard or herd of cows -and drove of sheep. There was an ice-house well filled, two deep wells, -and several springs of pure water. The house was comfortably furnished, -lumber being plenty and at hand from the saw-mill running on the -property. - -Four decidedly pretty gipsy-like little girls assisted their mother in -gracefully doing the honors to the strangers, and conducted us to a -table upon which smoked a perfectly cooked meal of Irish stew of mutton, -home-made bread, boiled and stewed mushrooms—plucked since our -arrival—fresh home-made butter, buttermilk, peas and beans from the -garden, and aromatic coffee. The table itself was neatly spread, and -everything was well served. If one Apache woman can teach herself all -this, it does not seem to be hoping for too much when I express the -belief that in a few years others may be encouraged to imitate her -example. I have inherited from General Crook a strong belief in this -phase of the Indian problem. Let the main work be done with the young -women, in teaching them how to cook, and what to cook, and how to become -good housekeepers, and the work will be more than half finished. In all -tribes the influence of the women, although silent, is most potent. Upon -the squaws falls the most grievous part of the burden of war, and if -they can be made to taste the luxuries of civilized life, and to regard -them as necessaries, the idea of resuming hostilities will year by year -be combated with more vigor. It was upon this principle that the work of -missionary effort was carried on among the Canadian tribes, and we see -how, after one or two generations of women had been educated, all -trouble disappeared, and the best of feeling between the two races was -developed and maintained for all time. - -From Camp Apache to old Camp Grant was by the trail a trifle over one -hundred miles, but over a country so cut up with cañons, and so rocky, -that the distance seemed very much greater. The cañon of the Prieto or -Black River, the passage of the Apache range, the descent of the -Aravaypa, were all considered and with justice to be specially severe -upon the muscles and nerves of travellers, not only because of depth and -steepness, but also because the trail was filled with loose stones which -rolled from under the careless tread, and wrenched the feet and ankles -of the unwary. - -Of the general character of the approaches to old Camp Grant, enough has -already been written in the earlier chapters. I wish to add that the -marches were still exceptionally long and severe, as General Crook was -determined to arrive on time, as promised to the chiefs who were -expecting him. On account of getting entangled in the cañons back of the -Picacho San Carlos, it took us more than twenty-four hours to pass over -the distance between the Black River and the mouth of the San Carlos, -the start being made at six o’clock one day, and ending at eight o’clock -the next morning, a total of twenty-six hours of marching and climbing. -Every one in the command was pretty well tired out, and glad to throw -himself down with head on saddle, just as soon as horses and mules could -be lariated on grass and pickets established, but General Crook took his -shot-gun and followed up the Gila a mile or two, and got a fine mess of -reed birds for our breakfast. It was this insensibility to fatigue, -coupled with a contempt for danger, or rather with a skill in evading -all traps that might be set for him, which won for Crook the admiration -of all who served with him; there was no private soldier, no packer, no -teamster, who could “down the ole man” in any work, or outlast him on a -march or a climb over the rugged peaks of Arizona; they knew that, and -they also knew that in the hour of danger Crook would be found on the -skirmish line, and not in the telegraph office. - -At old Camp Grant, the operations of the campaign began in earnest; in -two or three days the troops at that post were ready to move out under -command of Major Brown, of the Fifth Cavalry, and the general plan of -the campaign unfolded itself. It was to make a clean sweep of the Tonto -Basin, the region in which the hostiles had always been so successful in -eluding and defying the troops, and this sweep was to be made by a -number of converging columns, each able to look out for itself, each -provided with a force of Indian scouts, each followed by a pack-train -with all needful supplies, and each led by officers physically able to -go almost anywhere. After the centre of the Basin had been reached, if -there should be no decisive action in the meantime, these commands were -to turn back and break out in different directions, scouring the -country, so that no nook or corner should be left unexamined. The posts -were stripped of the last available officer and man, the expectation -being that, by closely pursuing the enemy, but little leisure would be -left him for making raids upon our settlements, either military or -civil, and that the constant movements of the various detachments would -always bring some within helping distance of beleaguered stations. - -General Crook kept at the front, moving from point to point, along the -whole periphery, and exercising complete personal supervision of the -details, but leaving the movements from each post under the control of -the officers selected for the work. Major George M. Randall, -Twenty-third Infantry, managed affairs at Camp Apache, having under him -as chief of scouts, Mr. C. E. Cooley, of whom mention has just been -made. Major George F. Price, Fifth Cavalry, commanded from Date Creek. -Major Alexander MacGregor, First Cavalry, had the superintendence of the -troops to move out from Fort Whipple; Colonel Julius W. Mason, Fifth -Cavalry, of those to work down from Camp Hualpai, while those of the -post of Camp MacDowell were commanded by Captain James Burns, Fifth -Cavalry. Colonel C. C. C. Carr, First Cavalry, led those from Verde. All -these officers were experienced, and of great discretion and good -judgment. Each and all did excellent work and struck blow after blow -upon the savages. - -Before starting out, General Crook’s instructions were communicated to -both Indian scouts and soldiers at Camp Grant; as they were of the same -tenor as those already given at other posts, I have not thought it -necessary to repeat them for each post. Briefly, they directed that the -Indians should be induced to surrender in all cases where possible; -where they preferred to fight, they were to get all the fighting they -wanted, and in one good dose instead of in a number of petty -engagements, but in either case were to be hunted down until the last -one in hostility had been killed or captured. Every effort should be -made to avoid the killing of women and children. Prisoners of either sex -should be guarded from ill-treatment of any kind. When prisoners could -be induced to enlist as scouts, they should be so enlisted, because the -wilder the Apache was, the more he was likely to know of the wiles and -stratagems of those still out in the mountains, their hiding-places and -intentions. No excuse was to be accepted for leaving a trail; if horses -played out, the enemy must be followed on foot, and no sacrifice should -be left untried to make the campaign short, sharp, and decisive. - -Lieutenant and Brevet Major William J. Ross, Twenty-first Infantry, and -myself were attached to the command of Major Brown, to operate from Camp -Grant, through the Mescal, Pinal, Superstition, and Matitzal ranges, -over to Camp MacDowell and there receive further instructions. Before -leaving the post, I had to record a very singular affair which goes to -show how thoroughly self-satisfied and stupid officialism can always -become if properly encouraged. There was a Roman Catholic priest dining -at our mess—Father Antonio Jouvenceau—who had been sent out from Tucson -to try and establish a mission among the bands living in the vicinity of -Camp Apache. There wasn’t anything in the shape of supplies in the -country outside of the army stores, and of these the missionary desired -permission to buy enough to keep himself alive until he could make other -arrangements, or become accustomed to the wild food of such friends as -he might make among the savages. Every request he made was refused on -the ground that there was no precedent. I know that there was “no -precedent” for doing anything to bring savages to a condition of peace, -but I have never ceased to regret that there was not, because I feel -sure that had the slightest encouragement been given to Father Antonio -or to a handful of men like him, the wildest of the Apaches might have -been induced to listen to reason, and there would have been no such -expensive wars. A missionary could not well be expected to load himself -down with supplies and carry them on his own back while he was hunting -favorable specimens of the Indians upon whom to make an impression. -There were numbers of Mexican prisoners among the Apaches who retained -enough respect for the religion of their childhood to be from first -acquaintance the firm and devoted friends of the new-comer, and once set -on a good basis in the Apache villages, the rest would have been easy. -This, however, is merely conjecture on my part. - -The new recruits from among the Apaches were under the command of a -chief responding to the name of “Esquinosquizn,” meaning “Bocon” or Big -Mouth. He was crafty, cruel, daring, and ambitious; he indulged whenever -he could in the intoxicant “Tizwin,” made of fermented corn and really -nothing but a sour beer which will not intoxicate unless the drinker -subject himself, as the Apache does, to a preliminary fast of from two -to four days. This indulgence led to his death at San Carlos some months -later. The _personnel_ of Brown’s command was excellent; it represented -soldiers of considerable experience and inured to all the climatic -variations to be expected in Arizona, and nowhere else in greater -degree. There were two companies of the Fifth Cavalry, and a detachment -of thirty Apache scouts, that being as many as could be apportioned to -each command in the initial stages of the campaign. Captain Alfred B. -Taylor, Lieutenant Jacob Almy, Lieutenant William J. Ross, and myself -constituted the commissioned list, until, at a point in the Superstition -Mountains, we were joined by Captain James Burns and First Lieutenant -Earl D. Thomas, Fifth Cavalry, with Company G of that regiment, and a -large body—not quite one hundred—of Pima Indians. In addition to the -above we had Archie Macintosh, Joe Felmer, and Antonio Besias as guides -and interpreters to take charge of the scouts. Mr. James Dailey, a -civilian volunteer, was also with the command. The pack train carried -along rations for thirty days, and there was no lack of flour, bacon, -beans, coffee, with a little chile colorado for the packers, and a small -quantity of dried peaches and chocolate, of which many persons in that -country made use in preference to coffee. We were all cut down to the -lowest notch in the matter of clothing, a deprivation of which no one -complained, since the loss was not severely felt amid such surroundings. - -It was now that the great amount of information which General Crook had -personally absorbed in regard to Arizona came of the best service. He -had been in constant conference with the Apache scouts and interpreters -concerning all that was to be done and all that was positively known of -the whereabouts of the hostiles; especially did he desire to find the -“rancheria” of the chief “Chuntz,” who had recently murdered in cold -blood, at Camp Grant, a Mexican boy too young to have been a cause of -rancor to any one. It may be said in one word that the smallest details -of this expedition were arranged by General Crook in person before we -started down the San Pedro. He had learned from “Esquinosquizn” of the -site of the rancheria supposed to be occupied by “Deltchay” in the lofty -range called the “Four Peaks” or the “Matitzal,” the latter by the -Indians and the former by the Americans, on account of there being the -distinctive feature of four peaks of great elevation overlooking the -country for hundreds of miles in all directions. One of the most -important duties confided to our force was the destruction of this -rancheria if we could find it. These points were not generally known at -the time we left Grant, neither was it known that one of our Apache -guides, “Nantaje,” christened “Joe” by the soldiers, had been raised in -that very stronghold, and deputed to conduct us to it. First, we were to -look up “Chuntz,” if we could, and wipe him out, and then do our best to -clean up the stronghold of “Deltchay.” - -I will avoid details of this march because it followed quite closely the -line of the first and second scouts made by Lieutenant Cushing, the -preceding year, which have been already outlined. We followed down the -dusty bottom of the San Pedro, through a jungle of mesquite and sage -brush, which always seem to grow on land which with irrigation will -yield bountifully of wheat, and crossed over to the feeble streamlet -marked on the maps as Deer Creek. We crossed the Gila at a point where -the Mescal and Pinal ranges seemed to come together, but the country was -so broken that it was hard to tell to which range the hills belonged. -The trails were rough, and the rocks were largely granites, porphyry, -and pudding stones, often of rare beauty. There was an abundance of -mescal, cholla cactus, manzanita, Spanish bayonet, pitahaya, and scrub -oak so long as we remained in the foothills, but upon gaining the higher -levels of the Pinal range, we found first juniper, and then pine of good -dimensions and in great quantity. The scenery upon the summit of the -Pinal was exhilarating and picturesque, but the winds were bitter and -the ground deep with snow, so that we made no complaint when the line of -march led us to a camp on the northwest extremity, where we found water -trickling down the flanks of the range into a beautiful narrow cañon, -whose steep walls hid us from the prying gaze of the enemy’s spies, and -also protected from the wind; the slopes were green with juicy grama -grass, and dotted with oaks which gracefully arranged themselves in -clusters of twos and threes, giving grateful shade to men and animals. -Far above us waved the branches of tall pines and cedars, and at their -feet could be seen the banks of snow, but in our own position the -weather was rather that of the south temperate or the northern part of -the torrid zone. - -This rapid change of climate made scouting in Arizona very trying. -During this campaign we were often obliged to leave the warm valleys in -the morning and climb to the higher altitudes and go into bivouac upon -summits where the snow was hip deep, as on the Matitzal, the Mogollon -plateau, and the Sierra Ancha. To add to the discomfort, the pine was so -thoroughly soaked through with snow and rain that it would not burn, and -unless cedar could be found, the command was in bad luck. Our Apache -scouts, under Macintosh, Felmer, and Besias, were kept from twelve to -twenty-four hours in advance of the main body, but always in -communication, the intention being to make use of them to determine the -whereabouts of the hostiles, but to let the soldiers do the work of -cleaning them out. It was difficult to restrain the scouts, who were too -fond of war to let slip any good excuse for a fight, and consequently -Macintosh had two or three skirmishes of no great consequence, but which -showed that his scouts could be depended upon both as trailers and as a -fighting force. In one of these, the village or “rancheria” of “Chuntz,” -consisting of twelve “jacales,” was destroyed with a very full winter -stock of food, but only one of the party was wounded, and all escaped, -going in the direction of the Cañon of the Rio Salado or Salt River. The -advance of the scouts had been discovered by a squaw, who gave the alarm -and enabled the whole party to escape. - -A day or two after this, the scouts again struck the trail of the enemy, -and had a sharp brush with them, killing several and capturing three. -The Apaches had been making ready to plant during the coming spring, had -dug irrigating ditches, and had also accumulated a great store of all -kinds of provisions suited to their needs, among others a full supply of -baked mescal, as well as of the various seeds of grass, sunflower, and -the beans of mesquite which form so important a part of their food. As -well as could be determined, this was on or near the head of the little -stream marked on the maps as Raccoon Creek, on the south slope of the -Sierra Ancha. Close by was a prehistoric ruin, whose wall of rubble -stone was still three feet high. On the other (the south) side of the -Salt River we passed under a well-preserved cliff-dwelling in the cañon -of Pinto Creek, a place which I have since examined carefully, digging -out sandals of the “palmilla” fibre, dried mescal, corn husks and other -foods, and some small pieces of textile fabrics, with one or two axes -and hammers of stone, arrows, and the usual débris to be expected in -such cases. We worked our way over into the edge of the Superstition -Mountains. There was very little to do, and it was evident that whether -through fear of our own and the other commands which must have been -seen, or from a desire to concentrate during the cold weather, the -Apaches had nearly all abandoned that section of country, and sought -refuge somewhere else. - -The Apache scouts, however, insisted that we were to find a “heap” of -Indians “poco tiempo” (very soon). By their advice, most of our officers -and men had provided themselves with moccasins which would make no noise -in clambering over the rocks or down the slippery trails where rolling -stones might arouse the sleeping enemy. The Apaches, I noticed, stuffed -their moccasins with dry hay, and it was also apparent that they knew -all the minute points about making themselves comfortable with small -means. Just as soon as they reached camp, those who were not posted as -pickets or detailed to go off on side scouts in small parties of five -and six, would devote their attention to getting their bed ready for the -night; the grass in the vicinity would be plucked in handfuls, and -spread out over the smoothed surface upon which two or three of the -scouts purposed sleeping together; a semicircle of good-sized pieces of -rock made a wind break, and then one or two blankets would be spread -out, and upon that the three would recline, huddling close together, -each wrapped up in his own blanket. Whenever fires were allowed, the -Apaches would kindle small ones, and lie down close to them with feet -towards the flame. According to the theory of the Indian, the white man -makes so great a conflagration that, besides alarming the whole country, -he makes it so hot that no one can draw near, whereas the Apache, with -better sense, contents himself with a small collection of embers, over -which he can if necessary crouch and keep warm. - -The fine condition of our pack-trains awakened continued interest, and -evoked constant praise; the mules had followed us over some of the worst -trails in Arizona, and were still as fresh as when they left Grant, and -all in condition for the most arduous service with the exception of two, -one of which ate, or was supposed to have eaten, of the insect known as -the “Compra mucho” or the “Niña de la Tierra,” which is extremely -poisonous to those animals which swallow it in the grass to which it -clings. This mule died. Another was bitten on the lip by a rattlesnake, -and though by the prompt application of a poultice of the weed called -the “golondrina” we managed to save its life for a few days, it too -died. On Christmas Day we were joined by Captain James Burns, Fifth -Cavalry, with Lieutenant Earl D. Thomas, of the same regiment, and a -command consisting of forty enlisted men of Company G, and a body of not -quite one hundred Pima Indians. They had been out from MacDowell for six -days, and had crossed over the highest point of the Matitzal range, and -had destroyed a “rancheria,” killing six and capturing two; one, a -squaw, sent in to MacDowell, and the other, a small but very bright and -active boy, whom the men had promptly adopted, and upon whom had been -bestowed the name “Mike” Burns, which he has retained to this day. This -boy, then not more than six or seven years old, was already an expert in -the use of the bow and arrow, and, what suited Captain Burns much -better, he could knock down quail with stones, and add much to the -pleasures of a very meagre mess, as no shooting was allowed. During the -past twenty years, Mike Burns has, through the interposition of General -Crook, been sent to Carlisle, and there received the rudiments of an -education; we have met at the San Carlos Agency, and talked over old -times, and I have learned what was not then known, that in Burns’s fight -with the band on the summit of the Four Peaks, seven of the latter were -killed, and the men and women who escaped, under the leadership of -Mike’s own father, hurried to the stronghold in the cañon of the Salt -River, where they were all killed by our command a few days later. On -the evening of the 27th of December, 1872, we were bivouacked in a -narrow cañon called the Cottonwood Creek, flowing into the Salado at the -eastern base of the Matitzal, when Major Brown announced to his officers -that the object for which General Crook had sent out this particular -detachment was almost attained; that he had been in conference with -“Nantaje,” one of our Apache scouts, who had been brought up in the cave -in the cañon of the Salt River, and that he had expressed a desire to -lead us there, provided we made up our minds to make the journey before -day-dawn, as the position of the enemy was such that if we should be -discovered on the trail, not one of our party would return alive. The -Apaches are familiar with the stars, and “Nantaje” had said that if we -were to go, he wanted to start out with the first appearance above the -eastern horizon of a certain star with which he was acquainted. - -Brown gave orders that every officer and man who was not in the best -condition for making a severe march and climb over rugged mountains, -should stay with the pack-trains and be on the watch for any prowling -band of the enemy. First, there was made a pile of the _aparejos_ and -supplies which could serve in emergency as a breastwork for those to -remain behind; then a picket line was stretched, to which the mules and -horses could be tied, and kept under shelter from fire; and lastly, -every officer and man looked carefully to his weapons and ammunition, -for we were to start out on foot and climb through the rough promontory -of the Matitzal into the Salt River Cañon, and on to the place in which -we were to come upon the cave inhabited by the hostiles of whom we were -in search. Every belt was filled with cartridges, and twenty extra were -laid away in the blanket which each wore slung across his shoulders, and -in which were placed the meagre allowance of bread, bacon, and coffee -taken as provision, with the canteen of water. The Apache scouts had -asked the privilege of cooking and eating the mule which had died during -the morning, and as the sky had clouded and the light of small fires -could not well be seen, Major Brown consented, and they stuffed -themselves to their hearts’ content, in a meal which had not a few -points of resemblance to the “Festins à manger tout,” mentioned by -Father Lafitau, Parkman, and other writers. Before eight o’clock, we -were on our way, “Nantaje” in the van, and all marching briskly towards -the summit of the high mesas which enclosed the cañon. - -The night became extremely cold, and we were only too glad of the -opportunity of pushing ahead with vigor, and regretted very much to hear -the whispered command to halt and lie down until the last of the -rear-guard could be heard from. The Apache scouts in front had detected -lights in advance, and assured Major Brown that they must be from the -fires of the Indians of whom we were in quest. While they went ahead to -search and determine exactly what was the matter, the rest of us were -compelled to lie prone to the ground, so as to afford the least chance -to the enemy to detect any signs of life among us; no one spoke beyond a -whisper, and even when the cold compelled any of the party to cough, it -was done with the head wrapped up closely in a blanket or cape. -“Nantaje,” “Bocon,” and others were occupied with the examination of the -track into which the first-named had stepped, as he and Brown were -walking ahead; it seemed to the Indian to be the footprint of a man, but -when all had nestled down close to the earth, covered heads over with -blankets, and struck a match, it proved to be the track of a great bear, -which closely resembles that of a human being. Within a few moments, -Felmer, Archie, and the others, sent on to discover the cause of the -fires seen ahead, returned with the intelligence that the Apaches had -just been raiding upon the white and Pima Indian settlements in the -valley of the Gila, and had driven off fifteen horses and mules, which, -being barefoot and sore from climbing the rocky trail up the face of the -mountain, had been abandoned in a little nook where there was a slight -amount of grass and a little water. Worst news of all, there had been -four large “wickyups” in the same place which had just been vacated, and -whether on account of discovering our approach or not it was hard to -say. - -We were becoming rather nervous by this time, as we still had in mind -what “Nantaje” had said the previous evening about killing the last of -the enemy, or being compelled to fight our own way back. “Nantaje” was -thoroughly composed, and smiled when some of the party insinuated a -doubt about the existence of any large “rancheria” in the neighborhood. -“Wait and see,” was all the reply he would vouchsafe. - -By advice of “Nantaje,” Major Brown ordered Lieutenant William J. Ross -to proceed forward on the trail with twelve or fifteen of the best shots -among the soldiers, and such of the packers as had obtained permission -to accompany the command. “Nantaje” led them down the slippery, rocky, -dangerous trail in the wall of the gloomy cañon, which in the cold gray -light of the slowly creeping dawn, and under the gloom of our -surroundings, made us think of the Valley of the Shadow of Death. “They -ought to be very near here,” said Major Brown. “Good Heavens! what is -all that?” It was a noise equal to that of a full battery of -six-pounders going off at once. Brown knew that something of the -greatest consequence had happened, and he wasn’t the man to wait for the -arrival of messengers; he ordered me to take command of the first forty -men in the advance, without waiting to see whether they were white or -red, soldiers or packers, and go down the side of the cañon on the run, -until I had joined Ross, and taken up a position as close to the enemy -as it was possible for me to get without bringing on a fight; meantime, -he would gather up all the rest of the command, and follow me as fast as -he could, and relieve me. There was no trouble at all in getting down -that cañon; the difficulty was to hold on to the trail; had any man lost -his footing, he would not have stopped until he had struck the current -of the Salado, hundreds of feet below. In spite of everything, we -clambered down, and by great good luck broke no necks. As we turned a -sudden angle in the wall, we saw the condition of affairs most -completely. The precipice forming that side of the cañon was hundreds of -feet in height, but at a point some four or five hundred feet below the -crest had fallen back in a shelf upon which was a cave of no great -depth. In front of the cave great blocks of stone furnished a natural -rampart behind which the garrison could bid defiance to the assaults of -almost any enemy; in this eyrie, the band of “Nanni-chaddi” felt a -security such as only the eagle or the vulture can feel in the seclusion -of the ice-covered dizzy pinnacles of the Andes; from the shelf upon -which they lived these savages, who seem to me to have been the last of -the cliff-dwellers within our borders, had on several occasions watched -the commands of Sanford and Carr struggling to make their way up the -stream in the cañon below. The existence of one, or perhaps two, -rancherias somewhere within this gloomy cañon had long been suspected, -but never demonstrated until the present moment. When we joined Ross we -heard his story told in few words: he and his small band of twelve had -followed Felmer and Macintosh down the face of the cliff until they had -reached the small open space in front of the cave; there they saw within -a very few yards of them the party of raiders just returned from the -Gila settlements, who had left at pasture the band of fifteen ponies -which we had seen. These warriors were dancing, either to keep -themselves warm or as a portion of some religious ceremonial, as is -generally the case with the tribes in the southwest. Close by them -crouched half a dozen squaws, aroused from slumber to prepare food for -the hungry braves. The flames of the fire, small as it was, reflected -back from the high walls, gave a weird illumination to the features of -the circle, and enabled the whites to take better aim upon their -unsuspecting victims. Ross and “Nantaje” consulted in whispers, and -immediately it was decided that each man should with the least noise -possible cock his piece and aim at one of the group without reference to -what his next-door neighbor might be doing. Had not the Apaches been -interested in their own singing, they might surely have heard the low -whisper: ready! aim! fire! but it would have been too late; the die was -cast, and their hour had come. - -The fearful noise which we had heard, reverberating from peak to peak -and from crag to crag, was the volley poured in by Ross and his -comrades, which had sent six souls to their last account, and sounded -the death-knell of a powerful band. The surprise and terror of the -savages were so complete that they thought only of the safety which the -interior of the cave afforded, and as a consequence, when my party -arrived on the scene, although there were a number of arrows thrown at -us as we descended the path and rounded the angle, yet no attempt was -made at a counter-assault, and before the Apaches could recover from -their astonishment the two parties united, numbering more than fifty, -nearer sixty, men, had secured position within thirty yards of one flank -of the cave, and within forty yards of the other, and each man posted -behind rocks in such a manner that he might just as well be in a rifle -pit. My instructions were not to make any fight, but to keep the Apaches -occupied, in case they tried to break out of the trap, and to order all -men to shelter themselves to the utmost. Major Brown was down with the -remainder of the command almost before a shot could be exchanged with -the enemy, although there were two more killed either a moment before -his arrival or very soon after. One of these was a Pima, one of our own -allies, who persisted in disregarding orders, and exposed himself to the -enemy’s fire, and was shot through the body and died before he ever knew -what had struck him. The other was one of the Apaches who had sneaked -down along our right flank, and was making his way out to try to open up -communication with another village and get its people to attack us in -rear. He counted without his host, and died a victim to his own -carelessness; he had climbed to the top of a high rock some distance -down the cañon, and there fancied himself safe from our shots, and -turned to give a yell of defiance. His figure outlined against the sky -was an excellent mark, and there was an excellent shot among us to take -full advantage of it. Blacksmith John Cahill had his rifle in position -like a flash, and shot the Indian through the body. At the time of the -fight, we did not know that the savage had been killed, although Cahill -insisted that he had shot him as described, and as those nearest him -believed. The corpse could not be found in the rocks before we left, and -therefore was not counted, but the squaws at San Carlos have long since -told me that their relative was killed there, and that his remains were -found after we had left the neighborhood. - -[Illustration: SHARP NOSE.] - -Brown’s first work was to see that the whole line was impregnable to -assault from the beleaguered garrison of the cave, and then he directed -his interpreters to summon all to an unconditional surrender. The only -answer was a shriek of hatred and defiance, threats of what we had to -expect, yells of exultation at the thought that not one of us should -ever see the light of another day, but should furnish a banquet for the -crows and buzzards, and some scattering shots fired in pure bravado. -Brown again summoned all to surrender, and when jeers were once more his -sole response, he called upon the Apaches to allow their women and -children to come out, and assured them kind treatment. To this the -answer was the same as before, the jeers and taunts of the garrison -assuring our people that they were in dead earnest in saying that they -intended to fight till they died. For some moments the Apaches resorted -to the old tactics of enticing some of our unwary soldiers to expose -themselves above the wall of rocks behind which Major Brown ordered all -to crouch; a hat or a war bonnet would be set up on the end of a bow, -and held in such a way as to make-believe that there was a warrior -behind it, and induce some one proud of his marksmanship to “lay” for -the red man and brother, who would, in his turn, be “laying” for the -white man in some coign of vantage close to where his squaw was holding -the head-gear. But such tricks were entirely too transparent to deceive -many, and after a short time the Apaches themselves grew tired of them, -and began to try new methods. They seemed to be abundantly provided with -arrows and lances, and of the former they made no saving, but would send -them flying high in air in the hope that upon coming back to earth they -might hit those of our rearguard who were not taking such good care of -themselves as were their brothers at the front on the skirmish line. - -There was a lull of a few minutes; each side was measuring its own -strength and that of its opponent. It was apparent that any attempt to -escalade without ladders would result in the loss of more than half our -command; the great rock wall in front of the cave was not an inch less -than ten feet in height at its lowest point, and smooth as the palm of -the hand; it would be madness to attempt to climb it, because the moment -the assailants reached the top, the lances of the invested force could -push them back to the ground wounded to death. Three or four of our -picked shots were posted in eligible positions overlooking the places -where the Apaches had been seen to expose themselves; this, in the hope -that any recurrence of such fool-hardiness would afford an opportunity -for the sharpshooters to show their skill. Of the main body, one-half -was in reserve fifty yards behind the skirmish line—to call it such -where the whole business was a skirmish line—with carbines loaded and -cocked, and a handful of cartridges on the clean rocks in front, and -every man on the lookout to prevent the escape of a single warrior, -should any be fortunate enough to sneak or break through the first line. -The men on the first line had orders to fire as rapidly as they chose, -directing aim against the roof of the cave, with the view to having the -bullets glance down among the Apache men, who had massed immediately -back of the rock rampart. - -This plan worked admirably, and, so far as we could judge, our shots -were telling upon the Apaches, and irritating them to that degree that -they no longer sought shelter, but boldly faced our fire and returned it -with energy, the weapons of the men being reloaded by the women, who -shared their dangers. A wail from a squaw, and the feeble cry of a -little babe, were proof that the missiles of death were not seeking men -alone. Brown ordered our fire to cease, and for the last time summoned -the Apaches to surrender, or to let their women and children come out -unmolested. On their side, the Apaches also ceased all hostile -demonstration, and it seemed to some of us Americans that they must be -making ready to yield, and were discussing the matter among themselves. -Our Indian guides and interpreters raised the cry, “Look out! There goes -the death song; they are going to charge!” It was a weird chant, one not -at all easy to describe; half wail and half exultation—the frenzy of -despair and the wild cry for revenge. Now the petulant, querulous treble -of the squaws kept time with the shuffling feet, and again the deeper -growl of the savage bull-dogs, who represented manhood in that cave, was -flung back from the cold pitiless brown of the cliffs. - -“Look out! Here they come!” Over the rampart, guided by one impulse, -moving as if they were all part of the one body, jumped and ran twenty -of the warriors—superb-looking fellows all of them; each carried upon -his back a quiver filled with the long reed arrows of the tribe, each -held in his hand a bow and a rifle, the latter at full cock. Half of the -party stood upon the rampart, which gave them some chance to sight our -men behind the smaller rocks in front, and blazed away for all they were -worth—they were trying to make a demonstration to engage our attention, -while the other part suddenly slipped down and around our right flank, -and out through the rocks which had so effectively sheltered the retreat -of the one who had so nearly succeeded in getting away earlier in the -morning. Their motives were divined, and the move was frustrated; our -men rushed to the attack like furies, each seeming to be anxious to -engage the enemy at close quarters. Six or seven of the enemy were -killed in a space not twenty-five feet square, and the rest driven back -within the cave, more or less wounded. - -Although there was a fearful din from the yells, groans, wails of the -squaws within the fortress, and the re-echoing of volleys from the walls -of the cañon, our command behaved admirably, and obeyed its orders to -the letter. The second line never budged from its place, and well it was -that it had stayed just there. One of the charging party, seeing that so -much attention was converged upon our right, had slipped down unnoticed -from the rampart, and made his way to the space between our two lines, -and had sprung to the top of a huge boulder, and there had begun his -war-whoop, as a token of encouragement to those still behind. I imagine -that he was not aware of our second line, and thought that once in our -rear, ensconced in a convenient nook in the rocks, he could keep us busy -by picking us off at his leisure. His chant was never finished; it was -at once his song of glory and his death song; he had broken through our -line of fire only to meet a far more cruel death. Twenty carbines were -gleaming in the sunlight just flushing the cliffs; forty eyes were -sighting along the barrels. The Apache looked into the eyes of his -enemies, and in not one did he see the slightest sign of mercy; he tried -to say something; what it was we never could tell. “No! No! soldados!” -in broken Spanish, was all we could make out before the resounding -volley had released another soul from its earthly casket, and let the -bleeding corpse fall to the ground as limp as a wet moccasin. He was -really a handsome warrior; tall, well-proportioned, finely muscled, and -with a bold, manly countenance; “shot to death” was the verdict of all -who paused to look upon him, but that didn’t half express the state of -the case; I have never seen a man more thoroughly shot to pieces than -was this one; every bullet seemed to have struck, and not less than -eight or ten had inflicted mortal wounds. - -The savages in the cave, with death now staring them in the face, did -not seem to lose their courage—or, shall we say despair? They resumed -their chant, and sang with vigor and boldness, until Brown determined -that the battle or siege must end. Our two lines were now massed in one, -and every officer and man told to get ready a package of cartridges; -then as fast as the breech-block of the carbine could be opened and -lowered, we were to fire into the mouth of the cave, hoping to inflict -the greatest damage by glancing bullets, and then charge in by the -entrance on our right flank, back of the rock rampart which had served -as the means of exit for the hostiles when they made their attack. The -din and tumult increased twenty-fold beyond the last time; lead poured -in by the bucketful, but, strangely enough, there was a lull for a -moment or two, and without orders. A little Apache boy, not over four -years old, if so old, ran out from within the cave, and stood, with -thumb in mouth, looking in speechless wonder and indignation at the -belching barrels. He was not in much danger, because all the carbines -were aiming upwards at the roof, nevertheless a bullet—whether from our -lines direct, or hurled down from the rocky ceiling—struck the youngster -on the skull, and ploughed a path for itself around to the back of his -neck, leaving a welt as big as one’s finger. The youngster was knocked -off his feet, and added the tribute of his howls to the roars and echoes -of the conflict. “Nantaje” sprang like a deer to where the boy lay, and -grasped him by one arm, and ran with him behind a great stone. Our men -spontaneously ceased firing for one minute to cheer “Nantaje” and the -“kid;” the fight was then resumed with greater vigor. The Apaches did -not relax their fire, but, from the increasing groans of the women, we -knew that our shots were telling either upon the women in the cave, or -upon their relatives among the men for whom they were sorrowing. - -It was exactly like fighting with wild animals in a trap: the Apaches -had made up their minds to die if relief did not reach them from some of -the other “rancherias” supposed to be close by. Ever since early morning -nothing had been seen of Burns and Thomas, and the men of Company G. -With a detachment of Pima guides, they had been sent off to follow the -trail of the fifteen ponies found at day-dawn; Brown was under the -impression that the raiding party belonging to the cave might have split -into two or three parties, and that some of the latter ones might be -trapped and ambuscaded while ascending the mountain. This was before -Ross and “Nantaje” and Felmer had discovered the cave and forced the -fight. This part of our forces had marched a long distance down the -mountain, and was returning to rejoin us, when the roar of the carbines -apprised them that the worst kind of a fight was going on, and that -their help would be needed badly; they came back on the double, and as -soon as they reached the summit of the precipice were halted to let the -men get their breath. It was a most fortunate thing that they did so, -and at that particular spot. Burns and several others went to the crest -and leaned over to see what all the frightful hubbub was about. They saw -the conflict going on beneath them, and in spite of the smoke could make -out that the Apaches were nestling up close to the rock rampart, so as -to avoid as much as possible the projectiles which were raining down -from the roof of their eyrie home. - -It didn’t take Burns five seconds to decide what should be done; he had -two of his men harnessed with the suspenders of their comrades, and made -them lean well over the precipice, while the harness was used to hold -them in place; these men were to fire with their revolvers at the enemy -beneath, and for a volley or so they did very effective work, but their -Irish blood got the better of their reason, and in their excitement they -began to throw their revolvers at the enemy; this kind of ammunition was -rather too costly, but it suggested a novel method of annihilating the -enemy. Burns ordered his men to get together and roll several of the -huge boulders, which covered the surface of the mountain, and drop them -over on the unsuspecting foe. The noise was frightful; the destruction -sickening. Our volleys were still directed against the inner faces of -the cave and the roof, and the Apaches seemed to realize that their only -safety lay in crouching close to the great stone heap in front; but even -this precarious shelter was now taken away; the air was filled with the -bounding, plunging fragments of stone, breaking into thousands of -pieces, with other thousands behind, crashing down with the momentum -gained in a descent of hundreds of feet. No human voice could be heard -in such a cyclone of wrath; the volume of dust was so dense that no eye -could pierce it, but over on our left it seemed that for some reason we -could still discern several figures guarding that extremity of the -enemy’s line—the old “Medicine Man,” who, decked in all the panoply of -his office, with feathers on head, decorated shirt on back, and all the -sacred insignia known to his people, had defied the approach of death, -and kept his place, firing coolly at everything that moved on our side -that he could see, his rifle reloaded and handed back by his -assistants—either squaws or young men—it was impossible to tell which, -as only the arms could be noted in the air. Major Brown signalled up to -Burns to stop pouring down his boulders, and at the same time our men -were directed to cease firing, and to make ready to charge; the fire of -the Apaches had ceased, and their chant of defiance was hushed. There -was a feeling in the command as if we were about to rush through the -gates of a cemetery, and that we should find a ghastly spectacle within, -but, at the same time, it might be that the Apaches had retreated to -some recesses in the innermost depths of the cavern, unknown to us, and -be prepared to assail all who ventured to cross the wall in front. - -Precisely at noon we advanced, Corporal Hanlon, of Company G, Fifth -Cavalry, being the first man to surmount the parapet. I hope that my -readers will be satisfied with the meagrest description of the awful -sight that met our eyes: there were men and women dead or withing in the -agonies of death, and with them several babies, killed by our glancing -bullets, or by the storm of rocks and stones that had descended from -above. While one portion of the command worked at extricating the bodies -from beneath the pile of débris, another stood guard with cocked -revolvers or carbines, ready to blow out the brains of the first wounded -savage who might in his desperation attempt to kill one of our people. -But this precaution was entirely useless. All idea of resistance had -been completely knocked out of the heads of the survivors, of whom, to -our astonishment, there were over thirty. - -How any of the garrison had ever escaped such a storm of missiles was at -first a mystery to us, as the cave was scarcely a cave at all, but -rather a cliff dwelling, and of no extended depth. However, there were -many large slabs of flat thin stone within the enclosure, either left -there by Nature or carried in by the squaws, to be employed in various -domestic purposes. Behind and under these many of the squaws had crept, -and others had piled up the dead to screen themselves and their children -from the fury of our assault. Thirty-five, if I remember aright, were -still living, but in the number are included all who were still -breathing; many were already dying, and nearly one-half were dead before -we started out of that dreadful place. None of the warriors were -conscious except one old man, who serenely awaited the last summons; he -had received five or six wounds, and was practically dead when we sprang -over the entrance wall. There was a general sentiment of sorrow for the -old “Medicine Man” who had stood up so fiercely on the left of the -Apache line; we found his still warm corpse, crushed out of all -semblance to humanity, beneath a huge mass of rock, which had also -extinguished at one fell stroke the light of the life of the squaw and -the young man who had remained by his side. The amount of plunder and -supplies of all kinds was extremely great, and the band inhabiting these -cliffs must have lived with some comfort. There was a great amount of -food—roasted mescal, seeds of all kinds, jerked mule or pony meat, and -all else that these savages were wont to store for the winter; bows and -arrows in any quantity, lances, war clubs, guns of various kinds, with -ammunition fixed and loose; a perfect stronghold well supplied. So much -of the mescal and other food as our scouts wished to pack off on their -own backs was allowed them, and everything else was given to the flames. -No attempt was made to bury the dead, who, with the exception of our own -Pima, were left where they fell. - -Brown was anxious to get back out of the cañon, as the captive squaws -told him that there was another “rancheria” in the Superstition -Mountains on the south side of the cañon, and it was probable that the -Indians belonging to it would come up just as soon as they heard the -news of the fight, and attack our column in rear as it tried to make its -way back to the top of the precipice. The men who were found dancing by -Ross had, just that moment, returned from a raid upon the Pima villages -and the outskirts of Florence, in the Gila valley, where they had been -successful in getting the ponies we recovered, as well as in killing -some of the whites and friendly Indians living there. We had not wiped -out all the band belonging to the cave; there were six or seven of the -young women who had escaped and made their way down to the foot of the -precipice, and on into the current of the Salado; they would be sure to -push on to the other “rancheria,” of which we had been told. How they -came to escape was this: at the very first streak of light, or perhaps a -short time before, they had been sent—six young girls and an old -woman—to examine a great “mescal pit” down in the cañon, and determine -whether the food was yet ready for use. The Apaches always preferred to -let their mescal cook for three days, and at the end of that time would -pull out a plug made of the stalk of the plant, which should always be -put into the “pit” or oven, and if the end of that plug is cooked, the -whole mass is cooked. We had smelt the savory odors arising from the -“pit” as we climbed down the face of the cliff, early in the day. John -de Laet describes a mescal heap, or a furnace of earth covered with hot -rocks, upon which the Chichimecs (the name by which the Spaniards in -early times designated all the wild tribes in the northern part of their -dominions in North America) placed their corn-paste or venison, then -other hot rocks, and finally earth again. This mode of cooking, he says, -was imitated by the Spaniards in New Mexico. (_Lib. 7, cap. 3._) The -Apache-Mojave squaws at the San Carlos Agency still periodically mourn -for the death of seventy-six of their people in this cave, and when I -was last among them, they told a strange story of how one man escaped -from our scrutiny, after we had gained possession of the stronghold. - -He had been badly wounded by a bullet in the calf of the left leg, in -the very beginning of the fight, and had lain down behind one of the -great slabs of stone which were resting against the walls; as the fight -grew hotter and hotter, other wounded Indians sought shelter close to -the same spot, and after a while the corpses of the slain were piled up -there as a sort of a breastwork. When we removed the dead, it never -occurred to any of us to look behind the stone slabs, and to this fact -the Indian owed his salvation. He could hear the scouts talking, and he -knew that we were going to make a rapid march to reunite with our -pack-train and with other scouting parties. He waited until after we had -started out on the trail, and then made for himself a support for his -injured limb out of a broken lance-staff, and a pair of crutches out of -two others. He crawled or climbed up the wall of the cañon, and then -made his way along the trail to the Tonto Creek, to meet and to turn -back a large band of his tribe who were coming down to join -“Nanni-chaddi.” He saved them from Major Brown, but it was a case of -jumping out of the frying-pan into the fire. They took refuge on the -summit of “Turret Butte,” a place deemed second only to the Salt River -cave in impregnability, and supposed to be endowed with peculiar -“medicine” qualities, which would prevent an enemy from gaining -possession of it. But here they were surprised by the command of Major -George M. Randall, Twenty-third Infantry, and completely wiped out, as -will be told on another page. - -We got away from the cañon with eighteen captives, women and children, -some of them badly wounded; we might have saved a larger percentage of -the whole number found, living in the cave at the moment of assault, but -we were not provided with medical supplies, bandages, or anything for -the care of the sick and wounded. This one item will show how thoroughly -out of the world the Department of Arizona was at that time; it was -difficult to get medical officers out there, and the resulting condition -of affairs was such an injustice to both officers and men that General -Crook left no stone unturned until he had rectified it. The captives -were seated upon the Pima ponies left back upon the top of the mountain; -these animals were almost played out; their feet had been knocked to -pieces coming up the rocky pathway, during the darkness of night; and -the cholla cactus still sticking in their legs, showed that they had -been driven with such speed, and in such darkness, that they had been -unable to pick their way. But they wore better than nothing, and were -kept in use for the rest of that day. Runners were despatched across the -hills to the pack-train, and were told to conduct it to a small spring, -well known to our guides, high up on the nose of the Matitzal, where we -were all to unite and go into camp. - -It was a rest and refreshment sorely needed, after the scrambling, -slipping, and sliding over and down loose rocks which had been dignified -with the name of marching, during the preceding two days. Our captives -were the recipients of every attention that we could give, and appeared -to be improving rapidly, and to have regained the good spirits which are -normally theirs. Mounted couriers were sent in advance to Camp -MacDowell, to let it be known that we were coming in with wounded, and -the next morning, early, we set out for that post, following down the -course of what was known as Sycamore Creek to the Verde River, which -latter we crossed in front of the post. - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - -THE CAMPAIGN RESUMED—EFFICIENCY OF APACHE SCOUTS—JACK LONG BREAKS DOWN—A - BAND OF APACHES SURRENDER IN THE MOUNTAINS—THE EPIZOOTIC—THE TAYLOR - MASSACRE AND ITS AVENGING—THE ARIZONA ROLL OF HONOR, OFFICERS, MEN, - SURGEONS, SCOUTS, GUIDES, AND PACKERS—THE STRANGE RUIN IN THE VERDE - VALLEY—DEATH OF PRESILIANO MONJE—THE APACHES SURRENDER - UNCONDITIONALLY TO CROOK AT CAMP VERDE. - - -The wounded squaws were forwarded to old Camp Grant, just as soon as -able to travel, and our command remained for several days in the camp, -until joined by other detachments, when we returned to the Superstition -range, this time in considerable strength, the whole force consisting of -the companies of Adams, Montgomery, Hamilton, Taylor, Burns, and -Almy—all of the Fifth Cavalry, with the following additional officers: -Lieutenants Rockwell, Schuyler, and Keyes, of the Fifth; Ross, of the -Twenty-third Infantry; Bourke, of the Third Cavalry; and Mr. James -Daily, General Crook’s brother-in-law, as volunteer. The guides, as -before, were Macintosh, Felmer, and Besias, with thirty Apache scouts, -under the leadership of “Esquinosquizn.” This march was simply a -repetition of the former; there was the same careful attention to -details—no fires allowed except when the light could not be discerned by -the lynx-eyed enemy; no shouting, singing, whistling, lighting of -matches, or anything else which might attract attention. There was the -same amount of night-marching, side scouting to either flank or in -advance, the same careful scrutiny of the minutest sign on the trail. -The presence of the Indian scouts saved the white soldiers a great deal -of extra fatigue, for the performance of which the Apaches were better -qualified. It was one of the fundamental principles upon which General -Crook conducted all his operations, to enlist as many of the Indians as -could be induced to serve as scouts, because by this means he not only -subtracted a considerable element from those in hostility and received -hostages, as it were, for the better behavior of his scouts’ kinsmen, -but he removed from the shoulders of his men an immense amount of -arduous and disagreeable work, and kept them fresh for any emergency -that might arise. The Apaches were kept constantly out on the flanks, -under the white guides, and swept the country of all hostile bands. The -white troops followed upon the heels of the Indians, but at a short -distance in the rear, as the native scouts were better acquainted with -all the tricks of their calling, and familiar with every square acre of -the territory. The longer we knew the Apache scouts, the better we liked -them. They were wilder and more suspicious than the Pimas and Maricopas, -but far more reliable, and endowed with a greater amount of courage and -daring. I have never known an officer whose experience entitled his -opinion to the slightest consideration, who did not believe as I do on -this subject. On this scout Captain Hamilton was compelled to send back -his Maricopas as worthless; this was before he joined Brown at -MacDowell. - -All savages have to undergo certain ceremonies of lustration after -returning from the war-path where any of the enemy have been killed. -With the Apaches these are baths in the sweat-lodge, accompanied with -singing and other rites. With the Pimas and Maricopas these ceremonies -are more elaborate, and necessitate a seclusion from the rest of the -tribe for many days, fasting, bathing, and singing. The Apache “bunches” -all his religious duties at these times, and defers his bathing until he -gets home, but the Pima and Maricopa are more punctilious, and resort to -the rites of religion the moment a single one, either of their own -numbers or of the enemy, has been laid low. For this reason Brown -started out from MacDowell with Apaches only. - -It was noticed with some concern by all his friends that old Jack Long -was beginning to break; the fatigue and exertion which the more juvenile -members of the expedition looked upon as normal to the occasion, the -night marches, the exposure to the cold and wind and rain and snow, the -climbing up and down steep precipices, the excitement, the going without -food or water for long periods, were telling visibly upon the -representative of an older generation. Hank ’n Yank, Chenoweth, Frank -Monach, and Joe Felmer “’lowed th’ ole man was off his feed,” but it -was, in truth, only the summons sent him by Dame Nature that he had -overdrawn his account, and was to be in the future bankrupt in health -and strength. There was an unaccountable irritability about Jack, a -fretfulness at the end of each day’s climbing, which spoke more than -words could of enfeebled strength and nervous prostration. He found -fault with his cook, formerly his pride and boast. “Be-gosh,” he -remarked one evening, “seems t’ me yer a-burnin’ everything; next I -know, ye’ll be a-burnin’ water.” There were sarcastic references to the -lack of “horse sense” shown by certain unnamed “shave-tail leftenants” -in the command—shafts which rebounded unnoticed from the armor of -Schuyler and myself, but which did not make us feel any too comfortable -while the old veteran was around. Day by day, meal after meal, his cook -grew worse, or poor Jack grew no better. Nothing spread upon the canvas -would tempt Jack’s appetite; he blamed it all on the culinary artist, -never dreaming that he alone was at fault, and that his digestion was a -thing of the past, and beyond the skill of cook or condiment to revive. - -“He ain’t a pastry cook,” growled Jack, “nor yet a hasty cook, nor a -tasty cook, but fur a dog-goned nasty cook, I’ll back ’m agin th’ hull -Pacific Slope.” When he heard some of the packers inveighing against -Tucson whiskey, Jack’s rage rose beyond bounds. “Many a time ’n oft,” he -said, “Arizona whiskey ’s bin plenty good enough fur th’ likes o’ me; it -’s good ’s a hoss liniment, ’n it ’s good ’s a beverage, ’n I’ve tried -it both ways, ’n I know; ’n thet’s more ’n kin be said for this yere -dude whiskey they gits in Dilmonico’s.” There wasn’t a drop of stimulant -as such, with the whole command, that I knew of, but in my own blankets -there was a pint flask filled with rather better stuff than was -ordinarily to be obtained, which I had been keeping in case of snake -bites or other accidents. It occurred to me to present a good drink of -this to Jack, but as I did not like to do this with so many standing -around the fire, I approached the blankets upon which Jack was -reclining, and asked: “See here, Jack, I want you to try this water; -there’s something very peculiar about it.” - -“Thet ’s allers th’ way with these yere shave-tail leftenants they ’s -gittin’ in th’ army now-a-days; allers complainin’ about su’thin; water! -Lor’! yer orter bin with me when I was minin’ up on th’ Frazer. Then -ye’d a’ known what water was * * * Water, be-gosh! why, Major, I’ll -never forget yer’s long’s I live”—and in the exuberance of his -gratitude, the old man brevetted me two or three grades. - -From that on Jack and I were sworn friends; he never levelled the shafts -of his sarcasm either at me or my faithful mule, “Malaria.” “Malaria” -had been born a first-class mule, but a fairy godmother, or some other -mysterious cause, had carried the good mule away, and left in its place -a lop-eared, mangy specimen, which enjoyed the proud distinction of -being considered, without dissent, the meanest mule in the whole -Department of Arizona. Not many weeks after that poor old Jack died; he -was in camp with one of the commands on the San Carlos, and broke down -entirely; in his delirium he saw the beautiful green pastures of the -Other Side, shaded by branching oaks; he heard the rippling of pellucid -waters, and listened to the gladsome song of merry birds. “Fellers,” he -said, “it is beautiful over thar; the grass is so green, and the water -so cool; I am tired of marchin’, ’n I reckon I’ll cross over ’n go in -camp ”—so poor old Jack crossed over to come back no more. - -All through the Superstition Mountains, we worked as carefully as we had -worked in the more northern portion on our trip to MacDowell, but we met -with less success than we had anticipated; on the morning of the 15th of -January, after a toilsome night-climb over rough mesas and mountains, we -succeeded in crawling upon a small rancheria ere the first rays of the -sun had surmounted the eastern horizon; but the occupants were too smart -for us and escaped, leaving three dead in our hands and thirteen -captives—women and children; we also captured the old chief of the band, -who, like his people, seemed to be extremely poor. Three days later we -heard loud shouting from a high mountain to the left of the trail we -were following. Thinking at first that it was from some hostile parties, -Major Brown sent out a detachment of the scouts to run them off. In -about half an hour or less a young boy not more than eight years old -came down to see the commanding officer, who had halted the column until -he could learn what was wanted. The youngster was very much agitated, -and trembled violently; he said that he had been sent down to say that -his people did not want any more war, but were desirous of making peace. -He was given something to eat and tobacco to smoke, and afterwards one -of the pack-mules was led up and its “cargo” unloaded so that the cook -might give the ambassador a good stomachful of beans always kept cooked -in a train. The Apache was very grateful, and after talking with the -scouts was much more at his ease. He was presented with an old blouse by -one of the officers, and then Major Brown told him that he was too young -to represent anybody, but not too young to see for himself that we did -not want to harm any people who were willing to behave themselves. He -could return in safety to his own people up on the hill, and tell them -that they need not be afraid to send in any one they wished to talk for -them, but to send in some grown persons. The boy darted up the flanks of -the mountain with the agility of a jack rabbit, and was soon lost to -view in the undergrowth of scrub oak; by the time we had ascended the -next steep grade there was more shouting, and this time the boy returned -with a wrinkled squaw, who was at once ordered back—after the usual -feed—one of our people going with her to tell the men of the band that -we were not women or babies, and that we could talk business with men -only. - -This summons brought back a very decrepit antique, who supported his -palsied limbs upon one of the long walking-canes so much in use among -the Apaches. He too was the recipient of every kindness, but was told -firmly that the time for fooling had long since gone by, and that to-day -was a much better time for surrendering than to-morrow; our command -would not harm them if they wanted to make peace, but the country was -full of scouting parties and at any moment one of these was likely to -run in upon them and kill a great many; the best thing, the safest -thing, for them to do was to surrender at once and come with us into -Camp Grant. The old chief replied that it was not possible for him to -surrender just then and there, because his band had scattered upon -learning of our approach, but if we would march straight for Grant he -would send out for all his people, gather them together, and catch up -with us at the junction of the Gila and San Pedro, and then accompany us -to Camp Grant or other point to be agreed upon. - -We moved slowly across the mountains, getting to the place of meeting on -the day assigned, but there were no Indians, and we all felt that we had -been outwitted. The scouts however said, “Wait and see!” and sure -enough, that evening, the old chief and a small party of his men arrived -and had another talk and smoke with Major Brown, who told them that the -only thing to do was to see General Crook whose word would determine all -questions. Every man in the column was anxious to get back, and long -before reveille most of them were up and ready for the word for -breakfast and for boots and saddles. There was a feeling that so far as -the country south of the Salt River was concerned, the campaign was -over; and though we saw no men, women, or children other than those -captured by us on the way, all felt that the surrender would surely take -place as agreed upon. - -When we started up the dusty valley of the San Pedro not one of the -strangers had arrived, but as we drew nigh to the site of the post, it -seemed as if from behind clusters of sage brush, giant cactus, palo -verde or mesquite, along the trail, first one, then another, then a -third Apache would silently join the column with at most the greeting of -“Siquisn” (My brother). When we reported to Crook again at the post, -whither he had returned from MacDowell, there were one hundred and ten -people with us, and the whole business done so quietly that not one-half -the command ever knew whether any Apaches had joined us or not. With -these Indians General Crook had a long and satisfactory talk, and -twenty-six of them enlisted as scouts. From this point I was sent by -General Crook to accompany Major Brown in a visit to the celebrated -chief of the Chiricahua Apaches, “Cocheis,” of which visit I will speak -at length later on. - -We rejoined the command at the foot of Mount Graham, where General Crook -had established the new post of Camp Grant. It offered many inducements -which could not well be disregarded in that arid section; the Graham -Mountain, or Sierra Bonita as known to the Mexicans, is well timbered -with pine and cedar; has an abundance of pure and cold water, and -succulent pasturage; there is excellent building-stone and adobe clay -within reach, and nothing that could reasonably be expected is lacking. -There were twelve or thirteen companies of cavalry concentrated at the -new camp, and all or nearly all these were, within a few days, on the -march for the Tonto Basin, to give it another overhauling. - -I do not wish to describe the remainder of the campaign in detail; it -offered few features not already presented to my readers; it was rather -more unpleasant than the first part, on account of being to a greater -extent amid the higher elevations of the Sierra Ancha and the Matitzal -and Mogollon, to which the hostiles had retreated for safety. There was -deeper snow and much more of it, more climbing and greater heights to -attain, severer cold and more discomfort from being unable to find dry -fuel. There was still another source of discomfort which should not be -overlooked. At that time the peculiar disease known as the epizoötic -made its appearance in the United States, and reached Arizona, crippling -the resources of the Department in horses and mules; we had to abandon -our animals, and take our rations and blankets upon our own backs, and -do the best we could. In a very few weeks the good results became -manifest, and the enemy showed signs of weakening. The best element in -this campaign was the fact that on so many different occasions the -Apaches were caught in the very act of raiding, plundering, and killing, -and followed up with such fearful retribution. Crook had his forces so -disposed that no matter what the Apaches might do or not do, the troops -were after them at once, and, guided as we were by scouts from among -their own people, escape was impossible. For example, a large band -struck the settlements near the town of Wickenburg, and there surprised -a small party of young men, named Taylor, recently arrived from England -or Wales. All in the party fell victims to the merciless aim of the -assailants, who tied two of them to cactus, and proceeded deliberately -to fill them with arrows. One of the poor wretches rolled and writhed in -agony, breaking off the feathered ends of the arrows, but each time he -turned his body, exposing a space not yet wounded, the Apaches shot in -another barb. The Indians then robbed the ranchos, stole or killed all -the cattle and horses, and struck out across the ragged edge of the -great Bradshaw Mountain, then over into the Tonto Basin. Having -twenty-four hours the start of the troops, they felt safe in their -expedition, but they were followed by Wesendorf, of the First Cavalry; -by Rice, of the Twenty-third Infantry; by Almy, Watts, and myself; by -Woodson, of the Fifth; and lastly by Randall, of the Twenty-third, who -was successful in running them to earth in the stronghold on the summit -of Turret Butte, where they fancied that no enemy would dare follow. - -Randall made his men crawl up the face of the mountain on hands and -feet, to avoid all danger of making noise by the rattling of stones, and -shortly after midnight had the satisfaction of seeing the glimmer of -fires amid the rocks scattered about on the summit. He waited patiently -until dawn, and then led the charge, the Apaches being so panic-stricken -that numbers of the warriors jumped down the precipice and were dashed -to death. This and the action in the cave in the Salt River Cañon were -the two affairs which broke the spirit of the Apache nation; they -resembled each other in catching raiders just in from attacks upon the -white settlements or those of friendly tribes, in surprising bands in -strongholds which for generations had been invested with the attribute -of impregnability, and in inflicting great loss with comparatively small -waste of blood to ourselves. - -In singling out these two incidents I, of course, do not wish in the -slightest degree to seem to disparage the gallant work performed by the -other officers engaged, each and all of whom are entitled to as much -credit as either Randall or Brown for earnest, intelligent service, -gallantry in trying situations, and cheerful acceptance of the most -annoying discomforts. No army in the world ever accomplished more with -the same resources than did the little brigade which solved the Apache -problem under Crook in the early seventies. There were no supplies of -food beyond the simplest components of the ration and an occasional can -of some such luxury as tomatoes or peaches; no Pullman cars to transport -officers in ease and comfort to the scene of hostilities; no telegraph -to herald to the world the achievements of each day. There was the -satisfaction of duty well performed, and of knowing that a fierce, -indomitable people who had been a scourge in the history of two great -nations had been humbled, made to sue for peace, and adopt to a very -considerable extent the ways of civilization. - -The old settlers in both northern and southern Arizona still speak in -terms of cordial appreciation of the services of officers like Hall, -Taylor, Burns, Almy, Thomas, Rockwell, Price, Parkhurst, Michler, Adam, -Woodson, Hamilton, Babcock, Schuyler, and Watts, all of the Fifth -Cavalry; Ross, Reilley, Sherwood, Theller and Major Miles, of the -Twenty-first Infantry; Garvey, Bomus, Carr, Grant, Bernard, Brodie, -Vail, Wessendorf, McGregor, Hein, Winters, Harris, Sanford, and others, -of the First Cavalry; Randall, Manning, Rice, and others, of the -Twenty-third Infantry; Gerald Russell, Morton, Crawford, Cushing, -Cradlebaugh, of the Third Cavalry; Byrne, of the Twelfth Infantry, and -many others who during this campaign, or immediately preceding it, had -rendered themselves conspicuous by most efficient service. The army of -the United States has no reason to be ashamed of the men who wore its -uniform during the dark and troubled period of Arizona’s history; they -were grand men; they had their faults as many other people have, but -they never flinched from danger or privation. I do not mean to say that -I have given a complete list; it is probable that many very -distinguished names have been omitted, for which I apologise now by -saying that I am not writing a history, but rather a series of -reminiscences of those old border days. I would not intentionally fail -in paying tribute to any brave and deserving comrade, but find it beyond -my power to enumerate all. - -There was one class of officers who were entitled to all the praise they -received and much more besides, and that class was the surgeons, who -never flagged in their attentions to sick and wounded, whether soldier -or officer, American, Mexican, or Apache captive, by night or by day. -Among these the names of Stirling, Porter, Matthews, Girard, O’Brien, -Warren E. Day, Steiger, Charles Smart, and Calvin Dewitt will naturally -present themselves to the mind of any one familiar with the work then -going on, and with them should be associated those of the guides, both -red and white, to whose fidelity, courage, and skill we owed so much. - -The names of Mason McCoy, Edward Clark, Archie MacIntosh, Al Spears, C. -E. Cooley, Joe Felmer, Al Seiber, Dan O’Leary, Lew Elliott, Antonio -Besias, Jose De Leon, Maria Jilda Grijalba, Victor Ruiz, Manuel Duran, -Frank Cahill, Willard Rice, Oscar Hutton, Bob Whitney, John B. Townsend, -Tom Moore, Jim O’Neal, Jack Long, Hank ’n Yank (Hewitt and Bartlett), -Frank Monach, Harry Hawes, Charlie Hopkins, and many other scouts, -guides, and packers of that onerous, dangerous, and crushing campaign, -should be inscribed on the brightest page in the annals of Arizona, and -locked up in her archives that future generations might do them honor. -The great value of the services rendered by the Apache scouts -“Alchesay,” “Jim,” “Elsatsoosn,” “Machol,” “Blanquet,” “Chiquito,” -“Kelsay,” “Kasoha,” “Nantaje,” “Nannasaddi,” was fittingly acknowledged -by General Crook in the orders issued at the time of the surrender of -the Apaches, which took place soon after. - -Many enlisted men rendered service of a most important and efficient -character, which was also acknowledged at the same time and by the same -medium; but, on account of lack of space, it is impossible for me to -mention them all; conspicuous in the list are the names of Buford, -Turpin, Von Medern, Allen, Barrett, Heineman, Stanley, Orr, Lanahan, -Stauffer, Hyde, and Hooker. - -In the first week of April, a deputation from the hostile bands reached -Camp Verde, and expressed a desire to make peace; they were told to -return for the head chiefs, with whom General Crook would talk at that -point. Signal fires were at once set on all the hills, scouts sent to -all places where they would be likely to meet with any of the -detachments in the Tonto Basin or the Mogollon, and all possible -measures taken to prevent any further hostilities, until it should be -seen whether or not the enemy were in earnest in professions of peace. - -Lieutenant Jacob Almy, Fifth Cavalry, with whose command I was on duty, -scoured the northwest portion of the Tonto Basin, and met with about the -same experiences as the other detachments; but I wish to tell that at -one of our camping-places, on the upper Verde, we found a ruined -building of limestone, laid in adobe, which had once been of two or -three stories in height, the corner still standing being not less than -twenty-five feet above the ground, with portions of rafters of -cottonwood, badly decayed, still in place. It was the opinion of both -Almy and myself, after a careful examination, that it was of Spanish and -not of Indian origin, and that it had served as a depot for some of the -early expeditions entering this country; it would have been in the line -of advance of Coronado upon Cibola, and I then thought and still think -that it was most probably connected with his great expedition which -passed across Arizona in 1541. All this is conjecture, but not a very -violent one; Coronado is known to have gone to “Chichilticale,” supposed -to have been the “Casa Grande” on the Gila; if so, his safest, easiest, -best supplied, and most natural line of march would have been up the -valley of the Verde near the head of which this ruin stands. - -Another incident was the death of one of our packers, Presiliano Monje, -a very amiable man, who had made friends of all our party. He had caught -a bad cold in the deep snows on the summit of the Matitzal Range, and -this developed into an attack of pneumonia; there was no medical officer -with our small command, and all we could do was based upon ignorance and -inexperience, no matter how much we might desire to help him. Almy hoped -that upon descending from the high lands into the warm valley of the -Verde, the change would be beneficial to our patient; but he was either -too far gone or too weak to respond, and the only thing left for us to -do was to go into bivouac and try the effect of rest and quiet. For two -days we had carried Monje in a chair made of mescal stalks strapped to -the saddle, but he was by this time entirely too weak to sit up, and we -were all apprehensive of the worst. It was a trifle after midnight, on -the morning of the 23d of March, 1873, that “the change” came, and we -saw that it was a matter of minutes only until we should have a death in -our camp; he died before dawn and was buried immediately after sunrise, -under the shadow of a graceful cottonwood, alongside of two pretty -springs whose babbling waters flowed in unison with the music of the -birds. In Monje’s honor we named the cañon “Dead Man’s Cañon,” and as -such it is known to this day. - -At Camp Verde we found assembled nearly all of Crook’s command, and a -dirtier, greasier, more uncouth-looking set of officers and men it would -be hard to encounter anywhere. Dust, soot, rain, and grime had made -their impress upon the canvas suits which each had donned, and with hair -uncut for months and beards growing with straggling growth all over the -face, there was not one of the party who would venture to pose as an -Adonis; but all were happy, because the campaign had resulted in the -unconditional surrender of the Apaches and we were now to see the reward -of our hard work. On the 6th of April, 1873, the Apache-Mojave chief -“Cha-lipun” (called “Charley Pan” by the Americans), with over three -hundred of his followers, made his unconditional submission to General -Crook; they represented twenty-three hundred of the hostiles. - -General Crook sat on the porch of Colonel Coppinger’s quarters and told -the interpreters that he was ready to hear what the Indians had to say, -but he did not wish too much talk. “Cha-lipun” said that he had come in, -as the representative of all the Apaches, to say that they wanted to -surrender because General Crook had “too many cartridges of copper” -(“demasiadas cartuchos de cobre”). They had never been afraid of the -Americans alone, but now that their own people were fighting against -them they did not know what to do; they could not go to sleep at night, -because they feared to be surrounded before daybreak; they could not -hunt—the noise of their guns would attract the troops; they could not -cook mescal or anything else, because the flame and smoke would draw -down the soldiers; they could not live in the valleys—there were too -many soldiers; they had retreated to the mountain tops, thinking to hide -in the snow until the soldiers went home, but the scouts found them out -and the soldiers followed them. They wanted to make peace, and to be at -terms of good-will with the whites. - -Crook took “Cha-lipun” by the hand, and told him that, if he would -promise to live at peace and stop killing people, he would be the best -friend he ever had. Not one of the Apaches had been killed except -through his own folly; they had refused to listen to the messengers sent -out asking them to come in; and consequently there had been nothing else -to do but to go out and kill them until they changed their minds. It was -of no use to talk about who began this war; there were bad men among all -peoples; there were bad Mexicans, as there were bad Americans and bad -Apaches; our duty was to end wars and establish peace, and not to talk -about what was past and gone. The Apaches must make this peace not for a -day or a week, but for all time; not with the Americans alone, but with -the Mexicans as well; and not alone with the Americans and Mexicans, but -with all the other Indian tribes. They must not take upon themselves the -redress of grievances, but report to the military officer upon their -reservation, who would see that their wrongs were righted. They should -remain upon the reservation, and not leave without written passes; -whenever the commanding officer wished to ascertain the presence of -themselves or any of the bands upon the reservation, they should appear -at the place appointed to be counted. So long as any bad Indians -remained out in the mountains, the reservation Indians should wear tags -attached to the neck, or in some other conspicuous place, upon which -tags should be inscribed their number, letter of band, and other means -of identification. They should not cut off the noses of their wives when -they became jealous of them. They should not be told anything that was -not exactly true. They should be fully protected in all respects while -on the reservation. They should be treated exactly as white men were -treated; there should be no unjust punishments. They must work like -white men; a market would be found for all they could raise, and the -money should be paid to themselves and not to middlemen. They should -begin work immediately; idleness was the source of all evils, and work -was the only cure. They should preserve order among themselves; for this -purpose a number would be enlisted as scouts, and made to do duty in -keeping the peace; they should arrest and confine all drunkards, -thieves, and other offenders. - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - -THE PROBLEM OF CIVILIZING THE APACHES—THE WORK PERFORMED BY MASON, - SCHUYLER, RANDALL, RICE, AND BABCOCK—TUCSON RING INFLUENCE AT - WASHINGTON—THE WOUNDING OF LIEUTENANT CHARLES KING—THE KILLING OF - LIEUTENANT JACOB ALMY—THE SEVEN APACHE HEADS LAID ON THE SAN CARLOS - PARADE GROUND—CROOK’S CASH MARKET FOR THE FRUITS OF APACHE - INDUSTRY—HIS METHOD OF DEALING WITH INDIANS. - - -There was no time lost in putting the Apaches to work. As soon as the -rest of the band had come in, which was in less than a week, the Apaches -were compelled to begin getting out an irrigating ditch, under the -superintendence of Colonel Julius W. Mason, Fifth Cavalry, an officer of -much previous experience in engineering. Their reservation was -established some miles above the post, and the immediate charge of the -savages was intrusted to Lieutenant Walter S. Schuyler, Fifth Cavalry, -who manifested a wonderful aptitude for the delicate duties of his -extra-military position. There were absolutely no tools on hand -belonging to the Indian Bureau, and for that matter no medicines, and -only the scantiest supplies, but Crook was determined that work should -be begun without the delay of a day. He wanted to get the savages -interested in something else besides tales of the war-path, and to make -them feel as soon as possible the pride of ownership, in which he was a -firm believer. - -According to his idea, the moment an Indian began to see the fruits of -his industry rising above the ground, and knew that there was a ready -cash market awaiting him for all he had to sell, he would see that -“peace hath her victories no less renowned than war.” He had been going -on the war-path, killing and robbing the whites, not so much because his -forefathers had been doing it before him, but because it was the road to -wealth, to fame, to prominence and distinction in the tribe. Make the -Apache or any other Indian see that the moment he went on the war-path -two white men would go out also; and make him see that patient industry -produces wealth, fame, and distinction of a much more permanent and a -securer kind than those derived from a state of war, and the Indian -would acquiesce gladly in the change. But neither red man nor white -would submit peaceably to any change in his mode of life which was not -apparently to his advantage. - -The way the great irrigating ditch at Camp Verde was dug was this. All -the Apaches were made to camp along the line of the proposed canal, each -band under its own chiefs. Everything in the shape of a tool which could -be found at the military post of Camp Verde or in those of Whipple and -Hualpai was sent down to Mason. There were quantities of old and -worn-out spades, shovels, picks, hatchets, axes, hammers, files, rasps, -and camp kettles awaiting the action of an inspector prior to being -thrown away and dropped from the returns as “worn out in service.” With -these and with sticks hardened in the fire, the Apaches dug a ditch five -miles long, and of an average cross-section of four feet wide by three -deep, although there were places where the width of the upper line was -more than five feet, and that of the bottom four, with a depth of more -than five. The men did the excavating; the women carried off the earth -in the conical baskets which they make of wicker-work. As soon as the -ditch was ready, General Crook took some of the chiefs up to his -headquarters at Fort Whipple, and there had them meet deputations from -all the other tribes living within the territory of Arizona, with whom -they had been at war—the Pimas, Papagoes, Maricopas, Yumas, Cocopahs, -Hualpais, Mojaves, Chimahuevis—and with them peace was also formally -made. - -Mason and Schuyler labored assiduously with the Apaches, and soon had -not less than fifty-seven acres of land planted with melons and other -garden truck, of which the Indians are fond, and every preparation made -for planting corn and barley on a large scale. A large water-wheel was -constructed out of packing-boxes, and at a cost to the Government, -including all labor and material, of not quite thirty-six dollars. The -prospects of the Apaches looked especially bright, and there was hope -that they might soon be self-sustaining; but it was not to be. A “ring” -of Federal officials, contractors, and others was formed in Tucson, -which exerted great influence in the national capital, and succeeded in -securing the issue of peremptory orders that the Apaches should leave at -once for the mouth of the sickly San Carlos, there to be herded with the -other tribes. It was an outrageous proceeding, one for which I should -still blush had I not long since gotten over blushing for anything that -the United States Government did in Indian matters. The Apaches had been -very happy at the Verde, and seemed perfectly satisfied with their new -surroundings. There had been some sickness, occasioned by their using -too freely the highly concentrated foods of civilization, to which they -had never been accustomed; but, aside from that, they themselves said -that their general condition had never been so good. - -The move did not take place until the winter following, when the Indians -flatly refused to follow the special agent sent out by the Indian -Bureau, not being acquainted with him, but did consent to go with -Lieutenant George O. Eaton, Fifth Cavalry, who has long since resigned -from the army, and is now, I think, Surveyor-General of Montana. At Fort -Apache the Indians were placed under the charge of Major George M. -Randall, Twenty-third Infantry, assisted by Lieutenant Rice, of the same -regiment. This portion of the Apache tribe is of unusual intelligence, -and the progress made was exceptionally rapid. Another large body had -been congregated at the mouth of the San Carlos, representing those -formerly at old Camp Grant, to which, as we have seen, were added the -Apache-Mojaves from the Verde. The Apache-Mojave and the Apache-Yuma -belonged to one stock, and the Apache or Tinneh to another. They speak -different languages, and although their habits of life are almost -identical, there is sufficient divergence to admit of the entrance of -the usual jealousies and bickerings bound to arise when two strange, -illiterate tribes are brought in enforced contact. - -The strong hand and patient will of Major J. B. Babcock ruled the -situation at this point; he was the man for the place, and performed his -duties in a manner remarkable for its delicate appreciation of the -nature of the Indians, tact in allaying their suspicions, gentle -firmness in bringing them to see that the new way was the better, the -only way. The path of the military officers was not strewn with roses; -the Apaches showed a willingness to conform to the new order of things, -but at times failed to apprehend all that was required of them, at -others showed an inclination to backslide. - -Crook’s plan was laid down in one line in his instructions to officers -in charge of reservations: “Treat them as children in _ignorance_, not -in _innocence_.” His great principle of life was, “The greatest of these -is charity.” He did not believe, and he did not teach, that an Indian -could slough off the old skin in a week or a month; he knew and he -indicated that there might be expected a return of the desire for the -old wild life, with its absolute freedom from all restraint, its old -familiar food, and all its attendant joys, such as they were. To conquer -this as much as possible, he wanted to let the Indians at times cut and -roast mescal, gather grass seeds and other diet of that kind, and, where -it could be done without risk, go out on hunts after antelope and deer. -It could not be expected that all the tribe should wish to accept the -manner of life of the whites; there would surely be many who would -prefer the old order of things, and who would work covertly for its -restitution. Such men were to be singled out, watched, and their schemes -nipped in the bud. - -There were outbreaks, attempted outbreaks, and rumors of outbreaks at -Verde, Apache, and at the San Carlos, with all the attendant excitement -and worry. At or near the Verde, in the “Red Rock country,” and in the -difficult brakes of the “Hell” and “Rattlesnake” cañons issuing out of -the San Francisco Peak, some of the Apache-Mojaves who had slipped back -from the party so peremptorily ordered to the San Carlos had secreted -themselves and begun to give trouble. They were taken in hand by -Schuyler, Seiber, and, at a later date, by Captain Charles King, the -last-named being dangerously wounded by them at the “Sunset Pass.” At -the San Carlos Agency there were disputes of various kinds springing up -among the tribes, and worse than that a very acrimonious condition of -feeling between the two men who claimed to represent the Interior -Department. As a sequel to this, my dear friend and former commanding -officer, Lieutenant Jacob Almy, lost his life. - -Notwithstanding the chastisement inflicted upon the Apaches, some of the -minor chiefs, who had still a record to make, preferred to seclude -themselves in the cañons and cliffs, and defy the powers of the general -government. It was a source of pride to know that they were talked about -by the squaws and children upon the reserve, as men whom the whites had -not been able to capture or reduce. Towards these men, Crook was patient -to a wonderful degree, thinking that reason would assert itself after a -time, and that, either of their own motion, or through the persuasion of -friends, they would find their way into the agencies. - -The ostensible reason for the absence of these men was their objection -to the system of “tagging” in use at the agencies, which General Crook -had introduced for the better protection of the Indians, as well as to -enable the commanding officers to tell at a moment’s notice just where -each and every one of the males capable of bearing arms was to be found. -These tags were of various shapes, but all small and convenient in size; -there were crosses, crescents, circles, diamonds, squares, triangles, -etc., each specifying a particular band, and each with the number of its -owner punched upon it. If a scouting party found Apaches away from the -vicinity of the agencies, they would make them give an account of -themselves, and if the pass shown did not correspond with the tags worn, -then there was room for suspicion that the tags had been obtained from -some of the Agency Indians in gambling—in the games of “Con Quien,” -“Tze-chis,” “Mush-ka”—to which the Apaches were passionately addicted, -and in which they would play away the clothes on their backs when they -had any. Word was sent to the Indians of whom I am writing to come in -and avoid trouble, and influences of all kinds were brought to bear upon -the squaws with them—there were only a few—to leave the mountains, and -return to their relatives at the San Carlos. The principal chiefs were -gradually made to see that they were responsible for this condition of -affairs, and that they should compel these outlaws to obey the orders -which had been issued for the control of the whole tribe. So long as -they killed no one the troops and Apache scouts would not be sent out -against them; they should be given ample opportunity for deciding; but -it might be well for them to decide quickly, as in case of trouble -arising at San Carlos, the whole tribe would be held responsible for the -acts of these few. One of them was named “Chuntz,” another “Chaundezi,” -and another “Clibicli;” there were more in the party, but the other -names have temporarily escaped my memory. The meaning of the first word -I do not know; the second means “Long Ear,” and is the Apache term for -mule; the third I do not know, but it has something to do with horse, -the first syllable meaning horse, and the whole word, I believe, means -“the horse that is tied.” They lived in the cañon of the Gila, and would -often slip in by night to see their relatives at the agency. - -One night there was an awful time at San Carlos; a train of wagons laden -with supplies for Camp Apache had halted there, and some of the -teamsters let the Apaches, among whom were the bad lot under Chuntz, -have a great deal of vile whiskey. All hands got gloriously drunk, and -when the teamsters refused to let their red-skinned friends have any -more of the poisonous stuff the Apaches killed them. If it could only -happen so that every man who sold whiskey to an Indian should be killed -before sundown, it would be one of the most glorious things for the far -western country. In the present case, innocent people were hurt, as they -always are; and General Crook informed the chiefs that he looked to them -to put a prompt termination to such excesses, and that if they did not -he would take a hand himself. With that he returned to headquarters. The -chiefs sent out spies, definitely placed the outlaws, who had been in -the habit of changing their lodging or hiding spots with great -frequency, and then arranged for their capture and delivery to the -military authorities. They were surprised, summoned to surrender, -refused, and attempted to fight, but were all killed; and as the Apaches -knew no other mode of proving that they had killed them, and as they -could not carry in the whole body of each one, they cut off the heads -and brought them to San Carlos, in a sack, and dumped them out on the -little parade in front of the commanding officer’s tent. - -The Apaches of Arizona were now a conquered tribe, and, as Crook well -expressed the situation in a General Order, his troops had terminated a -campaign which had lasted from the days of Cortés. The view entertained -of the work performed in Arizona by those in authority may be summed up -in the orders issued by General Schofield, at that date in command of -the Military Division of the Pacific: - - [_General Orders No. 7._] - - HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION OF THE PACIFIC, - SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., April 28, 1873. - - To Brevet Major-General George Crook, commanding the Department of - Arizona, and to his gallant troops, for the extraordinary service they - have rendered in the late campaign against the Apache Indians, the - Division Commander extends his thanks and his congratulations upon - their brilliant successes. They have merited the gratitude of the - nation. - - By order of MAJOR-GENERAL SCHOFIELD. - - (Signed) J. C. KELTON, - _Assistant Adjutant-General_. - -Randall and Babcock persevered in their work, and soon a change had -appeared in the demeanor of the wild Apaches; at San Carlos there grew -up a village of neatly made brush huts, arranged in rectilinear streets, -carefully swept each morning, while the huts themselves were clean as -pie-crust, the men and women no longer sleeping on the bare ground, but -in bunks made of saplings, and elevated a foot or more above the floor; -on these, blankets were neatly piled. The scouts retained in service as -a police force were quietly given to understand that they must be models -of cleanliness and good order as well as of obedience to law. The squaws -were encouraged to pay attention to dress, and especially to keep their -hair clean and brushed. No abuse of a squaw was allowed, no matter what -the excuse might be. One of the most prominent men of the Hualpai -tribe—“Qui-ua-than-yeva”—was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment because -he persisted in cutting off the nose of one of his wives. This fearful -custom finally yielded, and there are now many people in the Apache -tribe itself who have never seen a poor woman thus disfigured and -humiliated. - -Crook’s promise to provide a ready cash market for everything the -Apaches could raise was nobly kept. To begin with, the enlistment of a -force of scouts who were paid the same salary as white soldiers, and at -the same periods with them, introduced among the Apaches a small, but -efficient, working capital. Unaccustomed to money, the men, after -receiving their first pay, spent much of it foolishly for candy and -other trivial things. Nothing was said about that; they were to be made -to understand that the money paid them was their own to spend or to save -as they pleased, and to supply as much enjoyment as they could extract -from it. But, immediately after pay-day, General Crook went among the -Apaches on the several reservations and made inquiries of each one of -the principal chiefs what results had come to their wives and families -from this new source of wealth. He explained that money could be made to -grow just as an acorn would grow into the oak; that by spending it -foolishly, the Apaches treated it just as they did the acorn which they -trod under foot; but by investing their money in California horses and -sheep, they would be gaining more money all the time they slept, and by -the time their children had attained maturity the hills would be dotted -with herds of horses and flocks of sheep. Then they would be rich like -the white men; then they could travel about and see the world; then they -would not be dependent upon the Great Father for supplies, but would -have for themselves and their families all the food they could eat, and -would have much to sell. - -The Apaches did send into Southern California and bought horses and -sheep as suggested, and they would now be self-supporting had the good -management of General Crook not been ruthlessly sacrificed and -destroyed. Why it is that the Apache, living as he does on a reservation -offering all proper facilities for the purpose, is not raising his own -meat, is one of the conundrums which cannot be answered by any one of -common sense. The influences against it are too strong: once let the -Indian be made self-supporting, and what will become of the gentle -contractor? - -Some slight advance has been made in this direction during the past -twenty years, but it has been ridiculously slight in comparison with -what it should have been. In an examination which General Crook made -into the matter in 1884 it was found that there were several herds of -cattle among the Indians, one herd that I saw numbering 384 head. It was -cared for and herded in proper manner; and surely if the Apaches can do -that much in one, or two, or a dozen cases, they can do it in all with -anything like proper encouragement. The proper encouragement of which I -speak is “the ready cash market” promised by General Crook, and by means -of which he effected so much. - -In every band of aborigines, as in every community of whites, or of -blacks, or of Chinese, there are to be found men and women who are -desirous of improving the condition of themselves and families; and -alongside of them are others who care for nothing but their daily bread, -and are not particularly careful how they get that so that they get it. -There should be a weeding out of the progressive from the -non-progressive element, and by no manner of means can it be done so -effectually as by buying from the industrious all that they can sell to -the Government for the support of their own people. There should be -inserted in every appropriation bill for the support of the army or of -the Indians the provision that anything and everything called for under -a contract for supplies, which the Indians on a reservation or in the -vicinity of a military post can supply, for the use of the troops or for -the consumption of the tribe, under treaty stipulations, shall be bought -of the individual Indians raising it and at a cash price not less than -the price at which the contract has been awarded. For example, because -it is necessary to elucidate the simplest propositions in regard to the -Indians, if the chief “A” has, by industry and thrift, gathered together -a herd of one hundred cattle, all of the increase that he may wish to -sell should be bought from him; he will at once comprehend that work has -its own reward, and a very prompt and satisfactory one. He has his -original numbers, and he has a snug sum of money too; he buys more -cattle, he sees that he is becoming a person of increased importance, -not only in the eyes of his own people but in that of the white men too; -he encourages his sons and all his relatives to do the same as he has -done, confident that their toil will not go unrewarded. - -Our method has been somewhat different from that. Just as soon as a few -of the more progressive people begin to accumulate a trifle of property, -to raise sheep, to cultivate patches of soil and raise scanty crops, the -agent sends in the usual glowing report of the occurrence, and to the -mind of the average man and woman in the East it looks as if all the -tribe were on the highway to prosperity, and the first thing that -Congress does is to curtail the appropriations. Next, we hear of -“disaffection,” the tribe is reported as “surly and threatening,” and we -are told that the “Indians are killing their cattle.” But, whether they -go to war or quietly starve on the reservation effects no change in the -system; all supplies are bought of a contractor as before, and the red -man is no better off, or scarcely any better off, after twenty years of -peace, than he was when he surrendered. The amount of beef contracted -for during the present year—1891—for the Apaches at Camp Apache and San -Carlos, according to the _Southwestern Stockman_ (Wilcox, Arizona), was -not quite two million pounds, divided as follows: eight hundred thousand -pounds for the Indians at San Carlos, on the contract of John H. Norton, -and an additional five hundred thousand pounds for the same people on -the contract of the Chiricahua Cattle Company; and five hundred thousand -pounds for the Indians at Fort Apache, on the contract of John H. -Norton. Both of the above contracting parties are known to me as -reliable and trustworthy; I am not finding fault with them for getting a -good, fat contract; but I do find fault with a system which keeps the -Indian a savage, and does not stimulate him to work for his own support. - -At one time an epidemic of scarlet fever broke out among the children on -the Apache reservation, and numbers were carried off. Indians are prone -to sacrifice property at the time of death of relations, and, under the -advice of their “Medicine Men,” slaughtered altogether nearly two -thousand sheep, which they had purchased with their own money or which -represented the increase from the original flock. Crook bought from the -Apaches all the hay they would cut, and had the Quartermaster pay cash -for it; every pound of hay, every stick of wood, and no small portion of -the corn used by the military at Camp Apache and San Carlos were -purchased from the Apaches as individuals, and not from contractors or -from tribes. The contractors had been in the habit of employing the -Apaches to do this work for them, paying a reduced scale of remuneration -and often in store goods, so that by the Crook method the Indian -received from two to three times as much as under the former system, and -this to the great advantage of Arizona, because the Indian belongs to -the Territory of Arizona, and will stay there and buy what he needs from -her people, but the contractor has gone out to make money, remains until -he accomplishes his object, and then returns to some congenial spot -where his money will do most good for himself. Of the contractors who -made money in Arizona twenty years ago not one remained there: all went -into San Francisco or some other large city, there to enjoy their -accumulations. I am introducing this subject now because it will save -repetition, and will explain to the average reader why it was that the -man who did so much to reduce to submission the worst tribes this -country has ever known, and who thought of nothing but the performance -of duty and the establishment of a permanent and honorable peace, -based—to quote his own language—“upon an exact and even-handed justice -to red men and to white alike,” should have been made the target for the -malevolence and the rancor of every man in the slightest degree -interested in the perpetuation of the contract system and in keeping the -aborigine in bondage. - -To sum up in one paragraph, General Crook believed that the American -Indian was a human being, gifted with the same god-like apprehension as -the white man, and like him inspired by noble impulses, ambition for -progress and advancement, but subject to the same infirmities, beset -with the same or even greater temptations, struggling under the -disadvantages of an inherited ignorance, which had the double effect of -making him doubt his own powers in the struggle for the new life and -suspicious of the truthfulness and honesty of the advocates of all -innovations. The American savage has grown up as a member of a tribe, or -rather of a clan within a tribe; all his actions have been made to -conform to the opinions of his fellows as enunciated in the clan -councils or in those of the tribe. - -It is idle to talk of de-tribalizing the Indian until we are ready to -assure him that his new life is the better one. By the Crook method of -dealing with the savage he was, at the outset, de-tribalized without -knowing it; he was individualized and made the better able to enter into -the civilization of the Caucasian, which is an individualized -civilization. As a scout, the Apache was enlisted as an individual; he -was made responsible individually for all that he did or did not. He was -paid as an individual. If he cut grass, he, and not his tribe or clan, -got the money; if he split fuel, the same rule obtained; and so with -every grain of corn or barley which he planted. If he did wrong, he was -hunted down as an individual until the scouts got him and put him in the -guard-house. If his friends did wrong, the troops did not rush down upon -him and his family and chastise them for the wrongs of others; he was -asked to aid in the work of ferreting out and apprehending the -delinquent; and after he had been brought in a jury of the Apaches -themselves deliberated upon the case and never failed in judgment, -except on the side of severity. - -There were two cases of chance-medley coming under my own observation, -in both of which the punishment awarded by the Apache juries was much -more severe than would have been given by a white jury. In the first -case, the man supposed to have done the killing was sentenced to ten -years’ hard labor; in the other, to three. A white culprit was at the -same time sentenced in Tucson for almost the same offence to one year’s -confinement in jail. Indians take to trials by jury as naturally as -ducks take to water. Trial by jury is not a system of civilized people; -it is the survival of the old trial by clan, the rudimentary justice -known to all tribes in the most savage state. - -General Crook believed that the Indian should be made self-supporting, -not by preaching at him the merits of labor and the grandeur of toiling -in the sun, but by making him see that every drop of honest sweat meant -a penny in his pocket. It was idle to expect that the Indian should -understand how to work intelligently in the very beginning; he -represented centuries of one kind of life, and the Caucasian the slow -evolution of centuries under different conditions and in directions -diametrically opposite. The two races could not, naturally, understand -each other perfectly, and therefore to prevent mistakes and the doing of -very grievous injustice to the inferior, it was the duty and to the -interest of the superior race to examine into and understand the mental -workings of the inferior. - -The American Indian, born free as the eagle, would not tolerate -restraint, would not brook injustice; therefore, the restraint imposed -must be manifestly for his benefit, and the government to which he was -subjected must be eminently one of kindness, mercy, and absolute -justice, without necessarily degenerating into weakness. The American -Indian despises a liar. The American Indian is the most generous of -mortals: at all his dances and feasts the widow and the orphan are the -first to be remembered. Therefore, when he meets with an agent who is -“on the make,” that agent’s influence goes below zero at once; and when -he enters the trader’s store and finds that he is charged three dollars -and a half for a miserable wool hat, which, during his last trip to -Washington, Albuquerque, Omaha, or Santa Fé, as the case may be, he has -seen offered for a quarter, he feels that there is something wrong, and -he does not like it any too well. For that reason Crook believed that -the Indians should be encouraged to do their own trading and to set up -their own stores. He was not shaken in this conviction when he found -agents interested in the stores on the reservations, a fact well -understood by the Apaches as well as by himself. It was a very touching -matter at the San Carlos, a few years ago, to see the then agent -counting the proceeds of the weekly sales made by his son-in-law—the -Indian trader. - -At the date of the reduction of the Apaches, the success of the -Government schools was not clearly established, so that the subject of -Indian instruction was not then discussed except theoretically. General -Crook was always a firm believer in the education of the American -Indian; not in the education of a handful of boys and girls sent to -remote localities, and there inoculated with new ideas and deprived of -the old ones upon which they would have to depend for getting a -livelihood; but in the education of the younger generation as a -generation. Had the people of the United States taken the young -generation of Sioux and Cheyennes in 1866, and educated them in -accordance with the terms of the treaty, there would not have been any -trouble since. The children should not be torn away from the parents to -whom they are a joy and a consolation, just as truly as they are to -white parents; they should be educated within the limits of the -reservation so that the old folks from time to time could get to see -them and note their progress. As they advanced in years, the better -qualified could be sent on to Carlisle and Hampton, and places of that -grade. The training of the Indian boy or girl should be largely -industrial, but as much as possible in the line of previous acquirement -and future application. Thus, the Navajos, who have made such advances -as weavers and knitters, might well be instructed in that line of -progress, as might the Zunis, Moquis, and other Pueblos. - -After the Indian had returned to his reservation, it was the duty of the -Government to provide him with work in his trade, whatever it might be, -to the exclusion of the agency hanger-on. Why should boys be trained as -carpenters and painters, and then see such work done by white men at the -agency, while they were forced to remain idle? This complaint was made -by one of the boys at San Carlos. Why should Apache, Sioux, or Cheyenne -children who have exerted themselves to learn our language, be left -unemployed, while the work of interpretation is done, and never done any -too well, at the agencies by white men? Does it not seem a matter of -justice and common sense to fill all such positions, as fast as the same -can be done without injustice to faithful incumbents under the present -system, by young men trained in our ideas and affiliated to our ways? -Let all watchmen and guardians of public stores—all the policemen on the -reserves—be natives; let all hauling of supplies be done by the Indians -themselves, and let them be paid the full contract rate if they are able -to haul no more than a portion of the supplies intended for their use. - -Some of these ideas have already been adopted, in part, by the Indian -Bureau, and with such success that there is more than a reasonable -expectancy that the full series might be considered and adopted with the -best results. Instruct the young women in the rudiments of housekeeping, -as already outlined. Provide the reservations with saw-mills and -grist-mills, and let the Indians saw their own planks and grind their -own meal and flour. This plan has been urged by the Apaches so -persistently during recent years that it would seem not unreasonable to -make the experiment on some of the reservations. Encourage them to raise -chickens and to sell eggs; it is an industry for which they are well -fitted, and the profits though small would still be profits, and one -drop more in the rivulet of gain to wean them from idleness, ignorance, -and the war-path. Let any man who desires to leave his reservation and -hunt for work, do so; give him a pass; if he abuses the privilege by -getting drunk or begging, do not give him another. I have known many -Indians who have worked away from their own people and always with the -most decided benefit. They did not always return, but when they did they -did not believe in the prophecies of the “Medicine Men,” or listen to -the boasts of those who still long for the war-path. - -The notion that the American Indian will not work is a fallacious one; -he will work just as the white man will—when it is to his advantage to -do so. The adobes in the military post of Fort Wingate, New Mexico, were -all made by Navajo Indians, the brothers of the Apaches. The same tribe -did no small amount of work on the grading of the Atlantic and Pacific -Railroad where it passes across their country. The American Indian is a -slave to drink where he can get it, and he is rarely without a supply -from white sources; he is a slave to the passion of gaming; and he is a -slave to his superstitions, which make the “Medicine Men” the power they -are in tribal affairs as well as in those relating more strictly to the -clan and family. These are the three stumbling-blocks in the pathway of -the Indian’s advancement; how to remove them is a most serious problem. -The Indian is not the only one in our country who stumbles from the same -cause; we must learn to be patient with him, but merciless toward all -malefactors caught selling intoxicating liquors to red men living in the -tribal relation. Gambling and superstition will be eradicated in time by -the same modifying influences which have wrought changes among the -Caucasian nations; education will afford additional modes of killing -time, and be the means of exposing the puerility of the pretensions of -the prophets. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - -THE CLOSING DAYS OF CROOK’S FIRST TOUR IN ARIZONA—VISIT TO THE MOQUI - VILLAGES—THE PAINTED DESERT—THE PETRIFIED FORESTS—THE GRAND - CAÑON—THE CATARACT CAÑON—BUILDING THE TELEGRAPH LINE—THE APACHES - USING THE TELEGRAPH LINE—MAPPING ARIZONA—AN HONEST INDIAN AGENT—THE - CHIRICAHUA APACHE CHIEF, COCHEIS—THE “HANGING” IN TUCSON—A FRONTIER - DANIEL—CROOK’S DEPARTURE FROM ARIZONA—DEATH VALLEY—THE FAIRY LAND OF - LOS ANGELES—ARRIVAL AT OMAHA. - - -In the fall and winter of 1874, General Crook made a final tour of -examination of his department and the Indian tribes therein. He found a -most satisfactory condition of affairs on the Apache reservation, with -the Indians working and in the best of spirits. On this trip he included -the villages of the Moquis living in houses of rock on perpendicular -mesas of sandstone, surrounded by dunes or “medanos” of sand, on the -northern side of the Colorado Chiquito. The Apaches who had come in from -the war-path had admitted that a great part of the arms and ammunition -coming into their hands had been obtained in trade with the Moquis, who -in turn had purchased from the Mormons or Utes. Crook passed some eight -or ten days among the Moquis during the season when the peaches were -lusciously ripe and being gathered by the squaws and children. These -peach orchards, with their flocks of sheep and goats, are evidences of -the earnest work among these Moquis of the Franciscan friars during the -last years of the sixteenth and the earlier ones of the seventeenth -centuries. Crook let the Moquis know that he did not intend to punish -them for what might have been the fault of their ignorance, but he -wished to impress upon them that in future they must in no manner aid or -abet tribes in hostility to the Government of the United States. This -advice the chiefs accepted in very good part, and I do not believe that -they have since been guilty of any misdemeanor of the same nature. - -Of this trip among the Moquis, and of the Moquis themselves, volumes -might be written. There is no tribe of aborigines on the face of the -earth, there is no region in the world, better deserving of examination -and description than the Moquis and the country they inhabit. It is -unaccountable to me that so many of our own countrymen seem desirous of -taking a flying trip to Europe when at their feet, as it were, lies a -land as full of wonders as any depicted in the fairy tales of childhood. -Here, at the village of Hualpi, on the middle mesa, is where I saw the -repulsive rite of the Snake Dance, in which the chief “Medicine Men” -prance about among women and children, holding live and venomous -rattlesnakes in their mouths. Here, one sees the “Painted Desert,” with -its fantastic coloring of all varieties of marls and ochreous earths, -equalling the tints so lavishly scattered about in the Cañon of the -Yellowstone. Here, one begins his journey through the petrified forests, -wherein are to be seen the trunks of giant trees, over one hundred feet -long, turned into precious jasper, carnelian, and banded agate. Here, -one is within stone’s throw of the Grand Cañon of the Colorado and the -equally deep lateral cañons of the Cataract and the Colorado Chiquito, -on whose edge he may stand in perfect security and gaze upon the rushing -torrent of the mighty Colorado, over a mile beneath. Here is the great -Cohonino Forest, through which one may ride for five days without -finding a drop of water except during the rainy season. Truly, it is a -wonderland, and in the Grand Cañon one can think of nothing but the -Abomination of Desolation. - -There is a trail descending the Cataract Cañon so narrow and dangerous -that pack trains rarely get to the bottom without accidents. When I went -down there with General Crook, we could hear the tinkling of the -pack-train bell far up in the cliffs above us, while the mules looked -like mice, then like rats, then like jack-rabbits, and finally like dogs -in size. One of our mules was pushed off the trail by another mule -crowding up against it, and was hurled over the precipice and dashed -into a pulp on the rocks a thousand feet below. There is no place in the -world at present so accessible, and at the same time so full of the most -romantic interest, as are the territories of Arizona and New Mexico: the -railroad companies have been derelict in presenting their attractions to -the travelling public, else I am sure that numbers of tourists would -long since have made explorations and written narratives of the wonders -to be seen. - -General Crook did not limit his attentions to the improvement of the -Indians alone. There was a wide field of usefulness open to him in other -directions, and he occupied it and made it his own. He broke up every -one of the old sickly posts, which had been hotbeds of fever and -pestilence, and transferred the garrisons to elevated situations like -Camp Grant, whose beautiful situation has been alluded to in a previous -chapter. He connected every post in the department with every other post -by first-class roads over which wagons and ambulances of all kinds could -journey without being dashed to pieces. In several cases, roads were -already in existence, but he devoted so much care to reducing the length -and to perfecting the carriage-way that they became entirely new -pathways, as in the case of the new road between Camps Whipple and -Verde. The quarters occupied by officers and men were made habitable by -repairs or replaced by new and convenient houses. The best possible -attention was given to the important matter of providing good, pure, -cool water at every camp. The military telegraph line was built from San -Diego, California, to Fort Yuma, California, thence to Maricopa Wells, -Arizona, where it bifurcated, one line going on to Prescott and Fort -Whipple, the other continuing eastward to Tucson, and thence to San -Carlos and Camp Apache, or rather to the crossing of the Gila River, -fifteen miles from San Carlos. - -For this work, the most important ever undertaken in Arizona up to that -time, Congress appropriated something like the sum of fifty-seven -thousand dollars, upon motion of Hon. Richard C. McCormick, then -Delegate; the work of construction was superintended by General James J. -Dana, Chief Quartermaster of the Department of Arizona, who managed the -matter with such care and economy that the cost was some ten or eleven -thousand dollars less than the appropriation. The citizens of Arizona -living nearest the line supplied all the poles required at the lowest -possible charge. When it is understood that the total length of wire -stretched was over seven hundred miles, the price paid (less than -forty-seven thousand dollars) will show that there was very little room -for excessive profit for anybody in a country where all transportation -was by wagon or on the backs of mules across burning deserts and over -lofty mountains. The great task of building this line was carried out -successfully by Major George F. Price, Fifth Cavalry, since dead, and by -Lieutenant John F. Trout, Twenty-third Infantry. - -One of the first messages transmitted over the wire from Prescott to -Camp Apache was sent by an Apache Indian, to apprise his family that he -and the rest of the detachment with him would reach home on a certain -day. To use a Hibernicism, the wire to Apache did not go to Apache, but -stopped at Grant, at the time of which I am writing. General Crook sent -a message to the commanding officer at Camp Grant, directing him to use -every endeavor to have the message sent by the Apache reach its -destination, carrying it with the official dispatches forwarded by -courier to Camp Apache. The family and friends of the scout were -surprised and bewildered at receiving a communication sent over the -white man’s talking wire (Pesh-bi-yalti), of which they had lately been -hearing so much; but on the day appointed they all put on their thickest -coats of face paint, and donned their best bibs and tuckers, and sallied -out on foot and horseback to meet the incoming party, who were soon -descried descending the flank of an adjacent steep mountain. That was a -great day for Arizona; it impressed upon the minds of the savages the -fact that the white man’s arts were superior to those which their own -“Medicine Men” pretended to possess, and made them see that it would be -a good thing for their own interests to remain our friends. - -The Apaches made frequent use of the wire. A most amusing thing occurred -at Crook’s headquarters, when the Apache chief “Pitone,” who had just -come up from a mission of peace to the Yumas, on the Colorado, and who -had a grievance against “Pascual,” the chief of the latter tribe, had -the operator, Mr. Strauchon, inform “Pascual” that if he did not do a -certain thing which he had promised to do, the Apaches would go on the -war-path, and fairly wipe the ground with the Yumas. There couldn’t have -been a quainter antithesis of the elements of savagery and enlightenment -than the presence of that chief in the telegraph office on such a -mission. The Apaches learned after a while how to stop the communication -by telegraph, which they did very adroitly by pulling down the wire, -cutting it in two, and tying the ends together with a rubber band, -completely breaking the circuit. The linemen would have to keep their -eyes open to detect just where such breaks existed. - -General Crook held that it was the height of folly for the troops of the -United States to attempt to carry on an offensive campaign against an -enemy whose habits and usages were a mystery to them, and whose -territory was a sealed book. Therefore, he directed that each scouting -party should map out its own trail, and send the result on to the -headquarters, to be incorporated in the general map of the territory -which was to be made by the engineer officers in San Francisco. Arizona -was previously unknown, and much of its area had never been mapped. He -encouraged his officers by every means in his power to acquire a -knowledge of the rites and ceremonies, the ideas and feelings, of the -Indians under their charge; he believed, as did the late General P. H. -Sheridan, that the greater part of our troubles with the aborigines -arose from our ignorance of their character and wants, their -aspirations, doubts, and fears. It was much easier and very much cheaper -to stifle and prevent an outbreak than it was to suppress one which had -gained complete headway. These opinions would not be worthy of note had -not Crook and his friend and superior, Sheridan, been officers of the -American army; the English—in Canada, in New Zealand, in Australia, in -India—have found out the truth of this statement; the French have been -led to perceive it in their relations with the nomadic tribes of -Algeria; and the Spaniards, to a less extent perhaps, have practised the -same thing in America. But to Americans generally, the aborigine is a -nonentity except when he is upon the war-path. The moment he concludes -to live at peace with the whites, that moment all his troubles begin. -Never was there a truer remark than that made by Crook: “The American -Indian commands respect for his rights only so long as he inspires -terror for his rifle.” Finally Crook was anxious to obtain for Arizona, -and set out in the different military posts, such fruits and vines as -might be best adapted to the climate. This project was never carried -out, as the orders transferring the General to another department -arrived, and prevented, but it is worth while to know that several of -the springs in northern Arizona were planted with watercress by Mrs. -Crook, the General’s wife, who had followed him to Arizona, and remained -there until his transfer to another field. - -Only two clouds, neither bigger than a man’s hand, but each fraught with -mischief to the territory and the whole country, appeared above -Arizona’s horizon—the Indian ring and the Chiricahuas. The Indian ring -was getting in its work, and had already been remarkably successful in -some of its manipulations of contracts. The Indian Agent, Dr. Williams, -in charge of the Apache-Yumas and Apache-Mojaves, had refused to receive -certain sugar on account of the presence of great boulders in each sack. -Peremptory orders for the immediate receipt of the sugar were received -in due time from Washington. Williams placed one of these immense lumps -of stone on a table in his office, labelled “Sample of sugar received at -this agency under contract of ——.” Williams was a very honest, -high-minded gentleman, and deserved something better than to be hounded -into an insane asylum, which fate he suffered. I will concede, to save -argument, that an official who really desires to treat Indians fairly -and honestly must be out of his head, but this form of lunacy is -harmless, and does not call for such rigorous measures. - -The case of the Chiricahua Apaches was a peculiar one: they had been -specially exempted from General Crook’s jurisdiction, and in his plans -for the reduction of the other bands in hostility they had not been -considered. General O. O. Howard had gone out on a special mission to -see the great chief “Cocheis,” and, at great personal discomfort and no -little personal risk, had effected his purpose. They were congregated at -the “Stronghold,” in the Dragoon Mountains, at the same spot where they -had had a fight with Gerald Russell a few months previously. Their -chief, “Cocheis,” was no doubt sincere in his determination to leave the -war-path for good, and to eat the bread of peace. Such, at least, was -the opinion I formed when I went in to see him, as a member of Major -Brown’s party, in the month of February, 1873. - -“Cocheis” was a tall, stately, finely built Indian, who seemed to be -rather past middle life, but still full of power and vigor, both -physical and mental. He received us urbanely, and showed us every -attention possible. I remember, and it shows what a deep impression -trivial circumstances will sometimes make, that his right hand was badly -burned in two circular holes, and that he explained to me that they had -been made by his younger wife, who was jealous of the older and had -bitten him, and that the wounds had been burned out with a kind of -“moxa” with which the savages of this continent are familiar. Trouble -arose on account of this treaty from a combination of causes of no -consequence when taken singly, but of great importance in the aggregate. -The separation of the tribe into two sections, and giving one kind of -treatment to one and another to another, had a very bad effect: some of -the Chiricahuas called their brethren at the San Carlos “squaws,” -because they had to work; on their side, a great many of the Apaches at -the San Carlos and Camp Apache, feeling that the Chiricahuas deserved a -whipping fully as much as they did, were extremely rancorous towards -them, and never tired of inventing stories to the disparagement of their -rivals or an exaggeration of what was truth. There were no troops -stationed on the Chiricahua reservation to keep the unruly young bucks -in order, or protect the honest and well-meaning savages from the -rapacity of the white vultures who flocked around them, selling vile -whiskey in open day. All the troubles of the Chiricahuas can be traced -to this sale of intoxicating fluids to them by worthless white men. - -Complaints came up without cease from the people of Sonora, of raids -alleged to have been made upon their exposed hamlets nearest the Sierra -Madre; Governor Pesquiera and General Crook were in correspondence upon -this subject, but nothing could be done by the latter because the -Chiricahuas were not under his jurisdiction. How much of this raiding -was fairly attributable to the Chiricahuas who had come in upon the -reservation assigned them in the Dragoon Mountains, and how much was -chargeable to the account of small parties which still clung to the old -fastnesses in the main range of the Sierra Madre will never be known; -but the fact that the Chiricahuas were not under military surveillance -while all the other bands were, gave point to the insinuations and -emphasis to the stories circulated to their disparagement. - -Shortly after the Apaches had been put upon the various reservations -assigned them, it occurred to the people of Tucson that they were -spending a great deal of money for the trials, re-trials, and -maintenance of murderers who killed whom they pleased, passed their days -pleasantly enough in jail, were defended by shrewd “Jack lawyers,” as -they were called, and under one pretest or another escaped scot free. -There had never been a judicial execution in the territory, and, under -the technicalities of law, there did not appear much chance of any being -recorded for at least a generation. It needed no argument to make plain -to the dullest comprehension that that sort of thing would do good to no -one; that it would end in perpetuating a bad name for the town; and -destroy all hope of its becoming prosperous and populous with the advent -of the railroads of which mention was now frequently made. The more the -matter was talked over, the more did it seem that something must be done -to free Tucson from the stigma of being the refuge of murderers of every -degree. - -One of the best citizens of the place, a Mexican gentleman named -Fernandez, I think, who kept a _monte pio_, or pawnbroker’s shop, in the -centre of the town not a block from the post-office, was found dead in -his bed one morning, and alongside of him his wife and baby, all three -with skulls crushed by the blow of bludgeons or some heavy instrument. -All persons—Mexicans and Americans—joined in the hunt for the assassins, -who were at last run to the ground, and proved to be three Mexicans, -members of a gang of bandits who had terrorized the northern portions of -Sonora for many years. They were tracked by a most curious chain of -circumstances, the clue being given by a very intelligent Mexican, and -after being run down one of their number confessed the whole affair, and -showed where the stolen jewellery had been buried under a mesquite bush, -in plain sight of, and close to, the house of the Governor. I have -already written a description of this incident, and do not care to -reproduce it here, on account of lack of space, but may say that the -determination to lynch them was at once formed and carried into effect, -under the superintendence of the most prominent citizens, on the “Plaza” -in front of the cathedral. There was another murderer confined in the -jail for killing a Mexican “to see him wriggle.” This wretch, an -American tramp, was led out to his death along with the others, and in -less than ten minutes four human forms were writhing on the hastily -constructed gallows. Whatever censure might be levelled against this -high-handed proceeding on the score of illegality was rebutted by the -citizens on the ground of necessity and the evident improvement of the -public morals which followed, apparently as a sequence of these drastic -methods. - -Greater authority was conferred upon the worthy Teutonic apothecary who -had been acting as probate judge, or rather much of the authority which -he had been exercising was confirmed, and the day of evil-doers began to -be a hard and dismal one. The old judge was ordinarily a pharmacist, and -did not pretend to know anything of law, but his character for probity -and honesty was so well established that the people, who were tired of -lawyers, voted to put in place a man who would deal out justice, -regardless of personal consequences. The blind goddess had no worthier -representative than this frontier Hippocrates, in whose august presence -the most hardened delinquents trembled. Blackstone and Coke and -Littleton and Kent were not often quoted in the dingy halls of justice -where the “Jedge” sat, flanked and backed by shelves of bottles bearing -the cabalistic legends, “Syr. Zarzæ Comp.,” “Tinc. Op. Camphor,” “Syr. -Simpl.,”and others equally inspiring, and faced by the small row of -books, frequently consulted in the knottier and more important cases, -which bore the titles “Materia Medica,” “Household Medicine,” and others -of the same tenor. Testimony was never required unless it would serve to -convict, and then only a small quantity was needed, because the man who -entered within the portals of this abode of Esculapius and of Justice -left all hope behind. Every criminal arraigned before this tribunal was -already convicted; there remained only the formality of passing -sentence, and of determining just how many weeks to affix as the -punishment in the “shane gang.” An adjustment of his spectacles, an -examination of the “Materia Medica,” and the Judge was ready for -business. Pointing his long finger at the criminal, he would thunder: -“Tu eres vagabundo” (thou art a tramp), and then proceed to sentence the -delinquent on his face to the chain-gang for one week, or two, or three, -as the conditions of his physiognomy demanded. - -“Jedge, isn’t thet a r-a-a-ther tough dose to give t’ a poor fellow what -knowed your grandfadder?” asked one American prisoner who had received -an especially gratifying assurance of the Judge’s opinion of his moral -turpitude. - -“Ha! you knowed my grandfaddy; vere abouts, mine frient, you know him?” -queried the legal functionary. - -“Wa’al, Jedge, it’s jest like this. Th’ las’ time I seed the ole gent -was on th’ Isthmus o’ Panama; he war a-swingin’ by his tail from th’ -limbs of a cocoanut tree, a-gatherin’ o’ cocoanuts, ’n——” - -“Dare; dat vill do, mine frient, dat vill do. I gifs you anodder two -viks mit der shane-gang fur gontembt ov goort; how you like dat?” - -Many sly jokes were cracked at the old judge’s expense, and many -side-splitting stories narrated of his eccentricities and curious legal -interpretations; but it was noticed that the supply of tramps was -steadily diminishing, and the town improving in every essential. If the -Judge ever made a mistake on the side of mercy I never happened to hear -of it, although I do not attempt to say that he may not, at some time in -his legal career, have shown tenderness unrecorded. He certainly did -heroic work for the advancement of the best interests of Tucson and a -good part of southern Arizona. - -The orders of the War Department transferring General Crook to the -command of the Department of the Platte arrived in the middle of March, -and by the 25th of that month, 1875, he, with his personal staff, had -started for the new post of duty. A banquet and reception were tendered -by the citizens of Prescott and northern Arizona, which were attended by -the best people of that section. The names of the Butlers, Bashfords, -Marions, Heads, Brooks, Marks, Bowers, Buffums, Hendersons, Bigelows, -Richards, and others having charge of the ceremonies, showed how -thoroughly Americanized that part of Arizona had become. Hundreds walked -or rode out to the “Burnt Ranch” to say the last farewell, or listen to -the few heartfelt words of kindness with which General Kautz, the new -commander, wished Crook godspeed and good luck in his new field of -labor. Crook bade farewell to the people for whom he had done so much, -and whom he always held so warmly in his heart; he looked for the last -time, it might be, upon the snowy peak of the San Francisco, and then -headed westward, leaving behind him the Wonderland of the Southwest, -with its fathomless cañons, its dizzy crags, its snow-mantled sierras, -its vast deserts, its blooming oases—its vast array of all the -contradictions possible in topography. The self-lacerating Mexican -_penitente_, and the self-asserting American prospector, were to fade -from the sight, perhaps from the memory; but the acts of kindness -received and exchanged between man and man of whatever rank and whatever -condition of life were to last until memory itself should depart. - -The journey from Whipple or Prescott to Los Angeles was in those days -over five hundred miles in length, and took at least eleven days under -the most favorable conditions; it obliged one to pass through the -territory of the Hualpais and the Mojaves, to cross the Colorado River -at the fort of the same name, and drive across the extreme southern -point of Nevada, and then into California in the country of the -Chimahuevis; to drag along over the weary expanse of the “Soda Lake,” -where for seven miles the wheels of the wagons cut their way into the -purest baking soda, and the eyes grew weak with gazing out upon a snowy -area of dazzling whiteness, the extreme end of the celebrated “Death -Valley.” After reaching San Bernardino, the aspect changed completely: -the country became a fairyland, filled with grapes and figs and oranges, -merry with the music of birds, bright with the bloom of flowers. Lowing -herds and buzzing bees attested that this was indeed a land of milk and -honey, beautiful to the eye, gladsome to every sense. The railroad had -not yet reached Los Angeles, so that to get to San Francisco, travellers -who did not care to wait for the weekly steamer were obliged to secure -seats in the “Telegraph” stage line. This ran to Bakersfield in the San -Joaquin Valley, the then terminus of the Southern Pacific Railroad, and -through some of the country where the Franciscans had wrought such -wonderful results among the savages whom they had induced to live in the -“Missions.” In due course of time Crook arrived at Omaha, Nebraska, his -new headquarters, where the citizens tendered him a banquet and -reception, as had those of the California metropolis—San Francisco. - -[Illustration: GENERAL CROOK AND THE FRIENDLY APACHE, ALCHISAY.] - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - -THE DEPARTMENT OF THE PLATTE—THE BLACK HILLS DIFFICULTY—THE ALLISON - COMMISSION—CRAZY HORSE AND SITTING BULL—THE FIRST WINTER - CAMPAIGN—CLOTHING WORN BY THE TROOPS—THE START FOR THE BIG - HORN—FRANK GRUARD, LOUIS RICHAUD, BIG BAT, LOUIS CHANGRAU, AND OTHER - GUIDES. - - -The new command stretched from the Missouri River to the western shores -of the Great Salt Lake, and included the growing State of Nebraska and -the promising territories of Wyoming, Utah, and part of Idaho. The -Indian tribes with which more or less trouble was to be expected were: -the Bannocks and Shoshones, in Idaho and western Wyoming; the Utes, in -Utah and western Wyoming; the Sioux, Cheyennes, and Arapahoes, in Dakota -and Nebraska; the Otoes, Poncas, Omahas, Winnebagoes, and Pawnees, in -various sections of Nebraska. The last five bands were perfectly -peaceful, and the only trouble they would occasion would be on account -of the raids made upon them by the hostiles and their counter-raids to -steal ponies. The Pawnees had formerly been the active and daring foe of -the white men, but were now disposed to go out, whenever needed, to -attack the Sioux or Dakotas. The Utes, Bannocks, and Shoshones claimed -to be friendly, as did the Arapahoes, but the hostile feelings of the -Cheyennes and Sioux were scarcely concealed, and on several occasions -manifested in no equivocal manner. The Utes, Bannocks, and Shoshones -were “mountain” Indians, but were well supplied with stock; they often -made incursions into the territory of the “plains” tribes, their -enemies, of whom the most powerful were the Sioux and Cheyennes, whose -numbers ran into the thousands. - -There was much smouldering discontent among the Sioux and Cheyennes, -based upon our failure to observe the stipulations of the treaty made in -1867, which guaranteed to them an immense strip of country, extending, -either as a reservation or a hunting ground, clear to the Big Horn -Mountains. By that treaty they had been promised one school for every -thirty children, but no schools had yet been established under it. -Reports of the fabulous richness of the gold mines in the Black Hills -had excited the cupidity of the whites and the distrust of the red men. -The latter knew only too well, that the moment any mineral should be -found, no matter of what character, their reservation would be cut down; -and they were resolved to prevent this, unless a most liberal price -should be paid for the property. The Sioux had insisted upon the -abandonment of the chain of posts situated along the line of the Big -Horn, and had carried their point; but, in 1874, after the murder of -Lieutenant Robertson, or Robinson, of the Fourteenth Infantry, while in -charge of a wood-chopping party on Laramie Peak, and their subsequent -refusal to let their agent fly the American flag over the agency, -General John E. Smith, Fourteenth Infantry, at the head of a strong -force, marched over to the White Earth country and established what have -since been designated as Camps Sheridan and Robinson at the agencies of -the great chiefs “Spotted Tail” and “Red Cloud” respectively. In 1874, -General Custer made an examination of the Black Hills, and reported -finding gold “from the grass roots down.” In the winter of that year a -large party of miners, without waiting for the consent of the Indians to -be obtained, settled on the waters of Frenchman, or French, Creek, built -a stockade, and began to work with rockers. These miners were driven -about from point to point by detachments of troops, but succeeded in -maintaining a foothold until the next year. One of the commands sent to -look them up and drive them out was the company of the Third Cavalry -commanded by Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Guy V. Henry, which was caught in -a blizzard and nearly destroyed. In the early months of 1875, a large -expedition, well equipped, was sent to explore and map the Black Hills -and the adjacent country. The main object was the determination of the -auriferous character of the ledges and the value of the country as a -mining district; the duty of examination into these features devolved -upon the geologists and engineers sent out by the Department of the -Interior, namely, Messrs. Janney, McGillicuddy, Newton, Brown, and -Tuttle. The military escort, consisting of six full companies of the -Second and Third Cavalry, two pieces of artillery, and several companies -of the Ninth and Fourteenth Infantry to guard supply trains, was -employed in furnishing the requisite protection to the geologists, and -in obtaining such additional information in regard to the topography of -the country, the best lines for wagon roads, and sites for such posts as -might be necessary in the future. This was under the command of Colonel -R. I. Dodge, of the Twenty-third Infantry, and made a very complete -search over the whole of the hills, mapping the streams and the trend of -the ranges, and opening up one of the most picturesque regions on the -face of the globe. - -It was never a matter of surprise to me that the Cheyennes, whose -corn-fields were once upon the Belle Fourche, the stream which runs -around the hills on the north side, should have become frenzied by the -report that these lovely valleys were to be taken from them whether they -would or no. In the summer of 1876 the Government sent a commission, of -which Senator William B. Allison, of Iowa, was chairman, and the late -Major-General Alfred H. Terry, a member, to negotiate with the Sioux for -the cession of the Black Hills, but neither Sioux nor Cheyennes were in -the humor to negotiate. There appeared to be a very large element among -the Indians which would sooner have war than peace; all sorts of -failures to observe previous agreements were brought up, and the -advocates of peace were outnumbered. One day it looked very much as if a -general _mêlée_ was about to be precipitated. The hostile element, led -by “Little Big Man,” shrieked for war, and “Little Big Man” himself was -haranguing his followers that that was as good a moment as any to begin -shooting. The courage and coolness of two excellent officers, Egan and -Crawford, the former of the Second, the latter of the Third Cavalry, -kept the savages from getting too near the Commissioners: their commands -formed line, and with carbines at an “advance” remained perfectly -motionless, ready to charge in upon the Indians should the latter begin -an attack. Egan has often told me that he was apprehensive lest the -accidental discharge of a carbine or a rifle on one side or the other -should precipitate a conflict in which much blood would surely be shed. -Egan has been many years dead—worn out in service—and poor Crawford was -killed by Mexican irregular troops at the moment that he had surprised -and destroyed the village of the Chiricahua Apache chief “Geronimo,” in -the depths of the Sierra Madre, Mexico. Much of our trouble with these -tribes could have been averted, had we shown what would appear to them -as a spirit of justice and fair dealing in this negotiation. It is hard -to make the average savage comprehend why it is that as soon as his -reservation is found to amount to anything he must leave and give up to -the white man. Why should not Indians be permitted to hold mining or any -other kind of land? The whites could mine on shares or on a royalty, and -the Indians would soon become workers in the bowels of the earth. The -right to own and work mines was conceded to the Indians by the Crown of -Spain, and the result was beneficial to both races. In 1551, the Spanish -Crown directed that “Nadie los impidiese que pudiesem tomar minas de -Oro, i Plata i beneficiarlas como hacian los Castellanos.”—_Herrera, -Decade, VIII., lib. 8, cap. 12, p. 159._ The policy of the American -people has been to vagabondize the Indian, and throttle every ambition -he may have for his own elevation; and we need not hug the delusion that -the savage has been any too anxious for work, unless stimulated, -encouraged, and made to see that it meant his immediate benefit and -advancement. - -During the closing hours of the year 1875 the miners kept going into the -Black Hills, and the Indians kept annoying all wagon-trains and small -parties found on the roads. There were some killed and others wounded -and a number of wagons destroyed, but hostilities did not reach a -dangerous state, and were confined almost entirely to the country -claimed by the Indians as their own. It was evident, however, to the -most obtuse that a very serious state of affairs would develop with the -coming of grass in the spring. The Indians were buying all the arms, -ammunition, knives, and other munitions of war from the traders and -every one else who would sell to them. On our side the posts were filled -with supplies, garrisons changed to admit of the concentration of the -largest possible numbers on most threatened localities, and the -efficient pack-trains which had rendered so valuable a service during -the campaign in Arizona were brought up from the south and congregated -at Cheyenne, Wyoming. The policy of the Government must have seemed to -the Indians extremely vacillating. During the summer of 1876 -instructions of a positive character were sent to General Crook, -directing the expulsion from the Black Hills of all unauthorized persons -there assembled. General Crook went across country to the stockade -erected on French Creek, Dakota, and there had an interview with the -miners, who promised to leave the country, first having properly -recorded their claims, and await the action of Congress in regard to the -opening of that region to settlement. As winter approached another tone -was assumed in our dealings with the Sioux and Cheyennes: word was sent -to the different bands living at a distance from the agencies that they -must come in to be enrolled or inspected; some obeyed the summons, some -quietly disregarded it, and one band—a small one, under “Sitting -Bull”—flatly refused compliance. The Indians did not seem to understand -that any one had a right to control their movements so long as they -remained within the metes and bounds assigned them by treaty. - -Neither “Crazy Horse” nor “Sitting Bull” paid any attention to the -summons; and when early in the summer (1875) a message reached them, -directing them to come in to Red Cloud Agency to confer with the Black -Hills Commission, this is the reply which Louis Richaud, the half-breed -messenger, received: “Are you the Great God that made me, or was it the -Great God that made me who sent you? If He asks me to come see him, I -will go, but the Big Chief of the white men must come see me. I will not -go to the reservation. I have no land to sell. There is plenty of game -here for us. We have enough ammunition. We don’t want any white men -here.” “Sitting Bull” delivered the above in his haughtiest manner, but -“Crazy Horse” had nothing to say. “Crazy Horse” was the general, the -fighter; “Sitting Bull” was a “Medicine Man” and a fine talker, and -rarely let pass an opportunity for saying something. He was, in that one -respect, very much like old “Shunca luta,” at Red Cloud, who was always -on his feet in council or conference. - -Upon the recommendation of Inspector Watkins of the Indian Bureau, made -in the winter of 1875, the War Department was instructed to take in hand -the small band of five hundred Sioux supposed to be lurking in the -country bounded by the Big Horn Mountains, the Tongue and the -Yellowstone rivers. The inspector expressed the opinion that a regiment -of cavalry was all that was needed to make a quick winter campaign and -strike a heavy and decisive blow. This opinion was not, however, borne -out by the facts. The number of Indians out in that country was -absolutely unknown to our people, and all guesses as to their strength -were wildly conjectural. The country in which the coming operations were -to be carried on was as different as different could be from the rugged -ranges, the broken mesas, and the arid deserts of Arizona. -Topographically, it might be styled a great undulating plain, rolling -like the waves of ocean—a sea of grass, over which still roamed great -herds of buffalo, and antelope by the hundred. It is far better watered -than either New Mexico or Arizona, and has a vegetation of an entirely -different type. There is considerable cactus of the plate variety in -certain places, but the general rule is that the face of nature is -covered with bunch and buffalo grass, with a straggling growth of timber -along the water courses—cottonwood, ash, willow, and now and then a -little oak. On the summits of the buttes there is pine timber in some -quantity, and upon the higher elevations of the ranges like the Big Horn -the pine, fir, and other coniferæ grow very dense; but at the height of -eleven thousand feet all timber ceases and the peaks project perfectly -bald and tower upwards toward the sky, enveloped in clouds and nearly -all the year round wrapped in snow. Coal is to be found in wonderful -abundance and of excellent quality, and it is now asserted that the -State of Wyoming is better supplied with carbon than is the State of -Pennsylvania. Coal oil is also found in the Rattlesnake basin, but has -not yet been made commercially profitable. - -Montana, situated to the north of Wyoming, is perhaps a trifle colder in -winter, but both are cold enough; although, strange to say, few if any -of the settlers suffer from the effects of the severe reduction of -temperature—at least few of those whose business does not compel them to -face the blizzards. Stage-drivers, stockmen, settlers living on isolated -ranchos, were the principal sufferers. Both Wyoming and Montana were -fortunate in securing a fine class of population at the outset, men and -women who would stand by the new country until after all the -scapegraces, scoundrels, and cutthroats who had flocked in with the -advent of the railroads had died off, most of them with their boots on. -The Union Pacific Railroad crossed the Territory from east to west, -making the transportation of supplies a matter of comparative ease, and -keeping the various posts within touch of civilization. South of the -North Platte River the country was held by the troops of the United -States, and was pretty well understood and fairly well mapped; north of -that stream was a _terra incognita_, of which no accurate charts -existed, and of which extremely little information could be obtained. -Every half-breed at Red Cloud or Spotted Tail Agency who could be -secured was employed as a scout, and placed under the command of Colonel -Thaddeus H. Stanton, of the Pay Department, who was announced as Chief -of Scouts. - -The Sioux and Cheyennes whom we were soon to face were “horse” Indians, -who marched and fought on horseback; they kept together in large bodies, -and attacked by charging and attempting to stampede the herds of the -troops. They were well armed with the newest patterns of magazine arms, -and were reported to be possessed of an abundance of metallic -cartridges. Their formidable numbers, estimated by many authorities at -as many as fifty thousand for the entire nation, had given them an -overweening confidence in themselves and a contempt for the small bodies -of troops that could be thrown out against them, and it was generally -believed by those pretending to know that we should have all the -fighting we wanted. These were the points upon which the pessimists most -strongly insisted. The cloud certainly looked black enough to satisfy -any one, but there was a silver lining to it which was not perceptible -at first inspection. If a single one of these large villages could be -surprised and destroyed in the depth of winter, the resulting loss of -property would be so great that the enemy would suffer for years; their -exposure to the bitter cold of the blizzards would break down any -spirit, no matter how brave; their ponies would be so weak that they -could not escape from an energetic pursuit, and the advantages would -seem to be on the side of the troops. - -Crook took up his quarters in Cheyenne for a few days to push forward -the preparations for the departure of the column of cavalry which was to -compose the major part of the contemplated expedition. Cheyenne was then -wild with excitement concerning the Indian war, which all the old -frontiersmen felt was approaching, and the settlement of the Black -Hills, in which gold in unheard-of sums was alleged to be hidden. No -story was too wild, too absurd, to be swallowed with eagerness and -published as a fact in the papers of the town. Along the streets were -camped long trains of wagons loading for the Black Hills; every store -advertised a supply of goods suited to the Black Hills’ trade; the -hotels were crowded with men on their way to the new El Dorado; even the -stage-drivers, boot-blacks, and bellboys could talk nothing but Black -Hills—Black Hills. So great was the demand for teams to haul goods to -the Black Hills that it was difficult to obtain the necessary number to -carry the rations and ammunition needed for Crook’s column. Due north of -Cheyenne, and ninety miles from it, lay old Fort Laramie, since -abandoned; ninety-five miles to the northwest of Laramie lay Fort -Fetterman, the point of departure for the expedition. To reach Fort -Laramie we had to cross several small but useful streamlets—the Lodge -Pole, Horse, and Chug—which course down from the higher elevations and -are lost in the current of the North Platte and Laramie rivers. - -The country was well adapted for the grazing of cattle, and several good -ranchos were already established; at “Portuguese” Phillip’s, at the head -of the Chug, and at F. M. Phillips’s, at the mouth of the same -picturesque stream, the traveller was always sure of hospitable, kind -treatment. The march of improvement has caused these ranchos to -disappear, and their owners, for all I know to the contrary, have been -dead for many years, but their memory will be cherished by numbers of -belated wayfarers, in the army and out of it, who were the recipients of -their kind attentions. The road leading out of Cheyenne through Fort -Laramie to the Black Hills was thronged with pedestrians and mounted -men, with wagons and without—all _en route_ to the hills which their -fancy pictured as stuffed with the precious metals. Not all were intent -upon mining or other hard work: there was more than a fair contingent of -gamblers and people of that kind, who relieved Cheyenne and Denver and -Omaha of much uneasiness by their departure from those older cities to -grow up with the newer settlements in the Indian Pactolus. There were -other roads leading to the Black Hills from points on the Missouri -River, and from Sidney and North Platte, Nebraska, but they offered no -such inducements as the one from Cheyenne, because it crossed the North -Platte River by a free Government bridge, constructed under the -superintendence of Captain William S. Stanton, of the Corps of -Engineers. By taking this route all dangers and delays by ferry were -eliminated. - -Much might be written about old Fort Laramie. It would require a volume -of itself to describe all that could be learned regarding it from the -days when the hardy French traders from Saint Louis, under Jules La -Ramie, began trading with the Sioux and Cheyennes and Arapahoes, until -the Government of the United States determined to establish one of its -most important garrisons to protect the overland travel to the -gold-fields of California. Many an old and decrepit officer, now on the -retired list, will revert in fancy to the days when he was young and -athletic, and Fort Laramie was the centre of all the business, and -fashion, and gossip, and mentality of the North Platte country; the -cynic may say that there wasn’t much, and he may be right, but it -represented the best that there was to be had. - -Beyond Fort Laramie, separated by ninety-five miles of most unpromising -country, lies the post of Fort Fetterman, on the right bank of the North -Platte. Boulders of gneiss, greenstone, porphyry, and other rocks from -the Laramie Peak lined the bottoms and sides of the different dry -arroyos passed on the march. Not all the ravines were dry; in a few -there was a good supply of water, and the whole distance out from Fort -Laramie presented no serious objections on that score. In the “Twin -Springs,” “Horse-shoe” Creek, “Cave” Springs, “Elk Horn” Creek, “Lake -Bonté,” “Wagon Hound,” “Bed-tick,” and “Whiskey Gulch” a supply, greater -or less in quantity, dependent upon season, could generally be found. -Much of the soil was a gypsiferous red clay; in all the gulches and -ravines were to be seen stunted pine and cedar. The scenery was -extremely monotonous, destitute of herbage, except buffalo grass and -sage brush. An occasional buffalo head, bleaching in the sun, gave a -still more ghastly tone to the landscape. Every few minutes a prairie -dog projected his head above the entrance of his domicile and barked at -our cortege passing by. Among the officers and soldiers of the garrison -at Fort Fetterman, as well as among those who were reporting for duty -with the expedition, the topics of conversation were invariably the -probable strength and position of the enemy, the ability of horses and -men to bear the extreme cold to which they were sure to be subjected, -and other matters of a kindred nature which were certain to suggest -themselves. - -There, for example, was the story, accepted without question, that the -Sioux had originally shown a very friendly spirit toward the Americans -passing across their country to California, until on one occasion a man -offered grievous wrong to one of the young squaws, and that same evening -the wagon-train with which he was travelling was surrounded by a band of -determined warriors, who quietly expressed a desire to have an interview -with the criminal. The Americans gave him up, and the Sioux skinned him -alive; hence the name of “Raw Hide Creek,” the place where this incident -occurred. - -Another interesting story was that of the escape of one of the corporals -of Teddy Egan’s company of the Second Cavalry from the hands of a party -of Sioux raiders on Laramie Peak; several of the corporal’s comrades -were killed in their blankets, as the attack was made in the early hours -of morning, but the corporal sprang out in his bare feet and escaped -down to the ranchos on the La Bonté, but his feet were so filled with -fine cactus thorns and cut up with sharp stones that he was for months -unable to walk. - -“Black Coal,” one of the chiefs of the Arapahoes, came in to see General -Crook while at Fetterman, and told him that his tribe had information -that the hostiles were encamped on the lower Powder, below old Fort -Reno, some one hundred and fifty miles from Fetterman. Telegraphic -advices were received from Fort Laramie to the effect that three hundred -lodges of northern Sioux had just come in at Red Cloud Agency; and the -additional information that the supplies of the Indian Bureau at that -agency were running short, and that no replenishment was possible until -Congress should make another appropriation. - -This news was both good and bad, bitter and sweet; we should have a -smaller number of Sioux to drive back to the reservation; but, on the -other hand, if supplies were not soon provided, all the Indians would -surely take to the Black Hills and Big Horn country, where an abundance -of game of all kinds was still to be found. The mercury still remained -down in the bottom of the bulb, and the ground was covered deep with -snow. In Wyoming the air is so dry that a thermometer marking zero, or -even ten degrees below that point on the Fahrenheit scale, does not -indicate any serious discomfort; the air is bracing, and the cold -winters seem to have a beneficial effect upon the general health of the -inhabitants. We have no sturdier, healthier people in our country than -the settlers in Wyoming and Montana. - -Winter campaigning was an entirely different matter; even the savages -hibernated during the cold months, and sought the shelter of friendly -cliffs and buttes, at whose feet they could pitch their tepees of -buffalo or elk skin, and watch their ponies grazing upon the pasturage. -The ponies of the Indians, the mares and foals especially, fare poorly -during this season; they have no protection from the keen northern -blasts, but must huddle together in ravines and “draws,” or “coulées,” -as the French half-breeds call them, until the worst is over. They -become very thin and weak, and can hardly haul the “travois” upon which -the family supplies must be packed. Then is assuredly the time to -strike, provided always that the soldiers be not caught and frozen to -death by some furious storm while on the march, or after being wounded. -Crook wanted to have our animals kept in the best condition, at least in -a condition somewhat better than that of the Indian ponies. He knew that -the amount of grass to be depended upon would be very limited: much of -the country would be burned over by the Indians to prepare for the new -growth; much would lie under deep snow, and not be accessible to our -horses; much would be deadened by wind and storm; so that the most -prudent course would be to move out from Fetterman with a wagon-train -loaded with grain, which could be fed in small quantities to supplement -the pasturage that might be found, and would keep our mules and horses -in strength and health. A depot would be established at some convenient -point, and from that scouts and explorations into all sections of the -surrounding country could be made by light, swift-moving columns. -Officers and men were informed that so long as with the wagon-train they -would be allowed plenty of warm bedding and a minimum supply of “A” and -“dog” tents, but upon starting out for any movement across country they -would have to do without anything but the clothing upon their backs. -Particular attention was bestowed upon this subject of clothing; and -when I say that the mercury frequently congeals in the bulb, and that -the spirit thermometers at Fort Fred Steele, Wyoming, that winter -registered as low as 61° below, Fahrenheit, the necessity of precaution -will be apparent. The most elastic interpretation was given to the word -“uniform,” so as to permit individual taste and experience to have full -play in the selection of the garments which were to protect from bitter -cold and fierce wind. - -Thinking that such particulars may be of interest to a portion of my -readers, I will say a few words in regard to the clothing worn by -different members of the expedition. For cavalry, great care was -demanded to protect feet, knees, wrists, and ears; the foot soldier can -stamp his feet or slap his hands and ears, but the mounted man must hold -his reins and sit up straight in the saddle. Commencing with the feet, -first a pair of close-fitting lamb’s-wool socks was put on, then one of -the same size as those worn by women, so as to come over the knees. -Indian moccasins of buckskin, reaching well up the leg, were generally -preferred to boots, being warmer and lighter; cork soles were used with -them, and an overboot of buffalo hide, made with the hairy side inward -and extending up nearly the whole length of the leg, and opening down -the side and fastened by buckles something after the style of the -breeches worn by Mexican “vaqueros.” These overboots were soled, heeled, -and boxed with leather, well tanned. Some officers preferred to wear the -leggings separate, and to use the overshoe supplied by the -Quartermaster’s Department. By this method, one could disrobe more -readily after reaching camp and be free to move about in the performance -of duty while the sun might be shining; but it was open to the objection -that, on account of the clumsy make of the shoes, it was almost -impossible to get into the stirrups with them. - -All people of experience concurred in denouncing as pernicious the -practice of wearing tight shoes, or the use of any article of raiment -which would induce too copious a flow of perspiration, the great danger -being that there would be more likelihood of having the feet, or any -other part of the body in which the circulation might be impeded, frozen -during spells of intense cold; or of having the same sad experience -where there would be a sudden checking of the perspiration, which would -almost certainly result in acute pneumonia. For underwear, individual -preferences were consulted, the general idea being to have at least two -kinds of material used, principally merino and perforated buckskin; over -these was placed a heavy blue flannel shirt, made double-breasted, and -then a blouse, made also double-breasted, of Mission or Minnesota -blanket, with large buttons, or a coat of Norway kid lined with heavy -flannel. When the blizzards blew nothing in the world would keep out the -cold but an overcoat of buffalo or bearskin or beaver, although for many -the overcoats made in Saint Paul of canvas, lined with the heaviest -blanket, and strapped and belted tight about the waist, were pronounced -sufficient. The head was protected by a cap of cloth, with fur border to -pull down over the ears; a fur collar enclosed the neck and screened the -mouth and nose from the keen blasts; and the hands were covered by -woollen gloves and over-gauntlets of beaver or musk-rat fur. For rainy -or snowy weather most of the command had two india-rubber ponchos sewed -together, which covered both rider and horse. This was found very -cumbersome and was generally discarded, but at night it was decidedly -valuable for the exclusion of dampness from either ground or sky. Our -bedding while with the wagon-trains was ample, and there was no -complaint from either officers or men. Everybody adhered to the one -style; buffalo robes were conceded to be the most suitable covering. -First, there would be spread down upon the ground the strip of canvas in -which the blankets or robes were to be rolled for the march; then the -india-rubber ponchos spoken of; then, for those who had them, a mattress -made of chopped cork, of a total thickness of one inch, sewed in -transverse layers so as to admit of being rolled more compactly; lastly, -the buffalo robes and the blankets or cotton comforters, according to -preference. The old wise-heads provided themselves with bags of buffalo -robe, in which to insert the feet, and with small canvas cylinders, -extending across the bed and not more than eight inches in diameter, -which became a safe receptacle for extra underwear, socks, -handkerchiefs, and any papers that it might be necessary to carry along. -In all cases, where a man has the choice of making a winter campaign or -staying at home, I would advise him to remember _Punch’s_ advice to -those who were thinking of getting married. - -General Crook had had much previous experience in his campaign against -the Pi-Utes and Snakes of Idaho and northern Nevada in 1866-7, during -which time his pack-trains had been obliged to break their way through -snow girth deep, and his whole command had been able to make but -thirty-three miles in twelve days—a campaign of which little has been -written, but which deserves a glorious page in American history as -resulting in the complete subjugation of a fierce and crafty tribe, and -in being the means of securing safety to the miners of Nevada while they -developed ledges which soon afterwards poured into the national treasury -four hundred millions of dollars in dividends and wages. - -On the 1st of March, 1876, after a heavy fall of snow the previous -night, and in the face of a cold wind, but with the sun shining brightly -down upon us, we left Fetterman for the Powder River and Big Horn. -Officers and men were in the best of spirits, and horses champed eagerly -upon the bit as if pleased with the idea of a journey. We had ten full -companies of cavalry, equally divided between the Second and Third -Regiments, and two companies of the Fourth Infantry. The troops were -under the immediate command of Colonel Joseph J. Reynolds, of the Third -Cavalry, Brevet Major-General. His staff officers were Lieutenants -Morton and Drew, both of the Third Cavalry, acting as adjutant and -quartermaster, respectively. - -General Reynolds divided his forces into battalions of two companies -each, one pack-train being attached to each of the mounted battalions, -the infantry remaining with the wagons. - -These battalions were composed as follows: “M” and “E,” Third Cavalry, -under Captain Anson Mills; “A” and “D,” Third Cavalry, under Captain -William Hawley; “I” and “K,” Second Cavalry, under Major H. E. Noyes; -“A” and “B,” Second, under Major T. B. Dewees; “F,” Third Cavalry, and -“E,” Second, under Colonel Alex. Moore, of the Third Cavalry; “C” and -“I,” Fourth Infantry, under Major E. M. Coates, of the same regiment. -Assistant Surgeon C. E. Munn was medical officer, assisted by A. A. -Surgeon Ridgeley and by Hospital Steward Bryan. The subordinate officers -in command of companies, or attached to them, were Captains Egan and -Peale, of the Second Cavalry, and Ferris, of the Fourth Infantry; -Lieutenants Robinson, Rawolle, Pearson, Sibley, Hall, of the Second -Cavalry, and Paul, J. B. Johnson, Lawson, Robinson, and Reynolds, of the -Third Cavalry; Mason, of the Fourth Infantry. - -There were eighty-six mule-wagons loaded with forage, and three or four -ambulances carrying as much as they safely could of the same. The -pack-train, in five divisions of eighty mules each, was under the -supervision of Mr. Thomas Moore, Chief of Transportation, and was -assigned as follows: MacAuliffe, to the 1st Battalion; Closter, to the -2d; Foster, to the 3d; Young, to the 4th; De Laney, to the 5th. - -The advance of the column was led by Colonel Thaddeus H. Stanton and the -band of half-breed scouts recruited at the Red Cloud and Spotted Tail -agencies. General Crook marched with these nearly all the time, and I -was so much interested in learning all that was possible about the -northwest country, and the Indians and the half-breeds inhabiting it, -that I devoted all the time I could to conversing with them. Frank -Gruard, a native of the Sandwich Islands, was for some years a -mail-rider in northern Montana, and was there captured by the forces of -“Crazy Horse”; his dark skin and general appearance gave his captors the -impression that Frank was a native Indian whom they had recaptured from -the whites; consequently, they did not kill him, but kept him a prisoner -until he could recover what they believed to be his native language—the -Sioux. Frank remained several years in the household of the great chief -“Crazy Horse,” whom he knew very well, as well as his medicine man—the -since renowned “Sitting Bull.” Gruard was one of the most remarkable -woodsmen I have ever met; no Indian could surpass him in his intimate -acquaintance with all that pertained to the topography, animal life, and -other particulars of the great region between the head of the Piney, the -first affluent of the Powder on the west, up to and beyond the -Yellowstone on the north; no question could be asked him that he could -not answer at once and correctly. His bravery and fidelity were never -questioned; he never flinched under fire, and never growled at -privation. Louis Richaud, Baptiste Pourrier (“Big Bat”), Baptiste Gamier -(“Little Bat”), Louis Changrau, Speed Stagner, Ben Clarke, and others -were men of excellent record as scouts, and all rendered efficient -service during the entire expedition. There was one representative of -the public press—Mr. Robert E. Strahorn, of the _Rocky Mountain News_, -who remained throughout the entire campaign, winter and summer, until -the last of the hostiles had surrendered. - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - -MOVING INTO THE BIG HORN COUNTRY IN WINTER—THE HERD STAMPEDED—A NIGHT - ATTACK—“JEFF’S” OOZING COURAGE—THE GRAVE-YARD AT OLD FORT RENO—IN A - MONTANA BLIZZARD—THE MERCURY FROZEN IN THE BULB—KILLING - BUFFALO—INDIAN GRAVES—HOW CROOK LOOKED WHILE ON THIS - CAMPAIGN—FINDING A DEAD INDIAN’S ARM—INDIAN PICTURES. - - -The march from Fort Fetterman to old Fort Reno, a distance of ninety -miles, led us through a country of which the less said the better; it is -suited for grazing and may appeal to the eyes of a cow-boy, but for the -ordinary observer, especially during the winter season, it presents -nothing to charm any sense; the landscape is monotonous and uninviting, -and the vision is bounded by swell after swell of rolling prairie, -yellow with a thick growth of winter-killed buffalo or bunch grass, with -a liberal sprinkling of that most uninteresting of all vegetation—the -sage-brush. The water is uniformly and consistently bad—being both -brackish and alkaline, and when it freezes into ice the ice is nearly -always rotten and dangerous, for a passage at least by mounted troops or -wagons. Wood is not to be had for the first fifty miles, and has to be -carried along in wagons for commands of any size. Across this charming -expanse the wind howled and did its best to freeze us all to death, but -we were too well prepared. - -The first night out from Fetterman the presence of hostile Indians was -indicated by the wounding of our herder, shot in the lungs, and by the -stampeding of our herd of cattle—forty-five head—which were not, -however, run off by the attacking party, but headed for the post and -could not be turned and brought back. There was very little to record of -this part of the march: a night attack or two, the firing by our pickets -at anything and everything which looked like a man, the killing of -several buffaloes by the guides in front—old bulls which would pull all -the teeth out of one’s head were they to be chewed; better success with -antelope, whose meat was tender and palatable; the sight of a column of -dust in the remote distance, occasioned, probably, by the movement of an -Indian village, and the flashing of looking-glass signals by hostiles on -our right flank, made the sum total of events worthy of insertion in the -journals kept at the time. Lodge-pole trails and pony tracks increased -in numbers, and a signal smoke curled upwards from one of the distant -buttes in our front. On our left, the snow-clad masses of the “Big Horn” -range rose slowly above the horizon, and on the right the sullen, -inhospitable outline of the “Pumpkin Buttes.” General Crook ordered that -the greatest care should be taken in the manner of posting sentinels, -and in enjoining vigilance upon them; he directed that no attempt should -be made to catch any of the small parties of the enemy’s videttes, which -began to show themselves and to retreat when followed; he explained that -all they wanted was to entice us into a pursuit which could have no -effect beyond breaking down twenty or thirty of our horses each time. - -We were out of camp, and following the old Montana road by daylight of -the 5th of March, 1876, going down the “Dry Fork” of the Powder. There -was no delay on any account, and affairs began to move like clock-work. -The scenery was dreary; the weather bitter cold; the bluffs on either -side bare and sombre prominences of yellow clay, slate, and sandstone. -The leaden sky overhead promised no respite from the storm of cold snow -and wind beating into our faces from the northwest. A stranger would not -have suspected at first glance that the command passing along the defile -of this miserable little sand-bed had any connection with the military -organization of the United States; shrouded from head to foot in huge -wrappings of wool and fur, what small amount of uniform officers or men -wore was almost entirely concealed from sight; but a keener inspection -would have convinced the observer that it was an expedition of soldiers, -and good ones at that. The promptness, ease, and lack of noise with -which all evolutions were performed, the compactness of the columns, the -good condition of arms and horses, and the care displayed in looking -after the trains, betokened the discipline of veteran soldiery. - -That evening a party of picked scouts, under Frank Gruard, was sent to -scour the country in our front and on our right flank; there was no need -of examining the country on the left, as the Big Horn range was so -close, and there was no likelihood of the savages going up on its cold -flanks to live during winter while such better and more comfortable -localities were at hand in the river and creek bottoms. The sun was just -descending behind the summits of the Big Horn, having emerged from -behind a bank of leaden clouds long enough to assure us that he was -still in existence, and Major Coates was putting his pickets in position -and giving them their final instructions, when a bold attack was made by -a small detachment of the Sioux; their advance was detected as they were -creeping upon us through a grove of cottonwoods close to camp, and -although there was a brisk interchange of leaden compliments, no damage -was done to our people beyond the wounding slightly of Corporal Slavey, -of Coates’s company. Crook ordered a large force to march promptly to -the other side of camp, thinking that the enemy was merely making a -“bluff” on one extremity, but would select a few bold warriors to rush -through at the other end, and, by waving blankets, shrieking, firing -guns, and all other tricks of that sort, stampede our stock and set us -afoot. The entire command kept under arms for half an hour and was then -withdrawn. From this on we had the companies formed each morning at -daybreak, ready for the attack which might come at any moment. The early -hour set for breaking camp no doubt operated to frustrate plans of doing -damage to the column entertained by wandering bodies of the Sioux and -Cheyennes. - -Colonel Stanton was accompanied by a colored cook, Mr. Jefferson Clark, -a faithful henchman who had followed the fortunes of his chief for many -years. Jeff wasn’t a bad cook, and he was, according to his own story, -one of the most bloodthirsty enemies the Sioux ever had; it was a matter -of difficulty to restrain him from leaving the command and wandering out -alone in quest of aboriginal blood. This night-attack seemed to freeze -all the fight out of Jeff, and he never again expressed the remotest -desire to shoot anything, not even a jack-rabbit. But the soldiers had -no end of fun with him, and many and many a trick was played, and many -and many a lie told, to make his hair stiffen, and his eyes to glaze in -terror. - -When we reached the “Crazy Woman’s Fork” of the Powder River, camp was -established, with an abundance of excellent water and any amount of dry -cottonwood fuel; but grass was not very plentiful, although there had -been a steady improvement in that respect ever since leaving the South -Cheyenne. We had that day passed through the ruins of old Fort Reno, one -of the military cantonments abandoned by the Government at the demand of -the Sioux in 1867. Nothing remained except a few chimneys, a part of the -bake-house, and some fragments of the adobe walls of the quarters or -offices. The grave-yard had a half dozen or a dozen of broken, -dilapidated head-boards to mark the last resting-places of brave -soldiers who had fallen in desperate wars with savage tribes that -civilization might extend her boundaries. Our wagon-train was sent back -under escort of the infantry to Fort Reno, there to await our return. - -All the officers were summoned to hear from General Crook’s own lips -what he wanted them to do. He said that we should now leave our wagons -behind and strike out with the pack-trains; all superfluous baggage must -be left in camp; every officer and every soldier should be allowed the -clothes on his back and no more; for bedding each soldier could carry -along one buffalo robe or two blankets; to economize transportation, -company officers should mess with their men, and staff officers or those -“unattached” with the pack-trains; officers to have the same amount of -bedding as the men; each man could take one piece of shelter tent, and -each officer one piece of canvas, or every two officers one tent fly. We -were to start out on a trip to last fifteen days unless the enemy should -be sooner found, and were to take along half rations of bacon, hard -tack, coffee, and sugar. - -About seven o’clock on the night of March 7, 1876, the light of a -three-quarters moon, we began our march to the north and west, and made -thirty-five miles. At first the country had the undulating contour of -that near old Fort Reno, but the prairie “swells” were soon superseded -by bluffs of bolder and bolder outline until, as we approached the -summit of the “divide” where “Clear Fork” heads, we found ourselves in a -region deserving the title mountainous. In the bright light of the moon -and stars, our column of cavalry wound up the steep hill-sides like an -enormous snake, whose scales were glittering revolvers and carbines. The -view was certainly very exhilarating, backed as it was by the majestic -landscape of moonlight on the Big Horn Mountains. Cynthia’s silvery -beams never lit up a mass of mountain crests more worthy of delineation -upon an artist’s canvas. Above the frozen apex of “Cloud Peak” the -evening star cast its declining rays. Other prominences rivalling this -one in altitude thrust themselves out against the midnight sky. -Exclamations of admiration and surprise were extorted from the most -stolid as the horses rapidly passed from bluff to bluff, pausing at -times to give every one an opportunity to study some of Nature’s noble -handiwork. - -But at last even the gorgeous vista failed to alleviate the cold and -pain in benumbed limbs, or to dispel the drowsiness which Morpheus was -placing upon exhausted eyelids. With no small degree of satisfaction we -noticed the signal which at five o’clock in the morning of March 8th -bade us make camp on the Clear Fork of the Powder. The site was dreary -enough; scarcely any timber in sight, plenty of water, but frozen solid, -and only a bare picking of grass for our tired animals. However, what we -most needed was sleep, and that we sought as soon as horses had been -unsaddled and mules unpacked. Wrapped up in our heavy overcoats and furs -we threw ourselves on the bleak and frozen ground, and were soon deep in -slumber. After lying down in the bright, calm, and cheerful moonlight, -we were awakened about eight o’clock by a bitter, pelting storm of snow -which blew in our teeth whichever way we turned, and almost extinguished -the petty fires near which the cooks were trying to arrange breakfast, -if we may dignify by such a lofty title the frozen bacon, frozen beans, -and frozen coffee which constituted the repast. It is no part of a -soldier’s business to repine, but if there are circumstances to justify -complaint they are the absence of warmth and good food after a wearisome -night march and during the prevalence of a cold winter storm. After -coffee had been swallowed General Crook moved the command down the -“Clear Fork” five miles, to a pleasant cove where we remained all the -rest of that day. Our situation was not enviable. It is true we -experienced nothing we could call privation or hardship, but we had to -endure much positive discomfort. The storm continued all day, the wind -blowing with keenness and at intervals with much power. Being without -tents, there was nothing to do but grin and bear it. Some of our people -stretched blankets to the branches of trees, others found a questionable -shelter under the bluffs, one or two constructed nondescript habitations -of twigs and grass, while General Crook and Colonel Stanton seized upon -the abandoned den of a family of beavers which a sudden change in the -bed of the stream had deprived of their home. To obtain water for men -and animals holes were cut in the ice, which was by actual measurement -eighteen inches thick, clear in color and vitreous in texture. We hugged -the fires as closely as we dared, ashes and cinders being cast into our -faces with every turn in the hurricane. The narrow thread of the stream, -with its opaque and glassy surface of ice, covered with snow, here -drifted into petty hillocks, here again carried away before the gale, -looked the picture of all that could be imagined cheerless and drear. We -tried hard to find pleasure in watching the trouble of our -fellow-soldiers obliged for any reason to attempt a crossing of the -treacherous surface. Commencing with an air of boldness and -confidence—with some, even of indifference—a few steps forward would -serve to intimidate the unfortunate wight, doubly timid now that he saw -himself the butt of all gibes and jeers. Now one foot slips, now -another, but still he struggles manfully on, and has almost gained the -opposite bank, when—slap! bang! both feet go from under him, and a dint -in the solid ice commemorates his inglorious fall. In watching such -episodes we tried to dispel the wearisomeness of the day. Every one -welcomed the advent of night, which enabled us to seek such rest as -could be found, and, clad as we were last night, in the garments of the -day, officers and men huddled close together to keep from freezing to -death. Each officer and man had placed one of his blankets upon his -horse, and, seeing that there was a grave necessity of doing something -to prevent loss of life, General Crook ordered that as many blankets as -could be spared from the pack-trains should be spread over the sleepers. - -It snowed fiercely all night, and was still snowing and blustering -savagely when we were aroused in the morning; but we pushed out over a -high ridge which we took to be part of the chain laid down on the map as -the “Wolf” or “Panther” mountains. The storm continued all day, and the -fierce north wind still blew in our teeth, making us imagine old Boreas -to be in league with the Indians to prevent our occupancy of the -country. Mustaches and beards coated with pendent icicles several inches -long and bodies swathed in raiment of furs and hides made this -expedition of cavalry resemble a long column of Santa Clauses on their -way to the polar regions to lay in a new supply of Christmas gifts. We -saw some very fresh buffalo manure and also some new Indian sign. Scouts -were pushed ahead to scour the country while the command went into -bivouac in a secluded ravine which afforded a sufficiency of water, -cottonwood fuel, and good grass, and sheltered us from the observation -of roving Indians, although the prevailing inclement weather rendered it -highly improbable that many hunters or spies would be far away from -their villages. The temperature became lower and lower, and the regular -indications upon our thermometer after sundown were -6° and -10° of the -Fahrenheit scale. Men and animals had not yet suffered owing to the good -fortune in always finding ravines in which to bivouac, and where the -vertical clay banks screened from the howling winds. The snow continued -all through the night of the 9th and the day of the 10th of March, but -we succeeded in making pretty good marches, following down the course of -Prairie Dog Creek for twenty-two miles in the teeth of a blast which was -laden with minute crystals of snow frozen to the sharpness of razors and -cutting the skin wherever it touched. Prairie Dog Creek at first flows -through a narrow gorge, but this widens into a flat valley filled with -the burrows of the dainty little animals which give the stream its name -and which could be seen in numbers during every lull in the storm -running around in the snow to and from their holes and making tracks in -every direction. Before seeing this I had been under the impression that -the prairie dog hibernated. - -While the severity of the weather had had but slight effect upon the -command directly, the slippery trail, frozen like glass, imposed an -unusual amount of hard labor upon both human and equine members, and it -was only by the greatest exertion that serious accidents were averted in -the crossing of the little ravines which intersected the trail every two -or three hundred yards. One of the corporals of “D” Company, Third -Cavalry, was internally injured, to what extent could not be told at the -moment, by his horse falling upon him while walking by his side. A -“travois” was made of two long saplings and a blanket, in which the -sufferer was dragged along behind a mule. The detachment of guides, sent -out several nights previously, returned this evening, reporting having -found a recently abandoned village of sixty “tepis,” and every -indication of long habitancy. The Indians belonging thereto had plenty -of meat—buffalo, deer, and elk—some of which was left behind upon -departure. A young puppy, strangled to death, was found hanging to a -tree. This is one of the greatest delicacies of every well-regulated -Sioux feast—choked pup. It also figures in their sacrifices, especially -all those in any manner connected with war. The guides had brought back -with them a supply of venison, which was roasted on the embers and -pronounced delicious by hungry palates. The storm abated during the -night, and there were glimpses of the moon behind fleeting clouds, but -the cold became much more intense, and we began to suffer. The next -morning our thermometer failed to register. It did not mark below -22° -Fahrenheit, and the mercury had passed down into the bulb and congealed -into a solid button, showing that at least -39° had been reached. The -wind, however, had gone down, for which we were all thankful. The sun -shone out bright and clear, the frost on the grass glistened like -diamonds, and our poor horses were coated with ice and snow. - -We marched north eight or nine miles down the Tongue River, which had to -be crossed six times on the ice. This was a fine stream, between thirty -and forty yards wide, its banks thickly fringed with box-elder, -cottonwood, and willow. Grama grass was abundant in the foot-hills close -by, and in all respects except cold this was the finest camp yet made. -The main command halted and bivouacked at this point, to enable the -guides to explore to the west, to the Rosebud, and beyond. On the night -of March 11th we had a lovely moonlight, but the cold was still hard to -bear, and the mercury was again congealed. Fortunately no one was -frozen, for which fact some credit is due to the precautions taken in -the matter of clothing, and to the great care manifested by our medical -officer, Surgeon Munn. The exemption of the command from frost-bite was -not more remarkable than the total absence of all ailments of a -pneumonitic type; thus far, there had not been a single instance of -pneumonia, influenza, or even simple cold. I have no hesitancy in saying -that the climate of Wyoming or Montana is better suited for invalids -suffering from lung disorders, not of an aggravated nature, than is that -of Florida; I have some personal acquaintance with the two sections, and -the above is my deliberate conviction. - -Despite the hyperborean temperature, the genial good-humor and -cheerfulness of the whole command was remarkable and deserving of -honorable mention. Nothing tries the spirit and temper of the old -veteran, not to mention the young recruit, as does campaigning under -unusual climatic vicissitudes, at a time when no trace of the enemy is -to be seen. To march into battle with banners flying, drums beating, and -the pulse throbbing high with the promptings of honorable ambition and -enthusiasm, in unison with the roar of artillery, does not call for half -the nerve and determination that must be daily exercised to pursue mile -after mile in such terrible weather, over rugged mountains and through -unknown cañons, a foe whose habits of warfare are repugnant to every -principle of humanity, and whose presence can be determined solely by -the flash of the rifle which lays some poor sentry low, or the whoop and -yell which stampede our stock from the grazing-grounds. The life of a -soldier, in time of war, has scarcely a compensating feature; but he -ordinarily expects palatable food whenever obtainable, and good warm -quarters during the winter season. In campaigning against Indians, if -anxious to gain success, he must lay aside every idea of good food and -comfortable lodgings, and make up his mind to undergo with cheerfulness -privations from which other soldiers would shrink back dismayed. His -sole object should be to strike the enemy and to strike him hard, and -this accomplished should be full compensation for all privations -undergone. With all its disadvantages this system of Indian warfare is a -grand school for the cavalrymen of the future, teaching them fortitude, -vigilance, self-reliance, and dexterity, besides that instruction in -handling, marching, feeding, and fighting troops which no school can -impart in text-books. - -This manner of theorizing upon the subject answered excellently well, -except at breakfast, when it strained the nervous system immensely to -admit that soldiers should under any circumstances be sent out on winter -campaigns in this latitude. Our cook had first to chop with an axe the -bacon which over night had frozen hard as marble; frequently the hatchet -or axe was broken in the contest. Then if he had made any “soft bread,” -that is, bread made of flour and baked in a frying-pan, he had to place -that before a strong fire for several minutes to thaw it so it could be -eaten, and all the forks, spoons, and knives had to be run through hot -water or hot ashes to prevent them from taking the skin off the tongue. -The same rule had to be observed with the bits when our horses were -bridled. I have seen loaves of bread divided into two zones—the one -nearer the blazing fire soft and eatable, the other still frozen hard as -flint and cold as charity. The same thing was to be noticed in the pans -of beans and other food served up for consumption. - -For several days we had similar experiences which need not be repeated. -Our line of march still continued northward, going down the Tongue -River, whose valley for a long distance narrowed to a little gorge -bordered by bluffs of red and yellow sandstone, between one hundred and -fifty and two hundred feet high—in some places much higher—well fringed -with scrub pine and juniper. Coal measures of a quality not definitely -determined cropped out in all parts of the country. By this time we were -pretty far advanced across the borders of the Territory of Montana, and -in a region well grassed with grama and the “black sage,” a plant almost -as nutritious as oats. The land in the stream bottoms seemed to be -adapted for cultivation. Again the scouts crossed over to the Rosebud, -finding no signs of the hostiles, but bringing back the meat of two -buffalo bulls which they had killed. This was a welcome addition to the -food of men without fresh meat of any kind; our efforts to coax some of -the fish in the stream to bite did not meet with success; the weather -was too cold for them to come out of the deep pools in which they were -passing the winter. The ice was not far from two feet in thickness, and -the trout were torpid. The scouts could not explain why they had not -been able to place the villages of the hostiles, and some of our people -were beginning to believe that there were none out from the -reservations, and that all had gone in upon hearing that the troops had -moved out after them; in this view neither Frank Gruard, “Big Bat,” nor -the others of the older heads concurred. - -“We’ll find them pretty soon” was all that Frank would say. As we -approached the Yellowstone we came upon abandoned villages, with the -frame-work of branches upon which the squaws had been drying meat; one -or two, or it may have been three, of these villages had been palisaded -as a protection against the incursions of the Absaroka or Crows of -Montana, who raided upon the villages of the Sioux when the latter were -not raiding upon theirs. Cottonwood by the hundreds of cords lay -scattered about the villages, felled by the Sioux as a food for their -ponies, which derive a small amount of nourishment from the inner bark. -There were Indian graves in numbers: the corpse, wrapped in its best -blankets and buffalo robes, was placed upon a scaffold in the branches -of trees, and there allowed to dry and to decay. The cottonwood trees -here attained a great size: four, five, and six feet in diameter; and -all the conditions for making good camps were satisfied: the water was -excellent, after the ice had been broken; a great sufficiency of -succulent grass was to be found in the nooks sheltered from the wind; -and as for wood, there was more than we could properly use in a -generation. One of the cooks, by mistake, made a fire at the foot of a -great hollow cottonwood stump; in a few moments the combustible interior -was a mass of flame, which hissed and roared through that strange -chimney until it had reached an apparent height of a hundred feet above -the astonished packers seated at its base. Buffalo could be seen every -day, and the meat appeared at every meal to the satisfaction of all, -notwithstanding its stringiness and exceeding toughness, because we -could hit nothing but the old bulls. A party of scouts was sent on in -front to examine the country as far as the valley of the Yellowstone, -the bluffs on whose northern bank were in plain sight. - -There was a great and unexpected mildness of temperature for one or two -days, and the thermometer indicated for several hours as high as 20° -above zero, very warm in comparison with what we had had. General Crook -and the half-breeds adopted a plan of making themselves comfortable -which was generally imitated by their comrades. As soon as possible -after coming into camp, they would sweep clear of snow the piece of -ground upon which they intended making down their blankets for the -night; a fire would next be built and allowed to burn fiercely for an -hour, or as much longer as possible. When the embers had been brushed -away and the canvas and blankets spread out, the warmth under the -sleeper was astonishingly comfortable. Our pack-mules, too, showed an -amazing amount of intelligence. I have alluded to the great trouble and -danger experienced in getting them and our horses across the different -“draws” or “coulées” impeding the march. The pack-mules, of their own -motion, decided that they would get down without being a source of -solicitude to those in charge of them; nothing was more amusing than to -see some old patriarch of the train approach the glassy ramp leading to -the bottom of the ravine, adjust his hind feet close together and slide -in triumph with his load secure on his back. This came near raising a -terrible row among the packers, who, in the absence of other topics of -conversation, began to dispute concerning the amount of sense or “savey” -exhibited by their respective pets. One cold afternoon it looked as if -the enthusiastic champions of the respective claims of “Pinto Jim” and -“Keno” would draw their knives on each other, but the affair quieted -down without bloodshed. Only one mule had been injured during this kind -of marching and sliding—one broke its back while descending an icy -ravine leading to the “Clear Fork” of the Powder. - -Not many moments were lost after getting into bivouac before all would -be in what sailors call “ship shape.” Companies would take the positions -assigned them, mounted vedettes would be at once thrown out on the -nearest commanding hills, horses unsaddled and led to the -grazing-grounds, mules unpacked and driven after, and wood and water -collected in quantities for the cooks, whose enormous pots of beans and -coffee would exhale a most tempting aroma. After eating dinner or -supper, as you please, soldiers, packers, and officers would gather -around the fires, and in groups discuss the happenings of the day and -the probabilities of the future. The Spaniards have a proverb which may -be translated—“A man with a good dinner inside of him looks upon the -world through rosy spectacles”: - - “Barriga llena, - Corazon contento.” - -There was less doubt expressed of our catching Indians; the evidences of -their presence were too tangible to admit of any ambiguity, and all felt -now that we should run in upon a party of considerable size unless they -had all withdrawn to the north of the Yellowstone. These opinions were -confirmed by the return of Frank Gruard with a fine young mule which had -been left behind by the Sioux in one of the many villages occupied by -them along this stream-bed; the animal was in fine condition, and its -abandonment was very good proof of the abundance of stock with which the -savages must be blessed. - -This is how General Crook appeared on this occasion, as I find recorded -in my notes: boots, of Government pattern, number 7; trousers, of brown -corduroy, badly burned at the ends; shirt, of brown, heavy woollen; -blouse, of the old army style; hat, a brown Kossuth of felt, ventilated -at top. An old army overcoat, lined with red flannel, and provided with -a high collar made of the skin of a wolf shot by the general himself, -completed his costume, excepting a leather belt with forty or fifty -copper cartridges, held to the shoulders by two leather straps. His -horse and saddle were alike good, and with his rifle were well cared -for. - -The General in height was about six feet—even, perhaps, a trifle taller; -weight, one hundred and seventy pounds; build, spare and straight; -limbs, long and sinewy; complexion, nervo-sanguine; hair, light-brown; -cheeks, ruddy, without being florid; features, delicately and firmly -chiselled; eyes, blue-gray; nose, a pronounced Roman and quite large; -mouth, mild but firm, and showing with the chin much resolution and -tenacity of purpose. - -As we halted for the night, a small covey of pin-tailed grouse flew -across the trail. Crook, with seven shots of his rifle, laid six of them -low, all but one hit in neck or head. This shooting was very good, -considering the rapidity with which it had to be done, and also the fact -that the shooter’s hands were numb from a long march in the saddle and -in the cold. These birds figured in an appetizing stew at our next -breakfast. We remained in bivouac for a day at the mouth of a little -stream which we took to be Pumpkin Creek, but were not certain, the maps -being unreliable; here was another abandoned village of the Sioux in -which we came across a ghastly token of human habitancy, in the -half-decomposed arm of an Indian, amputated at the elbow-joint, two -fingers missing, and five buckshot fired into it. The guides conjectured -that it was part of the anatomy of a Crow warrior who had been caught by -the Sioux in some raid upon their herds and cut limb from limb. - -The forest of cottonwoods at this place was very dense, and the trees of -enormous size. Upon the inner bark of a number, the Sioux had delineated -in colors many scenes which were not comprehensible to us. There were -acres of fuel lying around us, and we made liberal use of the cottonwood -ashes to boil a pot of hominy with corn from the pack train. Half a -dozen old buffaloes were seen close to camp during the day, one of which -animals was shot by General Crook. When our guides returned from the -Yellowstone, they brought with them the carcasses of six deer, five -white-tailed and one black-tailed, which were most acceptable to the -soldiers. All the trails seen by this reconnoitring party had led over -towards the Powder River, none being found in the open valley of the -Yellowstone. The Sioux and Cheyennes would naturally prefer to make -their winter habitations in the deeper and therefore warmer cañons of -the Rosebud, Tongue, and Powder, where the winds could not reach them -and their stock. The country hereabouts was extremely rough, and the -bluffs were in many places not less than seven hundred and fifty feet in -height above the surface of the stream. It had again become cold and -stormy, and snow was falling, with gusts of wind from the north. The -mercury during the night indicated 10° below zero, but the sky with the -coquetry of a witch had resumed its toilet of blue pinned with golden -stars. Our course led north and east to look for some of the trails of -recent date; the valleys of the creeks seemed to be adapted for -agriculture, and our horses did very well on the rich herbage of the -lower foothills. The mountains between the Tongue and the Powder, and -those between the Tongue and the Rosebud as well, are covered with -forests of pine and juniper, and the country resembles in not a little -the beautiful Black Hills of Dakota. - -This was the 16th of March, and we had not proceeded many miles before -our advance, under Colonel Stanton, had sighted and pursued two young -bucks who had been out hunting for game, and, seeing our column -advancing, had stationed themselves upon the summit of a ridge, and were -watching our movements. Crook ordered the command to halt and bivouac at -that point on the creek which we had reached. Coffee was made for all -hands, and then the purposes of the general commanding made themselves -known. He wanted the young Indians to think that we were a column making -its way down towards the Yellowstone with no intention of following -their trail; then, with the setting of the sun, or a trifle sooner, we -were to start out and march all night in the hope of striking the band -to which the young men belonged, and which must be over on the Powder as -there was no water nearer in quantity sufficient for ponies and -families. The day had been very blustering and chilly, with snow clouds -lowering over us. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI. - -THE ATTACK UPON CRAZY HORSE’S VILLAGE—THE BLEAK NIGHT MARCH ACROSS THE - MOUNTAINS—EGAN’S CHARGE THROUGH THE VILLAGE—STANTON AND MILLS AND - SIBLEY TO THE RESCUE—THE BURNING LODGES—MEN FROZEN—THE WEALTH OF THE - VILLAGE—RETREATING TO LODGE POLE CREEK—CROOK REJOINS US—CUTTING THE - THROATS OF CAPTURED PONIES. - - -General Crook directed General J. J. Reynolds, Third Cavalry, to take -six companies of cavalry, and, with the half-breed scouts, make a forced -march along the trail of the hunters, and see just what he could find. -If the trail led to a village, Reynolds should attack; if not, the two -portions of the command were to unite on the Powder at or near a point -designated. Crook was very kindly disposed towards General Reynolds, and -wanted to give him every chance to make a brilliant reputation for -himself and retrieve the past. Reynolds had been in some kind of trouble -in the Department of Texas, of which he had been the commander, and as a -consequence of this trouble, whatever it was, had been relieved of the -command and ordered to rejoin his regiment. We were out on the trail by -half-past five in the afternoon, and marched rapidly up a steep ravine, -which must have been either Otter or Pumpkin Creek, and about half-past -two in the morning of March 17, 1876, were able to discern through the -darkness the bluffs on the eastern side of the Big Powder; the night was -very cold, the wind blew keenly and without intermission, and there were -flurries of snow which searched out the tender spots left in our faces. - -It was of course impossible to learn much of the configuration and -character of the country in such darkness and under such circumstances, -but we could see that it was largely of the kind called in Arizona -“rolling mesa,” and that the northern exposure of the hills was -plentifully covered with pine and juniper, while grass was in ample -quantity, and generally of the best quality of grama. Stanton led the -advance, having Frank Gruard and one or two assistants trailing in the -front. The work was excellently well done, quite as good as the best I -had ever seen done by the Apaches. Stanton, Mr. Robert E. Strahorn, -Hospital Steward Bryan, and myself made a small party and kept together; -we were the only white men along not connected with the reservations. - -This march bore grievously upon the horses; there were so many little -ravines and gullies, dozens of them not more than three or four feet in -depth, which gashed the face of nature and intersected the course we -were pursuing in so many and such unexpected places, that we were -constantly halting to allow of an examination being made to determine -the most suitable places for crossing, without running the risk of -breaking our own or our horses’ necks. The ground was just as slippery -as glass, and so uneven that when on foot we were continually falling, -and when on horseback were in dread of being thrown and of having our -horses fall upon us, as had already happened in one case on the trip. To -stagger and slip, wrenching fetlocks and pasterns, was a strain to which -no animals could be subjected for much time without receiving grave -injuries. Our horses seemed to enter into the spirit of the occasion, -and when the trail was at all decent would press forward on the bit -without touch of spur. When Frank Gruard had sighted the bluffs of the -Powder, the command halted in a deep ravine, while Frank and a picked -detail went out in front some distance to reconnoitre. The intense cold -had made the horses impatient, and they were champing on the bits and -pawing the ground with their hoofs in a manner calculated to arouse the -attention of an enemy, should one happen to be in the vicinity. They -were suffering greatly for water; the ice king had set his seal upon all -the streams during the past week, and the thickness of the covering seen -was from two and a half to three feet. This thirst made them all the -more restless and nervous. While we halted in this ravine, many of the -men lay down to sleep, much to the alarm of the officers, who, in fear -that they would not awaken again, began to shake and kick them back to -wakefulness. - -By looking up at the “Dipper” we could see that we were travelling -almost due east, and when our scouts returned they brought the important -information that the two Indians whom we had been following had been -members of a hunting party of forty, mounted, whose trail we were now -upon. Frank led off at a smart pace, and we moved as fast as we could in -rear; the mists and clouds of night were breaking, and a faint sign in -the east told the glad news that dawn was coming. Directly in front of -us and at a very short distance away, a dense column of smoke betrayed -the existence of a village of considerable size, and we were making all -due preparations to attack it when, for the second time, Frank returned -with the information that the smoke came from one of the burning -coal-measures of which Montana and Wyoming were full. Our disappointment -was merely temporary; we had not begun fairly to growl at our luck -before Frank returned in a most gleeful mood, announcing that the -village had been sighted, and that it was a big one at the base of the -high cliffs upon which we were standing. - -The plan of battle was after this manner: Reynolds had three battalions, -commanded respectively by Moore, Mills, and Noyes. Noyes’s battalion was -to make the first move, Egan’s company, with its revolvers, charging in -upon the village, and Noyes cutting out and driving off the enemy’s herd -of ponies. Mills was to move in rear of Noyes, and, after the village -had been charged, move into and take possession of it, occupy the plum -thicket surrounding it, and destroy all the “tepis” and plunder of all -kinds. These battalions were to descend into the valley of the Powder -through a ravine on our right flank, while Moore with his two companies -was to move to the left and take up a position upon the hills -overlooking the village, and receive the flying Indians with a shower of -lead when they started to flee from their lodges, and attempted to get -positions in the brakes or bluffs to annoy Egan. - -Noyes led off with his own and Egan’s companies, and Frank Gruard, “Big -Bat,” and others of the scouts showing the path down the ravine; the -descent was a work of herculean difficulty for some of the party, as the -horses slipped and stumbled over the icy ground, or pressed through the -underbrush and fallen rocks and timber. At length we reached the narrow -valley of the Powder, and all hands were impatient to begin the charge -at once. This, Major Noyes would not allow; he sent Gruard, “Big Bat,” -and “Little Bat” to the front to look at the ground and report whether -or not it was gashed by any ravines which would render the advance of -cavalry difficult. Their report was favorable, nothing being seen to -occasion fear that a mounted force could not approach quite close to the -lodges. It was a critical moment, as Frank indicated where the Indian -boys were getting ready to drive the herds of ponies down to water, -which meant that the village would soon be fully aroused. At last we -were off, a small band of forty-seven all told, including the brave -“Teddy” Egan himself, Mr. Strahorn, the representative of the _Rocky -Mountain News_, a man who displayed plenty of pluck during the entire -campaign, Hospital Steward Bryan, and myself. We moved out from the -gulch in column of twos, Egan at the head; but upon entering the main -valley the command “Left front into line” was given, and the little -company formed a beautiful line in less time than it takes to narrate -it. We moved at a fast walk, and as soon as the command “Charge” should -be given, we were to quicken the gait to a trot, but not move faster on -account of the weak condition of our stock. When the end of the village -was reached we were to charge at full gallop down through the lines of -“tepis,” firing our revolvers at everything in sight; but if unable to -storm the village, we were to wheel about and charge back. Just as we -approached the edge of the village we came upon a ravine some ten feet -in depth and of a varying width, the average being not less than fifty. -We got down this deliberately, and at the bottom and behind a stump saw -a young boy about fifteen years old driving his ponies. He was not ten -feet off. The youngster wrapped his blanket about him and stood like a -statue of bronze, waiting for the fatal bullet; his features were as -immobile as if cut in stone. The American Indian knows how to die with -as much stoicism as the East Indian. I levelled my pistol. “Don’t -shoot,” said Egan, “we must make no noise.” We were up on the bench upon -which the village stood, and the war-whoop of the youngster was ringing -wildly in the winter air, awakening the echoes of the bald-faced bluffs. -The lodges were not arranged in any order, but placed where each could -secure the greatest amount of protection from the configuration of the -coves and nooks amid the rocks. The ponies close to the village trotted -off slowly to the right and left as we drew near; the dogs barked and -howled and scurried out of sight; a squaw raised the door of her lodge, -and seeing the enemy yelled with all her strength, but as yet there had -been not one shot fired. We had emerged from the clump of cottonwoods -and the thick undergrowth of plum bushes immediately alongside of the -nearest “tepis,” when the report of the first Winchester and the zipp of -the first bullet notified us that the fun had begun. - -The enemy started out from their lodges, running for the rocky bluffs -overlooking the valley, there to take position, but turning to let us -have the benefit of a shot every moment or so. We could not see much at -which to fire, the “tepis” intervening, but we kept on our way through -the village, satisfied that the flight of the hostiles would be -intercepted by Moore from his place upon the hills. The Indians did not -shoot at our men, they knew a trick worth two of that: they fired -deliberately at our horses, with the intention of wounding some of them -and rendering the whole line unmanageable. The first shot struck the -horse of the troop blacksmith in the intestines, and made him rear and -plunge and fall over backwards. That meant that both horse and man were -_hors du combat_ until the latter could extricate himself, or be -extricated from under the dying, terrified animal. The second bullet -struck the horse of Steward Bryan in the head, and knocked out both his -eyes; as his steed stiffened in death, Bryan, who was riding next to me, -called out, “There is something the matter with my horse!” The third -missile was aimed at “Teddy” Egan, but missed him and cut the bridle of -my old plug as clean as if it had been a piece of tissue paper. From -that on the fire became a volley, although the people of the village -were retreating to a place of safety for their women and children. - -The herd of ponies had been “cut out,” and they were now afoot unless -they could manage to recapture them. Two or three boys made an attempt -to sneak around on our right flank and run the herd back up among the -high bluffs, where they would be practically safe from our hands. This -was frustrated by Egan, who covered the line of approach with his fire, -and had the herd driven slightly to our rear. The advantages, however, -were altogether on the side of the Sioux and Cheyennes, as our promised -support did not arrive as soon as expected, and the fire had begun to -tell upon us; we had had three men wounded, one in the lower part of the -lungs, one in the elbow-joint, and one in the collar-bone or upper part -of the chest; six horses had been killed and three wounded, one of the -latter being Egan’s own, which had been hit in the neck. The men wounded -were not the men on the wounded horses, so that at this early stage of -the skirmish we had one-fourth of our strength disabled. We held on to -the village as far as the centre, but the Indians, seeing how feeble was -our force, rallied, and made a bold attempt to surround and cut us off. -At this moment private Schneider was killed. Egan was obliged to -dismount the company and take shelter in the plum copse along the border -of the ice-locked channel of the Powder, and there defend himself to the -best of his ability until the arrival of the promised reënforcements. - -Noyes had moved up promptly in our rear and driven off the herd of -ponies, which was afterwards found to number over seven hundred; had he -charged in echelon on our left, he would have swept the village, and -affairs would have had a very different ending, but he complied with his -instructions, and did his part as directed by his commander. In the work -of securing the herd of ponies, he was assisted by the half-breed -scouts. - -Colonel Stanton and Lieutenant Sibley, hearing the constant and heavy -firing in front, moved up without orders, leading a small party of the -scouts, and opened an effective fire on our left. Half an hour had -passed, and Moore had not been heard from; the Indians under the fire -from Stanton and Sibley on our left, and Egan’s own fire, had retired to -the rocks on the other side of the “tepis,” whence they kept plugging -away at any one who made himself visible. They were in the very place -where it was expected that Moore was to catch them, but not a shot was -heard for many minutes; and when they were it was no help to us, but a -detriment and a danger, as the battalion upon which we relied so much -had occupied an entirely different place—one from which the fight could -not be seen at all, and from which the bullets dropped into Egan’s -lines. - -Mills advanced on foot, passing by Egan’s left, but not joining him, -pushed out from among the lodges the scattering parties still lurking -there, and held the undergrowth on the far side; after posting his men -advantageously, he detailed a strong party to burn and destroy the -village. Egan established his men on the right, and sent a party to aid -in the work of demolition and destruction. It was then found that a -great many of our people had been severely hurt by the intense cold. In -order to make the charge as effective as possible, we had disrobed and -thrown to one side, upon entering the village, all the heavy or cumbrous -wraps with which we could dispense. The disagreeable consequence was -that many men had feet and fingers, ears and noses frozen, among them -being Lieutenant Hall and myself. Hall had had much previous experience -in the polar climate of these northwestern mountains, and showed me how -to treat myself to prevent permanent disability. - -He found an air-hole in the ice, into which we thrust feet and hands, -after which we rubbed them with an old piece of gunny-sack, the roughest -thing we could find, to restore circulation. Steward Bryan, who seemed -to be full of resources and forethought, had carried along with him a -bottle of tincture of iodine for just such emergencies; this he applied -liberally to our feet and to all the other frozen limbs, and thus -averted several cases of amputation. While Steward Bryan was engaged in -his work of mercy, attending to the wounded and the frozen, Mills’s and -Egan’s detachments were busy setting fire to the lodges, of elk and -buffalo hide and canvas, which numbered over one hundred. - -For the information of readers who may never have seen such lodges or -“tepis,” as they are called in the language of the frontier, I will say -that they are large tents, supported upon a conical frame-work of fir or -ash poles about twenty feet long, spread out at the bottom so as to give -an interior space with a diameter of from eighteen to twenty-five feet. -This is the average size, but in each large village, like the present -one, was to be found one or more very commodious lodges intended for the -use of the “council” or for the ceremonies of the “medicine” bands; -there were likewise smaller ones appropriated to the use of the sick or -of women living in seclusion. In the present case, the lodges would not -burn, or, to speak more explicitly, they exploded as soon as the flames -and heat had a chance to act upon the great quantities of powder in kegs -and canisters with which they were all supplied. When these loose kegs -exploded the lodge-poles, as thick as a man’s wrist and not less than -eighteen feet long, would go sailing like sky-rockets up into the air -and descend to smash all obstacles in their way. It was a great wonder -to me that some of our party did not receive serious injuries from this -cause. - -In one of the lodges was found a wounded squaw, who stated that she had -been struck in the thigh in the very beginning of the fight as her -husband was firing out from the entrance to the lodge. She stated that -this was the band of “Crazy Horse,” who had with him a force of the -Minneconjou Sioux, but that the forty new canvas lodges clustered -together at the extremity by which we had entered belonged to some -Cheyennes who had recently arrived from the “Red Cloud” Agency. Two -lodges of Sioux had arrived from the same agency two days previously -with the intention of trading with the Minneconjoux. - -What with the cold threatening to freeze us, the explosions of the -lodges sending the poles whirling through the air, and the leaden -attentions which the enemy was once more sending in with deadly aim, our -situation was by no means agreeable, and I may claim that the notes -jotted down in my journal from which this narrative is condensed were -taken under peculiar embarrassments. “Crazy Horse’s” village was -bountifully provided with all that a savage could desire, and much -besides that a white man would not disdain to class among the comforts -of life. - -There was no great quantity of baled furs, which, no doubt, had been -sent in to some of the posts or agencies to be traded off for the -ammunition on hand, but there were many loose robes of buffalo, elk, -bear, and beaver; many of these skins were of extra fine quality. Some -of the buffalo robes were wondrously embroidered with porcupine quills -and elaborately decorated with painted symbolism. One immense elk skin -was found as large as two and a half army blankets; it was nicely tanned -and elaborately ornamented. The couches in all the lodges were made of -these valuable furs and peltries. Every squaw and every buck was -provided with a good-sized valise of tanned buffalo, deer, elk, or pony -hide, gaudily painted, and filled with fine clothes, those of the squaws -being heavily embroidered with bead-work. Each family had similar trunks -for carrying kitchen utensils and the various kinds of herbs that the -plains’ tribes prized so highly. There were war-bonnets, strikingly -beautiful in appearance, formed of a head-band of red cloth or of beaver -fur, from which depended another piece of red cloth which reached to the -ground when the wearer was mounted, and covered him and the pony he -rode. There was a crown of eagle feathers, and similar plumage was -affixed to the tail-piece. Bells, ribbons, and other gew-gaws were also -attached and occasionally I have noticed a pair of buffalo horns, shaved -down fine, surmounting the head. Altogether, these feather head-dresses -of the tribes in the Missouri drainage were the most impressive and -elegant thing to be seen on the border. They represented an investment -of considerable money, and were highly treasured by the proud -possessors. They were not only the _indicia_ of wealth, but from the -manner in which the feathers were placed and nicked, the style of the -ornamentation, and other minute points readily recognizable by the other -members of the tribe, all the achievements of the wearer were recorded. -One could tell at a glance whether he had ever stolen ponies, killed -men, women, or children, been wounded, counted “coup,” or in any other -manner demonstrated that his deeds of heroism were worthy of being -chanted in the dances and around the camp-fires. In each lodge there -were knives and forks, spoons, tin cups, platters, mess-pans, -frying-pans, pots and kettles of divers shapes, axes, hatchets, -hunting-knives, water-kegs, blankets, pillows, and every conceivable -kind of truck in great profusion. Of the weight of dried and fresh -buffalo meat and venison no adequate idea can be given; in three or four -lodges I estimated that there were not less than one thousand pounds. As -for ammunition, there was enough for a regiment; besides powder, there -was pig-lead with the moulds for casting, metallic cartridges, and -percussion caps. One hundred and fifty saddles were given to the flames. - -Mills and Egan were doing excellent work in the village itself; the herd -of ponies was in Noyes’s hands, and why we should not have held our -place there, and if necessary fortified and sent word to Crook to come -across the trail and join us, is one of those things that no man can -explain. We had lost three killed, and had another man wounded mortally. -General Reynolds concluded suddenly to withdraw from the village, and -the movement was carried out so precipitately that we practically -abandoned the victory to the savages. There were over seven hundred -ponies, over one hundred and fifty saddles, tons upon tons of meat, -hundreds of blankets and robes, and a very appreciable addition to our -own stock of ammunition in our hands, and the enemy driven into the -hills, while we had Crook and his four companies to depend upon as a -reserve, and yet we fell back at such a rate that our dead were left in -the hands of the Indians, and, as was whispered among the men, one of -our poor soldiers fell alive into the enemy’s hands and was cut limb -from limb. I do not state this fact of my own knowledge, and I can only -say that I believe it to be true. We pushed up the Powder as fast as our -weary horses could be made to move, and never halted until after we had -reached the mouth of Lodge Pole Creek, where we awaited the arrival of -General Crook. - -The bivouac at the mouth of the Lodge Pole was especially dreary and -forlorn; the men nicknamed it “Camp Inhospitality”: there was a -sufficiency of water—or ice—enough wood, but very little grass for the -animals. There was nothing to eat; not even for the wounded men, of whom -we had six, who received from Surgeon Munn and his valuable assistant, -Steward Bryan, and Doctor Ridgeley all the care which it was possible to -give. Here and there would be found a soldier, or officer, or scout who -had carried a handful of cracker-crumbs in his saddle-bags, another who -had had the good sense to pick up a piece of buffalo meat in the -village, or a third who could produce a spoonful of coffee. With these a -miserable apology was made for supper, which was not ready until very -late; because the rear-guard of scouts and a handful of soldiers—which, -under Colonel Stanton, Frank Gruard, “Big Bat,” and others, had rounded -up and driven off the herd of ponies—did not join until some time after -sundown. A small slice of buffalo meat, roasted in the ashes, went -around among five or six; and a cup of coffee would be sipped like the -pipe of peace at an Indian council. - -The men, being very tired with the long marching, climbing, and fighting -of the past two days, were put on a “running guard” to give each the -smallest amount possible of work and the greatest of sleep. No guard was -set over the herd, and no attempt was made to protect it, and in -consequence of this great neglect the Indians, who followed us during -the night, had not the slightest trouble in recovering nearly all that -originally belonged to them. Even when the loss was discovered and the -fact reported that the raiders were still in sight, going over a low -bluff down the valley, no attention was paid, and no attempt made to -pursue and regain the mainstay of Indian hostility. The cold and -exposure had begun to wear out both horses and men, and Doctor Munn had -now all he could do in looking after the numerous cases of frost-bite -reported in the command; my recollection is that there were sixty-six -men whose noses, feet, or fingers were more or less imperilled by the -effects of the cold. Added to these were two cases of inflammatory -rheumatism, which were almost as serious as those of the wounded men. - -Crook reached camp about noon of the 18th of March, and it goes without -saying that his presence was equal to that of a thousand men. He -expressed his gratification upon hearing of our successful finding of -“Crazy Horse’s” village, as that chief was justly regarded as the -boldest, bravest, and most skilful warrior in the whole Sioux nation; -but he could not conceal his disappointment and chagrin when he learned -that our dead and wounded had been needlessly abandoned to the enemy, -and that with such ample supplies of meat and furs at hand our men had -been made to suffer from hunger and cold, with the additional fatigue of -a long march which could have been avoided by sending word to him. -Crook, with a detachment from the four companies left with him, had come -on a short distance in advance of Hawley’s and Dewees’s battalions, and -run in upon the rear-guard of the Cheyennes and Sioux who had stampeded -so many of the ponies from Reynolds’s bivouac; the General took sight at -one of the Indians wearing a war-bonnet and dropped him out of the -saddle; the Indian’s comrades seized him and took off through the broken -country, but the pony, saddle, buffalo robe, blanket, and bonnet of the -dead man fell into our hands, together with nearly a hundred of the -ponies; which were driven along to our forlorn camp at the confluence of -the Lodge Pole and the Powder. - -There was nothing for Crook to do but abandon the expedition, and return -to the forts, and reorganize for a summer campaign. We had no beef, as -our herd had been run off on account of the failure to guard it; we were -out of supplies, although we had destroyed enough to last a regiment for -a couple of months; we were encumbered with sick, wounded, and cripples -with frozen limbs, because we had not had sense enough to save the furs -and robes in the village; and the enemy was thoroughly aroused, and -would be on the _qui vive_ for all that we did. To old Fort Reno, by way -of the valley of the Powder, was not quite ninety miles. The march was -uneventful, and there was nothing to note beyond the storms of snow and -wind, which lasted, with some spasmodic intermissions, throughout the -journey. The wind blew from the south, and there was a softening of the -ground, which aggravated the disagreeable features by adding mud to our -other troubles. - -The Indians hung round our camps every night, occasionally firing a shot -at our fires, but more anxious to steal back their ponies than to fight. -To remove all excuse for their presence Crook ordered that the throats -of the captured ponies be cut, and this was done on two different -nights: first, some fifty being knocked in the head with axes, or having -their throats cut with the sharp knives of the scouts, and again, -another “bunch” of fifty being shot before sun-down. The throat-cutting -was determined upon when the enemy began firing in upon camp, and was -the only means of killing the ponies without danger to our own people. -It was pathetic to hear the dismal trumpeting (I can find no other word -to express my meaning) of the dying creatures, as the breath of life -rushed through severed windpipes. The Indians in the bluffs recognized -the cry, and were aware of what we were doing, because with one yell of -defiance and a parting volley, they left us alone for the rest of the -night. - -Steaks were cut from the slaughtered ponies and broiled in the ashes by -the scouts; many of the officers and soldiers imitated their example. -Prejudice to one side, the meat is sweet and nourishing, not inferior to -much of the stringy beef that used to find its way to our markets. - -Doctor Munn, Doctor Ridgeley, and Steward Bryan were kept fully occupied -in tending to the patients under their charge, and were more than -pleased when the wagon-train was reached, and “travois” and saddles -could be exchanged for ambulances and wagons. - -Our reception by our comrades back at the wagon-train—Coates, Ferris, -and Mason—was most cordial and soldier-like. The most gratifying proof -of their joy at our return was found in the good warm supper of coffee, -bacon, and beans prepared for every one of our columns, commissioned and -enlisted. The ice in the Powder proved very treacherous, as all “alkali” -ice will; it was not half so thick as it had been found on the Tongue, -where it had ranged from two to three feet. General Crook distributed -the troops to the various military posts, and returned to his -headquarters in Omaha. The conduct of certain officers was the subject -of an investigation by a general court-martial, but it is not my purpose -to overcrowd my pages with such matters, which can be readily looked up -by readers interested in them. On our way down to Cheyenne, we -encountered squads upon squads of adventurers, trudging on foot or -riding in wagons to the Black Hills. At “Portuguese Phillip’s” ranche, -sixty-eight of these travellers had sat down to supper in one day; while -at Fagan’s, nearer Cheyenne, during the snow-storm of March 26th and -27th, two hundred and fifty had slept in the kitchens, stables, and -out-houses. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII. - -THE SUMMER CAMPAIGN OF 1876—THE SIOUX AND CHEYENNES GETTING UGLY—RAIDING - THE SETTLEMENTS—ATTEMPT TO AMBUSCADE CROOK—KILLING THE - MAIL-RIDER—THE STORY OF THE FETTERMAN MASSACRE—LAKE DE SMET—OUR - FIRST THUNDER STORM—A SOLDIER’S BURIAL—THE SIOUX ATTACK OUR - CAMP—TROUT-FISHING—BEAR-HUNTING—CALAMITY JANE—THE CROW AND SHOSHONE - ALLIES JOIN THE COMMAND—THE WAR DANCE AND MEDICINE SONG. - - -The lack of coöperation by the troops in the Department of Dakota had -been severely felt; such coöperation had been promised and confidently -expected. It needed no profoundly technical military mind to see that -with two or three strong columns in the field seeking out the hostiles, -each column able to hold its own against the enemy, the chances of -escape for the Sioux and Cheyennes would be materially lessened, and -those of success for the operations of either column, or both, -perceptibly increased. But, with the exception of a telegram from -General Custer, then at Fort Lincoln, dated February 27th, making -inquiry as to the time fixed for the departure of the column under -Reynolds—which question was answered by wire the same day—nothing had -been heard of any column from the Missouri River camps going out after -the Indians whom the authorities wished to have driven into the -reservations. - -With the opening of spring the phases of the problem presented greater -complexity. The recalcitrant Indians were satisfied of their ability not -only to elude pursuit but to present a bold front to the troops, and to -whip them on the field of their choice. They had whipped us—so at least -it seemed to them—on the 17th of March; why could they not do the same -on any other day—the 17th of May, or the 17th of August? Crook -determined to wait for the new grass, without which it would be -impossible to campaign far away from the line of supplies, and to let -the ground become thoroughly dry from the early thaws, before he resumed -the offensive. This would give to such columns as might be designated in -the north as coöperating forces opportunity to get into the field; as it -would also afford the restless young element on the several reservations -chance to deliberate between the policy of peace and war, between -remaining quiet at the agencies, or starting out on a career of -depredation and bloodshed. - -Each day came news, stoutly denied by the agents, that there were -parties slipping away to recruit the forces of the hostiles; it was only -prudent to know in advance exactly how many there would be in our front, -and have them in our front instead of imperilling our rear by starting -out with a leaven of discontent which might do grievous harm to the -ranchos and settlements near the Union Pacific Railroad. That the main -body of the Sioux and Cheyennes was “ugly” no longer admitted of doubt. -Hostilities were not limited to grumbling and growling, to surly looks -and ungracious acts, to mere threats against the agents or some isolated -ranchos; they became active and venomous, especially along the lines of -travel leading to the disputed territory—the “Black Hills.” Attacks upon -trains were a daily—an hourly—occurrence. In one of these the son-in-law -of “Red Cloud” was killed. To defend these travellers there was no -better method than by carrying the war into Africa, and, by means of -swift-moving columns, come upon the villages of the hostiles and destroy -them, giving no time to the young men for amusements. - -Three of the infantry companies from Fort Omaha and Fort Bridger were -detailed to guard the road between Fort Laramie and Custer City; each -company went into an entrenched camp with rifle-pits dug, and all -preparations made for withstanding a siege until help should arrive. -Trains could make their way from one to the other of these fortified -camps with much less danger than before their establishment, while there -were two companies of cavalry, under officers of great experience, to -patrol from Buffalo Gap, at the entrance to the hills, and the North -Platte. These officers were Captain Russell, who had seen much service -in Arizona and New Mexico against the Apaches, and “Teddy” Egan, of the -Second Cavalry, who had led the charge into the village of “Crazy Horse” -on St. Patrick’s Day. Both of these officers and their troops did all -that Crook expected of them, and that was a great deal. The same praise -belongs to the little detachments of infantry, who rendered yeoman -service. Egan was fortunate enough to come up just in the nick of time, -as a train was surrounded and fired upon by six hundred warriors; he led -the charge, and the Indians took to flight. - -There were attacks all along the line: eastward in Nebraska, the Sioux -became very bold, and raided the horse and cattle ranchos in the Loup -Valley; they were pursued by Lieutenant Charles Heyl, Twenty-third -Infantry, with a small detail of men mounted upon mules from the -quartermaster’s corral, and compelled to stand and fight, dropping their -plunder, having one of their number killed, but killing one of our best -men—Corporal Dougherty. In Wyoming, they raided the Chug, and there -killed one of the old settlers—Huntoon—and ran off thirty-two horses. -Lieutenant Allison, Second Cavalry, took the trail, and would have run -his prey down had it not been for a blinding snow-storm which suddenly -arose and obliterated the tracks of the marauders; sufficient was -learned, however, to satisfy Allison that the raiders were straight from -the Red Cloud Agency. When the body of Huntoon was found, it had eleven -wounds—three from arrows. The same or similar tales came in from all -points of the compass—from the villages of the friendly Shoshones and -Bannocks in the Wind River Mountains to the scattered homes on the Lodge -Pole and the Frenchman. - -A large number of the enlisted men belonging to the companies at Fort D. -A. Russell (near Cheyenne, Wyoming) deserted, alleging as a reason that -they did not care to serve under officers who would abandon their dead -and dying to the foe. Every available man of the mounted service in the -Department of the Platte was called into requisition for this campaign; -the posts which had been garrisoned by them were occupied by infantry -companies sent from Omaha, Salt Lake, and elsewhere. The point of -concentration was Fort Fetterman, and the date set as early as -practicable after the first day of May. Two other strong columns were -also to take the field—one under General John Gibbon, consisting of the -troops from the Montana camps; the other, under General Alfred H. Terry, -to start from Fort Lincoln, and to comprise every man available from the -posts in the eastern portion of the Department of Dakota. While the -different detachments were marching to the point of rendezvous, Crook -hurried to Fort Laramie, and thence eastward to the Red Cloud Agency to -hold a conference with the chiefs. - -It was during trips like this—while rolling over the endless plains of -Wyoming, now rivalling the emerald in their vernal splendors—that -General Crook was at his best: a clear-headed thinker, a fluent -conversationalist, and a most pleasant companion. He expressed himself -freely in regard to the coming campaign, but said that while the Sioux -and Cheyennes were a brave and bold people, from the very nature of the -case they would never stand punishment as the Apaches had done. The -tribes of the plains had accumulated much property in ponies and other -things, and the loss of that would be felt most deeply. Crook hoped to -sound the chiefs at the Red Cloud Agency, and learn about where each -stood on the question of peace or hostility; he also hoped to be able to -enlist a small contingent of scouts for service with the troops. General -Crook was unable to find the agent who was absent, but in his place he -explained to the agency clerk what he wanted. The latter did all he -could to prevent any of the chiefs from coming to see General Crook; -nevertheless, “Sitting Bull of the South,” “Rocky Bear,” and “Three -Bears,” prominent in the tribe, came over to the office of the military -commander, Major Jordan, of the Ninth Infantry, and there met Crook, who -had with him Colonel Stanton, Colonel Jordan, Frank Gruard, and myself. -These men spoke in most favorable terms of the propositions laid down by -General Crook, and old “Sitting Bull” (who, although bearing the same -name, was as good as _the_ “Sitting Bull” was bad) assured General Crook -that even if no other chief in the tribe assisted, he would gather -together thirty-five or forty of his young men and go with the soldiers -to help drive the hostiles back to their reservations. - -Although frustrated by the machinations of underlings of the Indian -Bureau at that particular time, all these men kept the word then given, -and appeared in the campaign undertaken later on in the fall. “Sitting -Bull” was too feeble to go out in person, but sent some of his best -young men; and “Three Bears” and “Rocky Bear” went as they promised they -would, and were among the bravest and most active of all the command, -red or white. When Agent Hastings returned there seemed to be a great -change in the feelings of the Indians, and it was evident that he had -done his best to set them against the idea of helping in the campaign. -He expressed himself to the effect that while he would not forbid any -Indian from going, he would not recommend any such movement. General -Crook said that at the council where General Grant had decided that the -northern Sioux should go upon their reservations or be whipped, there -were present, Secretary Chandler, Assistant Secretary Cowan, -Commissioner Smith, and Secretary Belknap. The chiefs were, “Red Cloud,” -“Old Man afraid of his Horses,” “Blue Horse,” “American Horse,” “Little -Wound,” “Sitting Bull of the South,” and “Rocky Bear.” With Agent -Hastings were, Inspector Vandever, and one of the contractors for Indian -supplies, and Mr. R. E. Strahorn. The contractor to whom reference is -here made was afterwards—in the month of November, 1878—convicted by a -Wyoming court, for frauds at this time, at this Red Cloud Agency, and -sent to the penitentiary for two years. Nothing came of this part of the -conference; the Indians, acting under bad advice, as we learned -afterwards, declined to entertain any proposition of enlisting their -people as scouts, and were then told by General Crook that if they were -not willing to do their part in maintaining order among their own people -and in their own country, he would telegraph for the Crows, and -Bannocks, and Shoshones to send down the bands they had asked permission -to send. - -The Sioux appeared very much better off than any of the tribes I had -seen until that time. All of the men wore loose trousers of dark blue -cloth; moccasins of buck or buffalo skin covered with bead work; and -were wrapped in Mackinaw blankets, dark blue or black in color, closely -enveloping the frame; some of these blankets were variegated by a -transverse band of bright red cloth worked over with beads, while -underneath appeared dark woollen shirts. Strings of beads, shells, and -brass rings encircled each neck. The hair was worn long but plain, the -median line painted with vermilion or red ochre. Their faces were not -marked with paint of any kind, an unusual thing with Indians in those -days. - -Smoking was done with beautiful pipes of the reddish ochreous stone -called “Catlinite,” brought from the quarries on the Missouri. The bowls -were prolonged to allow the nicotine to flow downwards, and were -decorated with inlaid silver, speaking highly of the industrial -capabilities of our aborigines. The stem was a long reed or handle of -ash, perforated and beautifully ornamented with feathers and porcupine -quills. Each smoker would take three or four whiffs, and then pass the -pipe to the neighbor on his left. - -General Crook was grievously disappointed at the turn affairs had taken, -but he said nothing and kept his own counsel. Had he obtained three or -four hundred warriors from Red Cloud and Spotted Tail the hostile -element would have been reduced to that extent, and the danger to the -feeble and poorly protected settlements along the Union Pacific lessened -in the same ratio, leaving out of consideration any possible value these -young men might be as scouts and trailers, familiar with all the haunts -and devices of the hostiles. Be it remembered that while these efforts -were going on, the hay scales at the Red Cloud Agency had been burned, -and the government herds run off from both Red Cloud and Spotted Tail -Agencies. - -We left the Red Cloud Agency at four o’clock in the morning, and began -the ascent of the Valley of the “White Earth” creek. After going several -miles, on looking back we saw a great cloud of signal smoke puff up from -the bluffs back of the Indian villages, but just what sort of a signal -it was no one in our party knew. As it happened, we had a strong force, -and instead of the usual escort of ten men or less, with which General -Crook travelled from one post or agency to another, we had no less than -sixty-five men all told, made up of Crook’s own escort, the escort of -Paymaster Stanton, returning from the pay trip. Colonel Ludington, -Inspector General of the Department of the Platte, was also present with -his escort, returning from a tour of inspection of the troops and camps -along the northern border. A dozen or more of the ranchers and others -living in the country had improved the opportunity to get to the -railroad with perfect safety, and thus we were a formidable body. At the -head of the White Earth we halted alongside of a pretty spring to eat -some lunch, and there were passed by the mail-rider, a man named Clark, -who exchanged the compliments of the day, and then drove on toward the -post which he was never to reach. He was ambuscaded and killed by the -band of Sioux who had planned to assassinate Crook but were deterred by -our unexpectedly large force, and, rather than go without killing -something, slaughtered the poor mail-rider, and drove off his horses. -That was the meaning of the smoke puff at Red Cloud; it was, as we -learned long afterwards, the signal to the conspirators that Crook and -his party were leaving the post. - -We passed through Laramie and on to Fetterman as fast as horses and -mules could draw us. Not all the troops had yet reached Fetterman, the -condition of the road from Medicine Bow being fearfully bad. Crook, -after some difficulty, had a cable ferry established, in working order. -The first day sixty thousand pounds of stores were carried across the -river; the second, one hundred thousand pounds, besides soldiers by -solid companies. Every wagon and nearly every mule and horse had to be -carried over in the same manner, because the animals would not approach -the swift current of the swollen Platte; here they showed more sense -than the men in charge of them, and seemed to know instinctively that -the current of the river was too strong to be breasted by man or horse. -One of the teamsters, Dill, fell into the river, and was swept down -before the eyes of scores of terrified spectators and drowned. The -current had the velocity of a mill-race, and the depth was found to vary -from ten to twelve feet close to the shore. Frank Gruard was sent across -the North Platte with a small party of scouts and soldiers to examine -into the condition of the road, and while out on this duty came very -near being cut off by a reconnoitring band of the enemy. - -General Crook assumed command in General Orders, No. 1, May 28, 1876. -Colonel William B. Royall, Third Cavalry, was assigned to the command of -the fifteen companies of cavalry forming part of the expedition, having -under him Colonel Alexander W. Evans, commanding the ten companies of -the Third Cavalry, and Major H. E. Noyes, commanding the five of the -Second Cavalry. - -Five companies of the Ninth and Fourth Infantry were placed under the -command of Colonel Alexander Chambers, of the Fourth Infantry; Captain -Nickerson and Lieutenant Bourke were announced as Aides-de-Camp; Captain -George M. Randall, Twenty-third Infantry, as Chief of Scouts; Captain -William Stanton as Chief Engineer Officer; Captain John V. Furey as -Chief Quartermaster; First Lieutenant John W. Bubb as Commissary of -Subsistence; Assistant Surgeon Albert Hartsuff as Medical Director. The -companies starting out on this expedition and the officers connected -with them were as follows: Company “A,” Third Cavalry, Lieutenant -Charles Morton; Company “B,” Third Cavalry, Captain Meinhold, Lieutenant -Simpson; Company “C,” Third Cavalry, Captain Van Vliet, Lieutenant Von -Leuttewitz; Company “D,” Third Cavalry, Captain Guy V. Henry, Lieutenant -W. W. Robinson; Company “E,” Third Cavalry, Captain Sutorius; Company -“F,” Third Cavalry, Lieutenant B. Reynolds; Company “G,” Third Cavalry, -Lieutenant Emmet Crawford; Company “I,” Third Cavalry, Captain Andrews, -Lieutenants A. D. King and Foster; Company “L,” Third Cavalry, Captain -P. D. Vroom, Lieutenant Chase; Company “M,” Third Cavalry, Captain Anson -Mills and Lieutenants A. C. Paul and Schwatka; Company “A,” Second -Cavalry, Captain Dewees, Lieutenant Peirson; Company “B,” Second -Cavalry, Lieutenant Rawolle; Company “E,” Second Cavalry, Captain Wells, -Lieutenant Sibley; Company “I,” Second Cavalry, Captain H. E. Noyes; -Company “G,” Second Cavalry, Lieutenants Swigert and Huntington; Company -“C,” Ninth Infantry, Captain Sam Munson, Lieutenant T. H. Capron; -Company “H,” Ninth Infantry, Captain A. S. Burt, Lieutenant E. B. -Robertson; Company “G,” Ninth Infantry, Captain T. B. Burroughs, -Lieutenant W. L. Carpenter; Company “D,” Fourth Infantry, Captain A. B. -Cain, Lieutenant H. Seton; Company “F,” Fourth Infantry, Captain Gerard -Luhn. - -Assistant surgeons: Patzki, Stevens, and Powell. - -Chief of pack trains: Mr. Thomas Moore. - -Chief of wagon trains: Mr. Charles Russell. - -Guides: Frank Gruard, Louis Richaud, Baptiste Pourrier (“Big Bat”). - -The press of the country was represented by Joseph Wasson, of the -_Press_, Philadelphia, _Tribune_, New York, and _Alta California_, of -San Francisco, California; Robert E. Strahorn, of the _Tribune_, -Chicago, _Rocky Mountain News_, Denver, Colorado, _Sun_, Cheyenne, -Wyoming, and _Republican_, Omaha, Nebraska; John F. Finerty, _Times_, -Chicago; T. B. MacMillan, _Inter-Ocean_, Chicago; R. B. Davenport, -_Herald_, New York. - -Our camp on the north side of the North Platte presented a picturesque -appearance, with its long rows of shelter tents arranged symmetrically -in a meadow bounded on three sides by the stream; the herds of animals -grazing or running about; the trains of wagons and mules passing from -point to point, united to form a picture of animation and spirit. We had -a train of one hundred and three six-mule wagons, besides one of -hundreds of pack-mules; and the work of ferriage became too great for -mortal strength, and the ferrymen were almost exhausted both by their -legitimate duties and by those of mending and splicing the boat and the -cable which were leaking or snapping several times a day. - -May 29, 1876, saw the column moving out from its camp in front of Fort -Fetterman; the long black line of mounted men stretched for more than a -mile with nothing to break the sombreness of color save the flashing of -the sun’s rays back from carbines and bridles. An undulating streak of -white told where the wagons were already under way, and a puff of dust -just in front indicated the line of march of the infantry battalion. As -we were moving along the same road described in the campaign of the -winter, no further mention is necessary until after passing old Fort -Reno. Meinhold, with two companies, was sent on in advance to -reconnoitre the country, and report the state of the road as well as any -signs of the proximity of large bands of the enemy. Van Vliet was -instructed to push ahead, and keep a look-out for the Crow and Shoshone -scouts who had promised to join the command at or near Reno. In spite of -the fact that summer was already with us, a heavy snow-storm attacked -the column on June 1st, at the time of our coming in sight of the Big -Horn Mountains. The day was miserably cold, water froze in the -camp-kettles, and there was much discomfort owing to the keen wind -blowing down from the frozen crests of the Big Horn. From Reno, Gruard, -Richaud, and “Big Bat” were sent to see what had become of the Crows, -and lead them back to our command on the line of march. - -Before he left Frank gave an account, from the story told him by the -Sioux who had participated in it, of the massacre near this place of the -force of officers and men enticed out from old Fort Kearney. In this sad -affair we lost three officers—Fetterman, Brown, and Grummond—and -seventy-five enlisted, with three civilians, names unknown. The Sioux -admitted to Frank that they had suffered to the extent of one hundred -and eighty-five, killed and wounded. I mention this story here at the -place where we heard it from Frank’s lips, although we afterwards -marched over the very spot where the massacre occurred. - -We broke camp at a very early hour, the infantry being out on the road -by four o’clock each morning, the cavalry remaining for some time later -to let the animals have the benefit of the grass freshened by the frost -of the night previous. We were getting quite close to Cloud Peak, the -loftiest point in the Big Horn range; its massy dome towered high in the -sky, white with a mantle of snow; here and there a streak of darkness -betrayed the attempts of the tall pine trees on the summit to penetrate -to the open air above them. Heavy belts of forest covered the sides of -the range below the snow line, and extended along the skirts of the -foot-hills well out into the plains below. The singing of meadow-larks, -and the chirping of thousands of grasshoppers, enlivened the morning -air; and save these no sound broke the stillness, except the rumbling of -wagons slowly creeping along the road. The dismal snow-storm of which so -much complaint had been made was rapidly superseded by most charming -weather: a serene atmosphere, balmy breeze, and cloudless sky were the -assurances that summer had come at last, and, as if anxious to repair -past negligence, was about to favor us with all its charms. The country -in which we now were was a great grassy plain covered with herbage just -heading into seed. There was no timber except upon the spurs of the Big -Horn, which loomed up on our left covered with heavy masses of pine, -fir, oak, and juniper. From the innumerable seams and gashes in the -flanks of this noble range issue the feeders of the Tongue and Powder, -each insignificant in itself, but so well distributed that the country -is as well adapted for pasturage as any in the world. The bluffs are -full of coal of varying qualities, from lignite to a good commercial -article; one of the men of the command brought in a curious specimen of -this lignite, which at one end was coal and at the other was silicified. -Buffalo tracks and Indian signs were becoming frequent. - -Clear Creek, upon which we made camp, was a beautiful stream—fifty feet -wide, two feet deep; current rapid and as much as eight miles an hour; -water icy-cold from the melting of the snow-banks on the Big Horn; -bottom of gravel; banks gently sloping; approaches good. Grass was -excellent, but fuel rather scarce in the immediate vicinity of the road. -Birds, antelope, and fish began to figure on the mess canvas; the fish, -a variety of sucker, very palatable, were secured by shooting a bullet -under them and stunning them, so that they rose to the surface, and were -then seized. Trout were not yet found; they appear in the greatest -quantity in the waters of Tongue River, the next stream beyond to the -west. There is a variety of tortoise in the waters of these mountains -which is most toothsome, and to my uncultivated taste fully as good as -the Maryland terrapin. - -Here we were visited by messengers from a party of Montana miners who -were travelling across country from the Black Hills back to the -Yellowstone; the party numbered sixty-five, and had to use every -precaution to prevent stampede and surprise; every night they dug -rifle-pits, and surrounded themselves with rocks, palisades, or anything -else that could be made to resist a charge from the Sioux, whose trails -were becoming very thick and plenty. There were many pony, but few -lodge-pole, tracks, a sure indication that the men were slipping out -from Red Cloud and Spotted Tail agencies and uniting with the hostiles, -but leaving their families at home, under the protection of the -reservations. It always seemed to me that that little party of Montana -miners displayed more true grit, more common sense, and more -intelligence in their desperate march through a scarcely known country -filled with hostile Indians than almost any similar party which I can -now recall; they were prepared for every emergency, and did excellent -service under Crook at the Rosebud; but before reaching their objective -point, I am sorry to say, many of their number fell victims to a -relentless and wily foe. - -To prevent any stampede of our stock which might be attempted, our -method of establishing pickets became especially rigid: in addition to -the mounted vedettes encircling bivouac, and occupying commanding buttes -and bluffs, solid companies were thrown out a mile or two in advance and -kept mounted, with the purpose of holding in check all parties of the -enemy which might attempt to rush down upon the herds and frighten them -off by waving blankets, yelling, firing guns, or other tricks in which -the savages were adepts. One platoon kept saddled ready for instant -work; the others were allowed to loosen the cinches, but not to -unsaddle. Eight miles from the ruins of old Fort Kearney, to the east, -we passed Lake De Smet, named after the zealous missionary, Father De -Smet, whose noble life was devoted to the advancement of the Sioux, -Pawnees, Arapahoes, Crows, Blackfeet, Cheyennes, Cœurs d’Alenes, and Nez -Percés, and whose silent ministrations refute the calumny that the -American Indian is not responsive to efforts for his improvement. The -view of this body of water, from the roadside, is very beautiful; in -length, it is nearly three miles; in width, not quite a mile. The water -is clear and cold, but alkaline and disagreeable to the taste. Game and -ducks in great numbers resort to this lake, probably on account of the -mineral contained in its waters, and a variety of pickerel is said to be -abundant. Buffalo were seen near this bivouac—at old Fort Kearney—and -elk meat was brought into camp with beaver, antelope, pin-tailed grouse, -and sickle-billed curlew. - -Our camp on Prairie Dog Creek, at its junction with the Tongue River, -was memorable from being the scene of the killing of the first buffalo -found within shooting distance of the column. Mosquitoes became -troublesome near the water courses. Prairie-dog villages lined the trail -in all places where the sandy soil admitted of easy digging. The last -hour or two of this march was very unpleasant. The heat of the sun -became almost unbearable. Dense masses of clouds moved sluggishly up -from the west and north, while light flaky feathers of vapor flitted -across the sky, coquetting with the breeze, now obscuring the sun, now -revealing his rays. Low, rumbling thunder sullenly boomed across the -horizon, and with the first flash of lightning changed into an almost -continuous roar. The nearest peaks of the Big Horn were hid from our -gaze. The heavy arch of clouds supported itself upon the crests of the -bluffs enclosing the valley of our camp. It was a pretty picture; the -parks of wagons and pack-mules, the bright rows of tentage, and the -moving animals and men gave enough animation to relieve the otherwise -too sombre view of the elements at war. Six buffaloes were killed this -day. - -On the 7th of June we buried the soldier of Meinhold’s company who had -accidentally wounded himself with his own revolver while chopping wood. -Besides the escort prescribed by the regulations, the funeral cortege -was swollen by additions from all the companies of the expedition, the -pack-train, wagoners, officers, and others, reaching an aggregate of -over six hundred. Colonel Guy V. Henry, Third Cavalry, read in a very -feeling manner the burial service from the “Book of Common Prayer,” the -cavalry trumpets sounded “taps,” a handful of earth was thrown down upon -the remains, the grave was rapidly filled up, and the companies at quick -step returned to their tents. There was no labored panegyric delivered -over the body of Tiernan, but the kind reminiscences of his comrades -were equivalent to an eulogy of which an archbishop might have been -proud. Soldiers are the freest from care of any set of men on earth; the -grave had not closed on their comrade before they were discussing other -incidents of the day, and had forgotten the sad rites of sepulture in -which they had just participated. To be more charitable, we were seeing -so much that was novel and interesting that it was impossible to chain -the mind down to one train of thought. Captain Noyes had wandered off -during the storm of the night previous, and remained out of camp all -night hunting for good trout pools. A herd of buffaloes had trotted down -close to our bivouac, and many of our command had been unable to resist -the temptation to go out and have a shot; we knocked over half a dozen -or more of the old bulls, and brought the meat back for the use of the -messes. - -The conversation ran upon the difficulty experienced by the pioneer -party under Captain Andrews, Third Cavalry, in smoothing and -straightening the road during the marches of the past two or three days. -General Crook had been successful in finding the nests and the eggs of -some rare birds, the white-ringed blackbird, the Missouri skylark, and -the crow of this region. He had all his life been an enthusiastic -collector of specimens in natural history, especially in all that -relates to nests and eggs, and had been an appreciative observer of the -valuable work done on the frontier in that direction by Captain Charles -Bendire, of the First Cavalry. - -During the 8th of June there was some excitement among us, owing to the -interchange of conversation between our pickets and a party of Indians -late the previous night. It could not be determined at the moment -whether the language used was Sioux or Crow, or both, but there was a -series of calls and questions which our men did not fully understand; -one query was to the effect that ours might be a Crow camp. A pony was -found outside our lines, evidently left by the visitors. Despatches were -received by General Crook notifying him that all able-bodied male -Indians had left the Red Cloud Agency, and that the Fifth Cavalry had -been ordered up from Kansas to take post in our rear; also that the -Shoshones had sent one hundred and twenty of their warriors to help him, -and that we should look for their arrival almost any day. They were -marching across the mountains from their reservation in the Wind River -range, in the heart of the Rockies. - -June 9, 1876, the monotony of camp life was agreeably broken by an -attack upon our lines made in a most energetic manner by the Sioux and -Cheyennes. We had reached a most picturesque and charming camp on the -beautiful Tongue River, and had thrown out our pickets upon the hill -tops, when suddenly the pickets began to show signs of uneasiness, and -to first walk and then trot their horses around in a circle, a warning -that they had seen something dangerous. The Indians did not wait for a -moment, but moved up in good style, driving in our pickets and taking -position in the rocks, from which they rained down a severe fire which -did no great damage but was extremely annoying while it lasted. We had -only two men wounded, one in the leg, another in the arm, both by -glancing bullets, and neither wound dangerous, and three horses and two -mules wounded, most of which died. The attacking party had made the -mistake of aiming at the tents, which at the moment were unoccupied; but -bullets ripped through the canvas, split the ridge poles, smashed the -pipes of the Sibley stoves, and imbedded themselves in the tail-boards -of the wagons. Burt, Munson, and Burroughs were ordered out with their -rifles, and Mills was ordered to take his own company of the Third -Cavalry and those of Sutorius, Andrews, and Lawson, from Royall’s -command, and go across the Tongue and drive the enemy, which they did. -The infantry held the buttes on our right until after sundown. - -This attack was only a bluff on the part of “Crazy Horse” to keep his -word to Crook that he would begin to fight the latter just as soon as he -touched the waters of the Tongue River; we had scoffed at the message at -first, believing it to have been an invention of some of the agency -half-breeds, but there were many who now believed in its authenticity. -Every one was glad the attack had been made; if it did nothing else, it -proved that we were not going to have our marching for nothing; it kept -vedettes and guards on the alert and camp in condition for fight at a -moment’s notice. Grass becoming scarce on Tongue River Crook moved his -command to the confluence of the two forks of Goose Creek, which is the -largest affluent of the Tongue; the distance was a trifle over seventeen -miles, and during the march a hail-storm of great severity visited us -and continued its pestiferous attentions for some time after tents had -been erected. The situation at the new camp had many advantages: -excellent pasturage was secured from the slopes of the hills; water -flowed in the greatest profusion—clear, sweet, and icy cold, murmuring -gently in the channels on each side; fire-wood in sufficiency could be -gathered along the banks; the view of the mountains was beautiful and -exhilarating, and the climate serene and bracing. Goose Creek was -twenty-five yards wide, with a uniform depth of three feet, but greatly -swollen by recent rains and the melting of the snow-banks up in the -mountains. - -We had to settle down and await the return of Frank Gruard, Louis -Richaud, and “Big Bat,” concerning whose safety not a few of the command -began to express misgivings, notwithstanding they were all experienced -frontiersmen, able to look out for their own safety under almost any -contingencies. The more sanguine held to the view that the Crows had -retired farther into their own country on account of the assembling of -great bands of their enemies—the Sioux and Cheyennes—and that our -emissaries had to travel much farther than they had first contemplated. -But they had been separated from us for ten or twelve days, and it was -becoming a matter of grave concern what to do about them. - -In a bivouac of that kind the great object of life is to kill time. -Drilling and guard duty occupy very few minutes, reading and writing -become irksome, and conversation narrowly escapes the imputation of rank -stupidity. We had enjoyed several pony races, but the best plugs for -that sort of work—Major Burt’s white and Lieutenant Robertson’s bay—had -both been shot during the skirmish of the 9th of the month, the former -fatally, and we no longer enjoyed the pleasure of seeing races in which -the stakes were nothing but a can of corn or a haunch of venison on each -side, but which attracted as large and as deeply interested crowds as -many more pretentious affairs within the limits of civilization. The -sending in of the mail every week or ten days excited a ripple of -concern, and the packages of letters made up to be forwarded showed that -our soldiers were men of intelligence and not absolutely severed from -home ties. The packages were wrapped very tightly, first in waxed cloth -and then in oiled muslin, the official communications of most importance -being tied to the courier’s person, the others packed on a led mule. At -sundown the courier, Harrison, who had undertaken this dangerous -business, set out on his return to Fort Fetterman, accompanied by a -non-commissioned officer whose time had expired. They were to ride only -by night, and never follow the road too closely; by hiding in little -coves high up in the hills during the day they could most easily escape -detection by prowling bands of Indians coming out from the agencies, but -at best it was taking their lives in their hands. - -The packers organized a foot-race, and bets as high as five and ten -thousand dollars were freely waged. These were of the class known in -Arizona as “jawbone,” and in Wyoming as “wind”; the largest amount of -cash that I saw change hands was twenty-five cents. Rattlesnakes began -to emerge from their winter seclusion, and to appear again in society; -Lieutenant Lemly found an immense one coiled up in his blankets, and -waked the echoes with his yells for help. The weather had assumed a most -charming phase; the gently undulating prairie upon whose bosom camp -reposed was decked with the greenest and most nutritive grasses; our -animals lazily nibbled along the hill skirts or slept in the genial -light of the sun. In the shade of the box-elder and willows along the -stream beds the song of the sweet-voiced meadow lark was heard all day. -At rare moments the chirping of grasshoppers might be distinguished in -the herbage; in front of our line of tents a cook was burning or -browning coffee—it was just as often one as the other—an idle recruit -watching the process with a semi-attentive stupefaction. The report of a -carbine, aimed and fired by one exasperated teamster at another -attracted general notice; the assailant was at once put in confinement -and a languid discussion of the merits or supposed merits of the case -undulated from tent to tent. Parties of whist-players devoted themselves -to their favorite game; other players eked out a share of diversion with -home-made checker-boards. Those who felt disposed to test their skill as -anglers were fairly rewarded; the trout began to bite languidly at first -and with exasperating deliberation, but making up for it all later on, -when a good mess could be hooked in a few minutes. Noyes and Wells and -Randall were the trout maniacs, but they had many followers in their -gentle lunacy, which, before the hot weather had ended, spread -throughout the whole command. Mills and his men were more inclined to go -up in the higher altitudes and hunt for bear; they brought in a -good-sized “cinnamon,” which was some time afterwards followed by other -specimens of the bruin family; elk and deer and buffaloes, the last -chiefly the meat of old bulls driven out of the herds to the northwest, -gave relish and variety to the ordinary rations and additional topics -for conversation. - -General Crook was an enthusiastic hunter and fisher, and never failed to -return with some tribute exacted from the beasts of the hills or the -swimmers of the pools; but he frequently joined Burt and Carpenter in -their search for rare birds and butterflies, with which the rolling -plains at the base of the Big Horn were filled. We caught one very fine -specimen of the prairie owl, which seemed wonderfully tame, and -comported itself with rare dignity; the name of “Sitting Bull” was -conferred unanimously, and borne so long as the bird honored camp with -its presence. Lieutenant Foster made numbers of interesting sketches of -the scenery of the Big Horn and the hills nearest the Goose Creek; one -of the packers, a man with decided artistic abilities, named Stanley, -was busy at every spare moment sketching groups of teamsters, scouts, -animals, and wagons, with delicacy of execution and excellent effect. -Captain Stanton, our engineer officer, took his altitudes daily and -noted the positions of the stars. Newspapers were read to pieces, and -such books as had found their way with the command were passed from hand -to hand and read eagerly. Mr. Wasson and I made an arrangement to peruse -each day either one of Shakespeare’s plays or an essay by Macaulay, and -to discuss them together. The discovery of the first mess of luscious -strawberries occasioned more excitement than any of the news received in -the journals of the time, and an alarm on the picket line from the -accidental discharge of a carbine or rifle would bring out all the -conversational strength of young and old. - -It was whispered that one of our teamsters was a woman, and no other -than “Calamity Jane,” a character famed in border story; she had donned -the raiment of the alleged rougher sex, and was skinning mules with the -best of them. She was eccentric and wayward rather than bad, and had -adopted male attire more to aid her in getting a living than for any -improper purpose. “Jane” was as rough and burly as any of her messmates, -and it is doubtful if her sex would ever have been discovered had not -the wagon-master noted that she didn’t cuss her mules with the -enthusiasm to be expected from a graduate of Patrick & Saulsbury’s Black -Hills Stage Line, as she had represented herself to be. The Montana -miners whom we had found near old Fort Reno began to “prospect” the -gulches, but met with slight success. - -During the afternoon of June 14th Frank Gruard and Louis Richaud -returned, bringing with them an old Crow chief; they reported having -been obliged to travel as far as old Fort Smith, on the Big Horn, and -that they had there seen a large village of Crows, numbering more than -two hundred lodges. While preparing a cup of coffee the smoke from their -little fire was discovered by the Crow scouts, and all the young -warriors of the village, mistaking them for a small band of Sioux -raiders, charged across the river and attacked them, nearly killing both -Frank and Bat before mutual recognition was made and satisfactory -greetings exchanged. The Crows were at first reluctant to send any of -their men to aid in the war against the Sioux, alleging that they were -compelled to get meat for their women and children, and the buffaloes -were now close to them in great herds; we might stay out too long; the -enemy was so close to the Crows that reprisals might be attempted, and -many of the Crow women, children, and old men would fall beneath the -bullet and the lance. But at last they consented to send a detachment of -one hundred and seventy-five of their best men to see Crook and talk the -matter over. Frank led them to our deserted camp on the Tongue River, -upon seeing which they became alarmed, and supposed that we must have -had a defeat from the Sioux and been compelled to abandon the country; -only sixteen followed further; of these Frank and Louis took the old -chief and rode as rapidly as possible to our camp on the Goose, leaving -Bat to jog along with fifteen others and join at leisure. - -General Crook ordered a hot meal of coffee, sugar, biscuits, butter, -venison, and stewed dried apples to be set before the guest and guides, -and then had a long talk with the former through the “sign language,” -the curious medium of correspondence between all the tribes east of the -Rocky Mountains, from the Saskatchewan to the Pecos. This language is -ideagraphic and not literal in its elements, and has strong resemblance -to the figure speech of deaf mutes. Every word, every idea to be -conveyed, has its characteristic symbol; the rapidity of transmission is -almost telegraphic; and, as will be demonstrated later on, every -possible topic finds adequate expression. The old chief explained to -Frank that the troops from Montana (Gibbon’s command) were encamped on -the left bank of the Yellowstone, opposite the mouth of the Rosebud, -unable to cross; the hostile Sioux were watching the troops from the -other side. An attempt made by Gibbon to throw his troops across had -resulted in the drowning of one company’s horses in the flood; the Sioux -had also, in some unexplained way, succeeded in running off the ponies -belonging to the thirty Crow scouts attached to Gibbon’s command. - -The main body of the hostile Sioux and Cheyennes was encamped on the -Tongue, near the mouth of Otter Creek, and between that and the -Yellowstone. The Crows had heard that a large band of Shoshones had -started out to join Crook, and should soon be with him at his present -camp. It was a small detachment of Crow scouts that had alarmed our -pickets by yelling some ten nights previously. As soon as the meal and -the conversation were ended Crook sent the old chief back with Louis -Richaud and Major Burt, who from previous service among the Crows was -well acquainted with many of them, to halt the main body and induce them -to enter our camp. Burt was entirely successful in his mission, and -before dusk he was with us again, this time riding at the head of a long -retinue of savage retainers, whose grotesque head-dresses, variegated -garments, wild little ponies, and war-like accoutrements made a quaint -and curious spectacle. - -While the main column halted just inside our camp, the three chiefs—“Old -Crow,” “Medicine Crow,” and “Good Heart”—were presented to General -Crook, and made the recipients of some little attentions in the way of -food. Our newly-arrived allies bivouacked in our midst, sending their -herd of ponies out to graze alongside of our own horses. The entire band -numbered one hundred and seventy-six, as near as we could ascertain; -each had two ponies. The first thing they did was to erect the -war-lodges of saplings, covered over with blankets or pieces of canvas; -fires were next built, and a feast prepared of the supplies of coffee, -sugar, and hard-tack dealt out by the commissary; these are the prime -luxuries of an Indian’s life. A curious crowd of lookers-on—officers, -soldiers, teamsters, and packers—congregated around the little squads of -Crows, watching with eager attention their every movement. The Indians -seemed proud of the distinguished position they occupied in popular -estimation, and were soon on terms of easy familiarity with the -soldiers, some of whom could talk a sentence or two of Crow, and others -were expert to a slight extent in the sign language. - -In stature, complexion, dress, and general demeanor a marked contrast -was observable between our friends and the Sioux Indians, a contrast -decidedly to the advantage of the former. The Absaroka or Crow Indians, -perhaps as a consequence of their residence among the elevated banks and -cool, fresh mountain ranges between the Big Horn River and the -Yellowstone, are somewhat fairer than the other tribes about them; they -are all above medium height, not a few being quite tall, and many have a -noble expression of countenance. Their dress consisted of a shirt of -flannel, cotton, or buckskin; breech-clout; leggings of blanket; -moccasins of deer, elk, or buffalo hide; coat of bright-colored blanket, -made with loose sleeves and hood; and a head-dress fashioned in divers -shapes, but most frequently formed from an old black army hat, with the -top cut out and sides bound round with feathers, fur, and scarlet cloth. -Their arms were all breechloaders, throwing cartridges of calibre .50 -with an occasional .45. Lances, medicine-poles, and tomahawks figured in -the procession. The tomahawks, made of long knives inserted in shafts or -handles of wood and horn, were murderous weapons. Accompanying these -Indians were a few little boys, whose business was to hold horses and -other unimportant work while their elders conducted the dangerous -operations of the campaign. - -At “retreat” all the battalion commanders and staff officers assembled -in front of the tent of the commanding general, and listened to his -terse instructions regarding the approaching march. We were to cut loose -from our wagons, each officer and soldier carrying four days’ rations of -hard bread, coffee, and bacon in saddle-pockets, and one hundred rounds -of ammunition in belts or pouches; one blanket to each person. The -wagons were to be parked and left behind in a defensible position on the -Tongue or Goose, and under the protection of the men unable for any -reason to join in the forward movement; all the infantrymen who could -ride and who so desired were to be mounted on mules from the pack-trains -with saddles from the wagons or from the cavalry companies which could -spare them. If successful in attacking a village, the supplies of dried -meat and other food were to be saved, and we should then, in place of -returning immediately to our train, push on to make a combination with -either Terry or Gibbon, as the case might be. - -Scarcely had this brief conference been ended when a long line of -glittering lances and brightly polished weapons of fire announced the -anxiously expected advent of our other allies, the Shoshones or Snakes, -who, to the number of eighty-six, galloped rapidly up to headquarters -and came left front into line in splendid style. No trained warriors of -civilized armies ever executed the movement more prettily. Exclamations -of wonder and praise greeted the barbaric array of these fierce -warriors, warmly welcomed by their former enemies but at present strong -friends—the Crows. General Crook moved out to review their line of -battle, resplendent in all the fantastic adornment of feathers, beads, -brass buttons, bells, scarlet cloth, and flashing lances. The Shoshones -were not slow to perceive the favorable impression made, and when the -order came for them to file off by the right moved with the precision of -clock-work and the pride of veterans. - -A grand council was the next feature of the evening’s entertainment. -Around a huge fire of crackling boughs the officers of the command -arranged themselves in two rows, the interest and curiosity depicted -upon their countenances acting as a foil to the stolidity and -imperturbable calmness of the Indians squatted upon the ground on the -other side. The breezes blowing the smoke aside would occasionally -enable the flames to bring out in bold and sudden relief the intense -blackness of the night, the sepulchral whiteness of the tents and -wagon-sheets, the blue coats of officers and soldiers (who thronged -among the wagons behind their superiors), the red, white, yellow, and -black beaded blankets of the savages, whose aquiline features and -glittering eyes had become still more aquiline and still more -glittering, and the small group in the centre of the circle composed of -General Crook and his staff, the interpreters—Frank Gruard and “Big Bat” -and Louis—and the Indian chiefs. One quadrant was reserved for the -Shoshones, another for the Crows. Each tribe selected one spokesman, who -repeated to his people the words of the General as they were made known -by the interpreters. Ejaculations of “Ugh! ugh!” were the only signs of -approval, but it was easy enough to see that nothing was lost that was -addressed to them. Pipes of the same kind as those the Sioux have were -kept in industrious circulation. The remarks made by General Crook were -almost identical with those addressed to the Crows alone earlier in the -evening; the Indians asked the privilege of scouting in their own way, -which was conceded. - -An adjournment was ordered at between ten and eleven o’clock to allow -such of our allies as so desired to seek much-needed rest. The Shoshones -had ridden sixty miles, and night was far advanced. The erroneousness of -this assumption was disclosed very speedily. A long series of monotonous -howls, shrieks, groans, and nasal yells, emphasized by a perfectly -ear-piercing succession of thumps upon drums improvised from “parfleche” -(tanned buffalo skin), attracted nearly all the soldiers and many of the -officers not on duty to the allied camp. Peeping into the different -lodges was very much like peeping through the key-hole of Hades. - -Crouched around little fires not affording as much light as an ordinary -tallow candle, the swarthy figures of the naked and half-naked Indians -were visible, moving and chanting in unison with some leader. No words -were distinguishable; the ceremony partook of the nature of an -abominable incantation, and as far as I could judge had a semi-religious -character. One of the Indians, mounted on a pony and stripped almost -naked, passed along from lodge to lodge, stopping in front of each and -calling upon the Great Spirit (so our interpreter said) to send them -plenty of scalps, a big Sioux village, and lots of ponies. The inmates -would respond with, if possible, increased vehemence, and the old saying -about making night hideous was emphatically suggested. With this wild -requiem ringing in his ears one of our soldiers, a patient in hospital, -Private William Nelson, Company “L,” Third Cavalry, breathed his last. -The herd of beef cattle, now reduced to six, became scared by the din -and broke madly for the hills. All night the rain pattered down. - -[Illustration: CHATO.] - -Among our Crows were said to be some very distinguished warriors; one of -these pointed out to me had performed during the preceding winter the -daring feat of stealing in alone upon a Sioux village and getting a fine -pony, which he tied loosely to a stake outside; then he crept back, -lifted up the flap of one of the lodges, and called gently to the -sleepers, who, unsuspecting, answered the grunt, which awakened them, -and thus betrayed just where the men were lying; the Crow took aim -coolly and blew the head off of one of the Sioux, slipped down through -the village, untied and mounted his pony, and was away like the wind -before the astonished enemy could tell from the screaming and jabbering -squaws what was the matter. - -All through the next day, June 15, 1876, camp was a beehive of busy -preparation. Colonel Chambers had succeeded in finding one hundred and -seventy-five infantrymen who could ride, or were anxious to try, so as -to see the whole trip through in proper shape. These were mounted upon -mules from the wagon and pack trains, and the first hour’s experience -with the reluctant Rosinantes equalled the best exhibition ever given by -Barnum. Tom Moore organized a small detachment of packers who had had -any amount of experience; two of them—Young and Delaney—had been with -the English in India, in the wars with the Sikhs and Rohillas, and knew -as much as most people do about campaigning and all its hardships and -dangers. The medical staff was kept busy examining men unfit to go to -the front, but it was remarkable that the men ordered to remain behind -did so under protest. The wagons were parked in a great corral, itself a -sort of fortification against which the Sioux would not heedlessly rush. -Within this corral racks made of willow branches supported loads of wild -meat, drying in the sun: deer and antelope venison, buffalo, elk, and -grizzly-bear meat, the last two killed by a hunting party from the -pack-train the previous day. - -The preparations which our savage allies were making were no less -noticeable: in both Snake and Crow camps could be seen squads of young -warriors looking after their rifles, which, by the way, among the -Shoshones, I forgot to mention, were of the latest model—calibre .45—and -kept with scrupulous care in regular gun-racks. Some were sharpening -lances or adorning them with feathers and paint; others were making -“coup” sticks, which are long willow branches about twelve feet from end -to end, stripped of leaves and bark, and having each some distinctive -mark, in the way of feathers, bells, fur, paint, or bright-colored cloth -or flannel. These serve a singular purpose: the great object of the -Shoshones, Crows, Cheyennes, and Dakotas in making war is to set the -enemy afoot. This done, his destruction is rendered more easy if not -more certain. Ponies are also the wealth of the conquerors; hence, in -dividing the spoil, each man claims the animals first struck by his -“coup” stick. - -With the Snakes were three white men—Cosgrove, Yarnell, and Eckles—all -Texans; and one French-Canadian half-breed, named Luisant. Cosgrove, the -leading spirit, was, during the Rebellion, a captain in the 32d Texas -Cavalry, C. S. A., and showed he had not forgotten the lessons of the -war by the appearance of discipline and good order evinced by his -command, who, in this respect, were somewhat ahead of the Crows. We were -informed that on the march over from Wind River, the Snakes, during one -afternoon, killed one hundred and seventy-five buffaloes on the eastern -slope of the Owl Creek Mountains. In the early hours of the afternoon -the Crows had a foot-race, for twenty cartridges a side; the running was -quite good for the distance of one hundred and fifty yards. - -At sunset we buried Private Nelson, who had died the previous night. The -funeral cortege was decidedly imposing, because, as on all former -occasions of the same nature, all officers and men not engaged on other -duty made it a point to be present at the grave of every dead comrade; -the noise of the parting volleys brought our savages up on a gallop, -persuaded that the Sioux were making a demonstration against some part -of our lines; they dashed up to the side of the grave, and there they -sat motionless upon their ponies, feathers nodding in the breeze, and -lances gleaming in the sun. Some of them wore as many as four rings in -each ear, the entire cartilage being perforated from apex to base. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - -THE COLUMN IN MOTION—RUNNING INTO A GREAT HERD OF BUFFALOES—THE SIGNAL - CRY OF THE SCOUTS—THE FIGHT ON THE ROSEBUD—HOW THE KILLED WERE - BURIED—SCALP DANCE—BUTCHERING A CHEYENNE—LIEUTENANT SCHUYLER - ARRIVES—SENDING BACK THE WOUNDED. - - -On the 16th of June, by five o’clock in the morning, our whole command -had broken camp and was on its way westward; we crossed Tongue River, -finding a swift stream, rather muddy from recent rains, with a current -twenty-five yards wide, and four feet deep; the bottom of hard-pan, but -the banks on one side muddy and slippery. - -The valley, as we saw it from the bluffs amid which we marched, -presented a most beautiful appearance—green with juicy grasses, and dark -with the foliage of cottonwood and willow. Its sinuosities encircled -many park-like areas of meadow, bounded on the land side by bluffs of -drift. The Indians at first marched on the flank, but soon passed the -column and took the lead, the “medicine men” in front; one of the head -“medicine men” of the Crows kept up a piteous chant, reciting the -cruelties of their enemies and stimulating the young men to deeds of -martial valor. In every possible way these savages reminded me of the -descriptions I had read of the Bedouins. - -Our course turned gradually to the northwest, and led us across several -of the tributaries of the Tongue, or “Deje-ajie” as the Crows called it, -each of these of good dimensions, and carrying the unusual flow due to -the rapid melting of snow in the higher elevations. The fine grass seen -close to the Tongue disappeared, and the country was rather more barren, -with many prairie-dog villages. The soil was made up of sandstones, with -a great amount of both clay and lime, shales and lignite, the latter -burnt out. Some of the sandstone had been filled with pyrites, which had -decomposed and left it in a vesicular state. There were a great many -scrub pines in the recesses of the bluffs. The cause for the sudden -disappearance of the grass was soon apparent: the scouts ran in upon a -herd of buffaloes whose cast-off bulls had been the principal factor in -our meat supply for more than a week; the trails ran in every direction, -and the grass had been nipped off more closely than if cut by a scythe. -There was much more cactus than we had seen for some time, and a -reappearance of the sage-brush common nearer to Fort Fetterman. - -In the afternoon, messengers from our extreme advance came as fast as -ponies would carry them, with the information that we were upon the -trail of a very great village of the enemy. The cavalry dismounted and -unsaddled, seeking the shelter of all the ravines to await the results -of the examination to be made by a picked detail from the Crows and -Shoshones. The remaining Indians joined in a wild, strange war-dance, -the younger warriors becoming almost frenzied before the exercises -terminated. The young men who had been sent out to spy the land rejoined -us on a full run; from the tops of the hills they yelled like wolves, -the conventional signal among the plains tribes that the enemy has been -sighted. Excitement, among the Indians at least, was at fever heat; many -of the younger members of the party re-echoed the ululation of the -incoming scouts; many others spurred out to meet them and escort them in -with becoming honors. The old chiefs held their bridles while they -dismounted, and the less prominent warriors deferentially formed in a -circle to listen to their narrative. It did not convey much information -to my mind, unaccustomed to the indications so familiar to them. It -simply amounted to this, that the buffaloes were in very large herds -directly ahead of us, and were running away from a Sioux hunting party. - -Knowing the unfaltering accuracy of an Indian’s judgment in matters of -this kind, General Crook told the chiefs to arrange their plan of march -according to their own ideas. On occasions like this, as I was told by -our scouts and others, the young men of the Assiniboines and Northern -Sioux were required to hold in each hand a piece of buffalo chip as a -sign that they were telling the truth; nothing of that kind occurred on -the occasion in question. While the above was going on, the Indians were -charging about on their hardy little ponies, to put them out of breath, -so that, when they regained their wind, they would not fail to sustain a -whole day’s battle. A little herb is carried along, to be given to the -ponies in such emergencies, but what virtues are attributed to this -medicine I was unable to ascertain. Much solemnity is attached to the -medicine arrows of the “medicine men,” who seem to possess the power of -arbitrarily stopping a march at almost any moment. As I kept with them, -I had opportunity to observe all that they did, except when every one -was directed to keep well to the rear, as happened upon approaching a -tree—juniper or cedar—in the fork of whose lower branches there was a -buffalo head, before which the principal “medicine man” and his -assistant halted and smoked from their long pipes. - -Noon had passed, and the march was resumed to gain the Rosebud, one of -the tributaries of the Yellowstone, marking the ultimate western limit -of our campaign during the previous winter. We moved along over an -elevated, undulating, grassy tableland. Without possessing any very -marked beauty, there was a certain picturesqueness in the country which -was really pleasing. Every few rods a petty rivulet coursed down the -hill-sides to pay its tribute to the Tongue; there was no timber, except -an occasional small cottonwood or willow, to be seen along the banks of -these little water-courses, but wild roses by the thousand laid their -delicate beauties at our feet; a species of phlox, daintily blue in -tint, was there also in great profusion, while in the bushes multitudes -of joyous-voiced singing-birds piped their welcome as the troops filed -by. Yet this lovely country was abandoned to the domination of the -thriftless savage, the buffalo, and the rattlesnake; we could see the -last-named winding along through the tall grass, rattling defiance as -they sneaked away. Buffalo spotted the landscape in every direction, in -squads of ten and twelve and “bunches” of sixty and seventy. These were -not old bulls banished from the society of their mates, to be attacked -and devoured by coyotes, but fine fat cows with calves ambling close -behind them. One young bull calf trotted down close to the column, his -eyes beaming with curiosity and wonder. He was allowed to approach -within a few feet, when our prosaic Crow guides took his life as the -penalty of his temerity. Thirty buffaloes were killed that afternoon, -and the choice pieces—hump, tenderloin, tongue, heart, and rib -steaks—packed upon our horses. The flesh was roasted in the ashes, a -pinch of salt sprinkled over it, and a very savory and juicy addition -made to our scanty supplies. The Indians ate the buffalo liver raw, -sometimes sprinkling a pinch of gall upon it; the warm raw liver alone -is not bad for a hungry man, tasting very much like a raw oyster. The -entrails are also much in favor with the aborigines; they are cleaned, -wound round a ramrod, or something akin to it if a ramrod be not -available, and held in the hot ashes until cooked through; they make a -palatable dish; the buffalo has an intestine shaped like an apple, which -is filled with chyle, and is the _bonne bouche_ of the savages when -prepared in the same manner as the other intestines, excepting that the -contents are left untouched. - -While riding alongside of one of our Crow scouts I noticed tears flowing -down his cheeks, and very soon he started a wail or chant of the most -lugubrious tone; I respected his grief until he had wept to his heart’s -content, and then ventured to ask the cause of such deep distress; he -answered that his uncle had been killed a number of years before by the -Sioux, and he was crying for him now and wishing that he might come back -to life to get some of the ponies of the Sioux and Cheyennes. Two -minutes after having discharged the sad duty of wailing for his dead -relative, the young Crow was as lively as any one else in the column. - -We bivouacked on the extreme head-waters of the Rosebud, which was at -that point a feeble rivulet of snow water, sweet and palatable enough -when the muddy ooze was not stirred up from the bottom. Wood was found -in plenty for the slight wants of the command, which made small fires -for a few moments to boil coffee, while the animals, pretty well tired -out by the day’s rough march of nearly forty miles, rolled and rolled -again in the matted bunches of succulent pasturage growing at their -feet. Our lines were formed in hollow square, animals inside, and each -man sleeping with his saddle for a pillow and with arms by his side. -Pickets were posted on the bluffs near camp, and, after making what -collation we could, sleep was sought at the same moment the black clouds -above us had begun to patter down rain. A party of scouts returned late -at night, reporting having come across a small gulch in which was a -still burning fire of a band of Sioux hunters, who in the precipitancy -of their flight had left behind a blanket of India-rubber. We came near -having a casualty in the accidental discharge of the revolver of Mr. -John F. Finerty, the bullet burning the saddle and breaking it, but, -fortunately, doing no damage to the rider. By daylight of the next day, -June 17, 1876, we were marching down the Rosebud. - -The Crow scouts with whom I was had gone but a short distance when shots -were heard down the valley to the north, followed by the ululation -proclaiming from the hill-tops that the enemy was in force and that we -were in for a fight. Shot after shot followed on the left, and by the -time that two of the Crows reached us, one of them severely wounded and -both crying, “Sioux! Sioux!” it was plain that something out of the -common was to be expected. There was a strong line of pickets out on the -hills on that flank, and this was immediately strengthened by a -respectable force of skirmishers to cover the cavalry horses, which were -down at the bottom of the amphitheatre through which the Rosebud at that -point ran. The Shoshones promptly took position in the hills to the -left, and alongside of them were the companies of the Fourth Infantry, -under Major A. B. Cain, and one or two of the cavalry companies, -dismounted. - -The Sioux advanced boldly and in overwhelming force, covering the hills -to the north, and seemingly confident that our command would prove an -easy prey. In one word, the battle of the Rosebud was a trap, and “Crazy -Horse,” the leader in command here as at the Custer massacre a week -later, was satisfied he was going to have everything his own way. He -stated afterwards, when he had surrendered to General Crook at the -agency, that he had no less than six thousand five hundred men in the -fight, and that the first attack was made with fifteen hundred, the -others being concealed behind the bluffs and hills. His plan of battle -was either to lead detachments in pursuit of his people, and turning -quickly cut them to pieces in detail, or draw the whole of Crook’s -forces down into the cañon of the Rosebud, where escape would have been -impossible, as it formed a veritable _cul de sac_, the vertical walls -hemming in the sides, the front being closed by a dam and abatis of -broken timber which gave a depth of ten feet of water and mud, the rear, -of course, to be shut off by thousands of yelling, murderous Sioux and -Cheyennes. That was the Sioux programme as learned that day, or -afterwards at the agencies from the surrendered hostiles in the spring -of the following year. - -While this attack was going on on our left and front, a determined -demonstration was made by a large body of the enemy on our right and -rear, to repel which Colonel Royall, Third Cavalry, was sent with a -number of companies, mounted, to charge and drive back. I will restrict -my observations to what I saw, as the battle of the Rosebud has been -several times described in books and any number of times in the -correspondence sent from the command to the journals of those years. The -Sioux and Cheyennes, the latter especially, were extremely bold and -fierce, and showed a disposition to come up and have it out hand to -hand; in all this they were gratified by our troops, both red and white, -who were fully as anxious to meet them face to face and see which were -the better men. At that part of the line the enemy were disconcerted at -a very early hour by the deadly fire of the infantry with their long -rifles. As the hostiles advanced at a full run, they saw nothing in -their front, and imagined that it would be an easy thing for them to -sweep down through the long ravine leading to the amphitheatre, where -they could see numbers of our cavalry horses clumped together. They -advanced in excellent style, yelling and whooping, and glad of the -opportunity of wiping us off the face of the earth. When Cain’s men and -the detachments of the Second Cavalry which were lying down behind a low -range of knolls rose up and delivered a withering fire at less than a -hundred and fifty yards, the Sioux turned and fled as fast as “quirt” -and heel could persuade their ponies to get out of there. - -But, in their turn, they re-formed behind a low range not much over -three hundred yards distant, and from that position kept up an annoying -fire upon our men and horses. Becoming bolder, probably on account of -re-enforcements, they again charged, this time upon a weak spot in our -lines a little to Cain’s left; this second advance was gallantly met by -a counter-charge of the Shoshones, who, under their chief “Luishaw,” -took the Sioux and Cheyennes in flank and scattered them before them. I -went in with this charge, and was enabled to see how such things were -conducted by the American savages, fighting according to their own -notions. There was a headlong rush for about two hundred yards, which -drove the enemy back in confusion; then was a sudden halt, and very many -of the Shoshones jumped down from their ponies and began firing from the -ground; the others who remained mounted threw themselves alongside of -their horses’ necks, so that there would be few good marks presented to -the aim of the enemy. Then, in response to some signal or cry which, of -course, I did not understand, we were off again, this time for good, and -right into the midst of the hostiles, who had been halted by a steep -hill directly in their front. Why we did not kill more of them than we -did was because they were dressed so like our own Crows that even our -Shoshones were afraid of mistakes, and in the confusion many of the -Sioux and Cheyennes made their way down the face of the bluffs unharmed. - -From this high point there could be seen on Crook’s right and rear a -force of cavalry, some mounted, others dismounted, apparently in the -clutches of the enemy; that is to say, a body of hostiles was engaging -attention in front and at the same time a large mass, numbering not less -than five hundred, was getting ready to pounce upon the rear and flank -of the unsuspecting Americans. I should not forget to say that while the -Shoshones were charging the enemy on one flank, the Crows, led by Major -George M. Randall, were briskly attacking them on the other; the latter -movement had been ordered by Crook in person and executed in such a bold -and decisive manner as to convince the enemy that, no matter what their -numbers were, our troops and scouts were anxious to come to hand-to-hand -encounters with them. This was really the turning-point of the Rosebud -fight for a number of reasons: the main attack had been met and broken, -and we had gained a key-point enabling the holder to survey the whole -field and realize the strength and intentions of the enemy. The loss of -the Sioux at this place was considerable both in warriors and ponies; we -were at one moment close enough to them to hit them with clubs or “coup” -sticks, and to inflict considerable damage, but not strong enough to -keep them from getting away with their dead and wounded. A number of our -own men were also hurt, some of them quite seriously. I may mention a -young trumpeter—Elmer A. Snow, of Company M, Third Cavalry—who went in -on the charge with the Shoshones, one of the few white men with them; he -displayed noticeable gallantry, and was desperately wounded in both -arms, which were crippled for life; his escape from the midst of the -enemy was a remarkable thing. - -I did not learn until nightfall that at the same time they made the -charge just spoken of; the enemy had also rushed down through a ravine -on our left and rear, reaching the spring alongside of which I had been -seated with General Crook at the moment the first shots were heard, and -where I had jotted down the first lines of the notes from which the -above condensed account of the fight has been taken. At that spring they -came upon a young Shoshone boy, not yet attained to years of manhood, -and shot him through the back and killed him, taking his scalp from the -nape of the neck to the forehead, leaving his entire skull ghastly and -white. It was the boy’s first battle, and when the skirmishing began in -earnest he asked permission of his chief to go back to the spring and -decorate himself with face-paint, which was already plastered over one -cheek, and his medicine song was half done, when he received the fatal -shot. - -Crook sent orders for all troops to fall back until the line should be -complete; some of the detachments had ventured out too far, and our -extended line was too weak to withstand a determined attack in force. -Burt and Burroughs were sent with their companies of the Ninth Infantry -to drive back the force which was congregating in the rear of Royall’s -command, which was the body of troops seen from the hill crest almost -surrounded by the foe. Tom Moore with his sharpshooters from the -pack-train, and several of the Montana miners who had kept along with -the troops for the sake of a row of some kind with the natives, were -ordered to get into a shelf of rocks four hundred yards out on our front -and pick off as many of the hostile chiefs as possible and also to make -the best impression upon the flanks of any charging parties which might -attempt to pass on either side of that promontory. Moore worried the -Indians so much that they tried to cut off him and his insignificant -band. It was one of the ridiculous episodes of the day to watch those -well-meaning young warriors charging at full speed across the open space -commanded by Moore’s position; not a shot was fired, and beyond taking -an extra chew of tobacco, I do not remember that any of the party did -anything to show that he cared a continental whether the enemy came or -stayed. When those deadly rifles, sighted by men who had no idea what -the word “nerves” meant, belched their storm of lead in among the braves -and their ponies, it did not take more than seven seconds for the former -to conclude that home, sweet home was a good enough place for them. - -While the infantry were moving down to close the gap on Royall’s right, -and Tom Moore was amusing himself in the rocks, Crook ordered Mills with -five companies to move out on our right and make a demonstration down -stream, intending to get ready for a forward movement with the whole -command. Mills moved out promptly, the enemy falling back on all sides -and keeping just out of fair range. I went with Mills, having returned -from seeing how Tom Moore was getting along, and can recall how deeply -impressed we all were by what we then took to be trails made by -buffaloes going down stream, but which we afterwards learned had been -made by the thousands of ponies belonging to the immense force of the -enemy here assembled. We descended into a measly-looking place: a cañon -with straight walls of sandstone, having on projecting knobs an -occasional scrub pine or cedar; it was the locality where the savages -had planned to entrap the troops, or a large part of them, and wipe them -out by closing in upon their rear. At the head of that column rode two -men who have since made their mark in far different spheres: John F. -Finerty, who has represented one of the Illinois districts in Congress; -and Frederick Schwatka, noted as a bold and successful Arctic explorer. - -Crook recalled our party from the cañon before we had gone too far, but -not before Mills had detected the massing of forces to cut him off. Our -return was by another route, across the high hills and rocky places, -which would enable us to hold our own against any numbers until -assistance came. Crook next ordered an advance of our whole line, and -the Sioux fell back and left us in undisputed possession of the field. -Our total loss was fifty-seven, killed or wounded—some of the latter -only slightly. The heaviest punishment had been inflicted upon the Third -Cavalry, in Royall’s column, that regiment meeting with a total loss of -nine killed and fifteen wounded, while the Second Cavalry had two -wounded, and the Fourth Infantry three wounded. In addition to this were -the killed and wounded among the scouts, and a number of wounds which -the men cared for themselves, as they saw that the medical staff was -taxed to the utmost. One of our worst wounded was Colonel Guy V. Henry, -Third Cavalry, who was at first believed to have lost both eyes and to -have been marked for death; but, thanks to good nursing, a wiry frame, -and strong vitality, he has since recovered vision and some part of his -former physical powers. The officers who served on Crook’s staff that -day had close calls, and among others Bubb and Nickerson came very near -falling into the hands of the enemy. Colonel Royall’s staff officers, -Lemly and Foster, were greatly exposed, as were Henry Vroom, Reynolds, -and others of that part of the command. General Crook’s horse was shot -from under him, and there were few, if any, officers or soldiers, facing -the strength of the Sioux and Cheyennes at the Rosebud, who did not have -some incident of a personal nature by which to impress the affair upon -their memories for the rest of their lives. - -The enemy’s loss was never known. Our scouts got thirteen scalps, but -the warriors, the moment they were badly wounded, would ride back from -the line or be led away by comrades, so that we then believed that their -total loss was much more severe. The behavior of Shoshones and Crows was -excellent. The chief of the Shoshones appeared to great advantage, -mounted on a fiery pony, he himself naked to the waist and wearing one -of the gorgeous head-dresses of eagle feathers sweeping far along the -ground behind his pony’s tail. The Crow chief, “Medicine Crow,” looked -like a devil in his war-bonnet of feathers, fur, and buffalo horns. - -We had pursued the enemy for seven miles, and had held the field of -battle, without the slightest resistance on the side of the Sioux and -Cheyennes. It had been a field of their own choosing, and the attack had -been intended as a surprise and, if possible, to lead into an ambuscade -also; but in all they had been frustrated and driven off, and did not -attempt to return or to annoy us during the night. As we had nothing but -the clothing each wore and the remains of the four days’ rations with -which we had started, we had no other resource but to make our way back -to the wagon trains with the wounded. That night was an unquiet and busy -time for everybody. The Shoshones caterwauled and lamented the death of -the young warrior whose life had been ended and whose bare skull still -gleamed from the side of the spring where he fell. About midnight they -buried him, along with our own dead, for whose sepulture a deep trench -was dug in the bank of the Rosebud near the water line, the bodies laid -in a row, covered with stones, mud, and earth packed down, and a great -fire kindled on top and allowed to burn all night. When we broke camp -the next morning the entire command marched over the graves, so as to -obliterate every trace and prevent prowling savages from exhuming the -corpses and scalping them. - -A rough shelter of boughs and branches had been erected for the wounded, -and our medical officers, Hartsuff, Patzki, and Stevens, labored all -night, assisted by Lieutenant Schwatka, who had taken a course of -lectures at Bellevue Hospital, New York. The Shoshones crept out during -the night and cut to pieces the two Sioux bodies within reach; this was -in revenge for their own dead, and because the enemy had cut one of our -men to pieces during the fight, in which they made free use of their -lances, and of a kind of tomahawk, with a handle eight feet long, which -they used on horseback. - -June 18, 1876, we were turned out of our blankets at three o’clock in -the morning, and sat down to eat on the ground a breakfast of hard-tack, -coffee, and fried bacon. The sky was an immaculate blue, and the ground -was covered with a hard frost, which made every one shiver. The animals -had rested, and the wounded were reported by Surgeon Hartsuff to be -doing as well “as could be expected.” “Travois” were constructed of -Cottonwood and willow branches, held together by ropes and rawhide, and -to care for each of these six men were detailed. As we were moving off, -our scouts discerned three or four Sioux riding down to the -battle-field, upon reaching which they dismounted, sat down, and bowed -their heads; we could not tell through glasses what they were doing, but -the Shoshones and Crows said that they were weeping for their dead. They -were not fired upon or molested in any way. We pushed up the Rosebud, -keeping mainly on its western bank, and doing our best to select a good -trail along which the wounded might be dragged with least jolting. Crook -wished to keep well to the south so as to get farther into the Big Horn -range, and avoid much of the deep water of the streams flowing into -Tongue River, which might prove too swift and dangerous for the wounded -men in the “travois.” In avoiding Scylla, we ran upon Charybdis: we -escaped much of the deep water, although not all of it, but encountered -much trouble from the countless ravines and gullies which cut the flanks -of the range in every direction. - -The column halted for an hour at the conical hill, crested with pine, -which marks the divide between the Rosebud and the Greasy Grass,—a -tributary of the Little Big Horn,—the spot where our Crow guides claimed -that their tribe had whipped and almost exterminated a band of the -Blackfeet Sioux. Our horses were allowed to graze until the rear-guard -had caught up, with the wounded men under its care. The Crows had a -scalp dance, holding aloft on poles and lances the lank, black locks of -the Sioux and Cheyennes killed in the fight of the day before, and one -killed that very morning. It seems that as the Crows were riding along -the trail off to the right of the command, they heard some one calling, -“Mini! Mini!” which is the Dakota term for water; it was a Cheyenne -whose eyes had been shot out in the beginning of the battle, and who had -crawled to a place of concealment in the rocks, and now hearing the -Crows talk as they rode along addressed them in Sioux, thinking them to -be the latter. The Crows cut him limb from limb and ripped off his -scalp. The rear-guard reported having had a hard time getting along with -the wounded on account of the great number of gullies already mentioned; -great assistance had been rendered in this severe duty by Sergeant -Warfield, Troop “F,” Third Cavalry, an old Arizona veteran, as well as -by Tom Moore and his band of packers. So far as scenery was concerned, -the most critical would have been pleased with that section of our -national domain, the elysium of the hunter, the home of the bear, the -elk, deer, antelope, mountain sheep, and buffalo; the carcasses of the -last-named lined the trail, and the skulls and bones whitened the -hill-sides. The march of the day was a little over twenty-two miles, and -ended upon one of the tributaries of the Tongue, where we bivouacked and -passed the night in some discomfort on account of the excessive cold -which drove us from our scanty covering shortly after midnight. The -Crows left during the night, promising to resume the campaign with -others of their tribe, and to meet us somewhere on the Tongue or Goose -Creek. - -June 19 found us back at our wagon-train, which Major Furey had -converted into a fortress, placed on a tongue of land, surrounded on -three sides by deep, swift-flowing water, and on the neck by a line of -breastworks commanding all approaches. Ropes and chains had been -stretched from wheel to wheel, so that even if any of the enemy did -succeed in slipping inside, the stock could not be run out. Furey had -not allowed his little garrison to remain inside the intrenchments: he -had insisted upon some of them going out daily to scrutinize the country -and to hunt for fresh meat; the carcasses of six buffaloes and three elk -attested the execution of his orders. Furey’s force consisted of no less -than eighty packers and one hundred and ten teamsters, besides sick and -disabled left behind. One of his assistants was Mr. John Mott MacMahon, -the same man who as a sergeant in the Third Cavalry had been by the side -of Lieutenant Cushing at the moment he was killed by the Chiricahua -Apaches in Arizona. After caring for the wounded and the animals, every -one splashed in the refreshing current; the heat of the afternoon became -almost unbearable, the thermometer indicating 103° Fahrenheit. Lemons, -limes, lime juice, and citric acid, of each of which there was a small -supply, were hunted up and used for making a glass of lemonade for the -people in the rustic hospital. - -June 21, Crook sent the wounded back to Fort Fetterman, placing them in -wagons spread with fresh grass; Major Furey was sent back to obtain -additional supplies; the escort, consisting of one company from the -Ninth and one from the Fourth Infantry, was commanded by Colonel -Chambers, with whom were the following officers: Munson and Capron of -the Ninth, Luhn and Seton of the Fourth. Mr. MacMillan, the -correspondent of the _Inter-Ocean_ of Chicago, also accompanied the -party; he had been especially energetic in obtaining all data referring -to the campaign, and had shown that he had as much pluck as any officer -or soldier in the column, but his strength was not equal to the hard -marching and climbing, coupled with the violent alternations of heat and -cold, rain and shine, to which we were subjected. The Shoshones also -left for their own country, going across the Big Horn range due west; -after having a big scalp dance with their own people they would return; -for the same reason, the Crows had rejoined their tribe. Five of the -Shoshones remained in camp, to act in any needed capacity until the -return of their warriors. The care taken of the Shoshone wounded pleased -me very much, and I saw that the “medicine men” knew how to make a fair -article of splint from the twigs of the willow, and that they depended -upon such appliances in cases of fracture fully as much as they did upon -the singing which took up so much of their time, and was so obnoxious to -the unfortunate whites whose tents were nearest. - -In going home across the mountains to the Wind River the Crows took one -of their number who had been badly wounded in the thigh. Why he insisted -upon going back to his own home I do not know; perhaps the sufferer -really did not know himself, but disliked being separated from his -comrades. A splint was adjusted to the fractured limb, and the patient -was seated upon an easy cushion instead of a saddle. Everything went -well until after crossing the Big Horn Mountains, when the party ran in -upon a band of Sioux raiders or spies in strong force. The Crows were -hailed by some of the Sioux, but managed to answer a few words in that -language, and then struck out as fast as ponies would carry them to get -beyond reach of their enemies. They were afraid of leaving a trail, and -for that reason followed along the current of all the mountain streams, -swollen at that season by rains and melting snows, fretting into foam -against impeding boulders and crossed and recrossed by interlacing -branches of fallen timber. Through and over or under, as the case might -be, the frightened Crows made their way, indifferent to the agony of the -wounded companion, for whose safety only they cared, but to whose moans -they were utterly irresponsive. This story we learned upon the return of -the Shoshones. - -To be obliged to await the train with supplies was a serious annoyance, -but nothing better could be done. We had ceded to the Sioux by the -treaty of 1867 all the country from the Missouri to the Big Horn, -destroying the posts which had afforded protection to the overland route -into Montana, and were now feeling the loss of just such depots of -supply as those posts would have been. It was patent to every one that -not hundreds, as had been reported, but thousands of Sioux and Cheyennes -were in hostility and absent from the agencies, and that, if the war was -to be prosecuted with vigor, some depots must be established at an -eligible location like the head of Tongue River, old Fort Reno, or other -point in that vicinity; another in the Black Hills; and still another at -some favorable point on the Yellowstone, preferably the mouth of Tongue -River. Such, at least, was the recommendation made by General Crook, and -posts at or near all the sites indicated were in time established and -are still maintained. The merits of Tongue River and its tributaries as -great trout streams were not long without proper recognition at the -hands of our anglers. Under the influence of the warm weather the fish -had begun to bite voraciously, in spite of the fact that there were -always squads of men bathing in the limpid waters, or mules slaking -their thirst. The first afternoon ninety-five were caught and brought -into camp, where they were soon broiling on the coals or frying in pans. -None of them were large, but all were “pan” fish, delicious to the -taste. While the sun was shining we were annoyed by swarms of green and -black flies, which disappeared with the coming of night and its -refreshingly cool breezes. - -June 23, Lieutenant Schuyler, Fifth Cavalry, reported at headquarters -for duty as aide-de-camp to General Crook. He had been four days making -the trip out from Fort Fetterman, travelling with the two couriers who -brought our mail. At old Fort Reno they had stumbled upon a war party of -Sioux, but were not discovered, and hid in the rocks until the darkness -of night enabled them to resume their journey at a gallop, which never -stopped for more than forty miles. They brought news that the Fifth -Cavalry was at Red Cloud Agency; that five commissioners were to be -appointed to confer with the Sioux; and that Rutherford B. Hayes, of -Ohio, had been nominated by the Republicans for the Presidency. General -Hayes had commanded a brigade under General Crook in the Army of West -Virginia during the War of the Rebellion. Crook spoke of his former -subordinate in the warmest and most affectionate manner, instancing -several battles in which Hayes had displayed exceptional courage, and -proved himself to be, to use Crook’s words, “as brave a man as ever wore -a shoulder-strap.” - -My note-books about this time seem to be almost the chronicle of a -sporting club, so filled are they with the numbers of trout brought by -different fishermen into camp; all fishers did not stop at my tent, and -I do not pretend to have preserved accurate figures, much being left -unrecorded. Mills started in with a record of over one hundred caught by -himself and two soldiers in one short afternoon. On the 28th of June the -same party has another record of one hundred and forty-six. On the 29th -of same month Bubb is credited with fifty-five during the afternoon, -while the total brought into camp during the 28th ran over five hundred. -General Crook started out to catch a mess, but met with poor luck. He -saw bear tracks and followed them, bringing in a good-sized “cinnamon,” -so it was agreed not to refer to his small number of trout. Buffalo and -elk meat were both plenty, and with the trout kept the men well fed. - -The cavalry companies each morning were exercised at a walk, trot, and -gallop. In the afternoon the soldiers were allowed to roam about the -country in small parties, hunting and seeing what they could see. They -were all the better for the exercise, and acted as so many additional -videttes. The packers organized a mule race, which absorbed all -interest. It was estimated by conservative judges that fully five -dollars had changed hands in ten-cent bets. Up to the end of June no -news of any kind, from any source excepting Crow Indians, had been -received of General Terry and his command, and much comment, not unmixed -with uneasiness, was occasioned thereby. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX. - -KILLING DULL CARE IN CAMP—EXPLORING THE SNOW-CRESTED BIG HORN - MOUNTAINS—FINERTY KILLS HIS FIRST BUFFALO—THE SWIMMING POOLS—A BIG - TROUT—SIBLEY’S SCOUT—A NARROW ESCAPE—NEWS OF THE CUSTER MASSACRE—THE - SIOUX TRY TO BURN US OUT—THE THREE MESSENGERS FROM TERRY—WASHAKIE - DRILLS HIS SHOSHONES—KELLY THE COURIER STARTS TO FIND TERRY—CROW - INDIANS BEARING DESPATCHES—THE SIGN-LANGUAGE—A PONY RACE—INDIAN - SERENADES—HOW THE SHOSHONES FISHED—A FIRE IN CAMP—THE UTES JOIN US. - - -In the main, this absence of news from Terry was the reason why General -Crook took a small detachment with him to the summit of the Big Horn -Mountains and remained four days. We left camp on the 1st of July, 1876, -the party consisting of General Crook, Colonel Royall, Lieutenant Lemly, -Major Burt, Lieutenants Carpenter, Schuyler, and Bourke, Messrs. Wasson, -Finerty, Strahorn, and Davenport, with a small train of picked mules -under Mr. Young. The climb to the summit was effected without event -worthy of note, beyond the to-be-expected ruggedness of the trail and -the beauty and grandeur of the scenery. From the highest point gained -during the day Crook eagerly scanned the broad vista of country spread -out at our feet, reaching from the course of the Little Big Horn on the -left to the country near Pumpkin Buttes on the right. Neither the -natural vision nor the aid of powerful glasses showed the slightest -trace of a marching or a camping column; there was no smoke, no dust, to -indicate the proximity of either Terry or Gibbon. - -Frank Gruard had made an inspection of the country to the northwest of -camp several days before to determine the truth of reported smokes, but -his trip failed to confirm the story. The presence of Indians near camp -had also been asserted, but scouting parties had as yet done nothing -beyond proving these camp rumors to be baseless. In only one instance -had there been the slightest reason for believing that hostiles had -approached our position. An old man, who had been following the command -for some reason never very clearly understood, had come into camp on -Tongue River and stated that while out on the plain, letting his pony -have a nibble of grass, and while he himself had been sleeping under a -box elder, he had been awakened by the report of a gun and had seen two -Indian boys scampering off to the north: he showed a bullet hole through -the saddle, but the general opinion in camp was that the story had been -made up out of whole cloth, because parties of men had been much farther -down Tongue River that morning, scouting and hunting, without perceiving -the slightest sign or trace of hostiles. Thirty miners from Montana had -also come into camp from the same place, and they too had been unable to -discover traces of the assailants. - -The perennial character of the springs and streams watering the -pasturage of the Tongue River region was shown by the great masses of -snow and ice, which were slowly yielding to the assaults of the summer -sun on the flanks of “Cloud Peak” and its sister promontories. Every few -hundred yards gurgling rivulets and crystal brooks leaped down from the -protecting shadow of pine and juniper groves and sped away to join the -Tongue, which warned us of its own near presence in a cañon on the left -of the trail by the murmur of its current flowing swiftly from basin to -basin over a succession of tiny falls. Exuberant Nature had carpeted the -knolls and dells with vernal grasses and lovely flowers; along the -brook-sides, wild rose-buds peeped; and there were harebells, wild flax, -forget-me-nots, and astragulus to dispute with their more gaudy -companions—the sunflowers—possession of the soil. The silicious -limestones, red clays, and sandstones of the valley were replaced by -granites more or less perfectly crystallized. Much pine and fir timber -was encountered, at first in small copses, then in more considerable -bodies, lastly in dense forests. A very curious variety of juniper made -its appearance: it was very stunted, grew prone to the ground, and until -approached closely might be mistaken for a bed of moss. In the -protecting solitude of these frozen peaks, lakes of melted snow were -frequent; upon their pellucid surface ducks swam gracefully, admiring -their own reflection. - -We did not get across the snowy range that night, but were compelled to -bivouac two or three miles from it, in a sheltered nook offering fairly -good grass for the mules, and any amount of fuel and water for our own -use. There might be said to be an excess of timber, as for more than six -miles we had crawled as best we could through a forest of tall pines and -firs, uprooted by the blasts of winter. Game trails were plenty enough, -but we did not see an animal of any kind; neither could we entice the -trout which were jumping to the surface of the water, to take hold of -the bait offered them. General Crook returned with a black-tailed deer -and the report that the range as seen from the top of one of the lofty -promontories to which he had climbed appeared to be studded with -lakelets similar to the ones so near our bivouac. We slashed pine -branches to make an odorous and elastic mattress, cut fire-wood for the -cook, and aided in the duty of preparing the supper for which impatient -appetites were clamoring. We had hot strong coffee, bacon and venison -sliced thin and placed in alternate layers on twigs of willow and -frizzled over the embers, and bread baked in a frying-pan. - -Our appetites, ordinarily good enough, had been aggravated by the climb -of twelve miles in the keen mountain air, and although epicures might -not envy us our food, they certainly would have sighed in vain for the -pleasure with which it was devoured. After supper, each officer staked -his mule in a patch of grass which was good and wholesome, although not -equal to that of the lower slopes, and then we gathered around the fire -for the post-prandial chat prior to seeking blankets and repose, which -fortunately was not disturbed by excessive cold or the bites of -mosquitoes, the twin annoyances of these great elevations. We arose -early next morning to begin a march of great severity, which taxed to -the utmost the strength, nervous system, and patience of riders and -mules; much fallen timber blocked the trail, the danger of passing this -being increased a hundredfold by boulders of granite and pools of -unknown depth; the leaves of the pines had decayed into a pasty mass of -peat, affording no foothold to the pedestrian or horseman, and added the -peril of drowning in a slimy ooze to the terrors accumulated for the -intimidation of the explorer penetrating these wilds. - -We floundered along in the trail made by our Shoshones on their way back -to their own homes, and were the first white men, not connected with -that band of Indians, who had ever ascended to this point. Immense -blocks of granite, some of them hundreds of feet high, towered above us, -with stunted pine clinging to the scanty soil at their bases; above all -loomed the majestic rounded cone of the Cloud Peak, a thousand feet -beyond timber line. The number of springs increased so much that it -seemed as if the ground were oozing water from every pore; the soil had -become a sponge, and travel was both difficult and dangerous; on all -sides were lofty banks of snow, often pinkish in tint; the stream in the -pass had diminished in breadth, but its volume was unimpaired as its -velocity had trebled. At every twenty or thirty feet of horizontal -distance there was a cascade of no great height, but so choked up with -large fragments of granite that the current, lashed into fury, foamed -like milk. The sun’s rays were much obscured by the interlacing branches -of the majestic spruce and fir trees shading the trail, and the rocky -escarpments looming above the timber line. We could still see the little -rivulet dancing along, and hear it singing its song of the icy granite -peaks, the frozen lakes, and piny solitudes that had watched its birth. -The “divide,” we began to congratulate ourselves, could not be far off; -already the pines had begun to thin out, and the stragglers still lining -the path were dwarfed and stunted. Our pretty friend, the mountain -brook, like a dying swan, sang most sweetly in its last moments; we saw -it issue from icy springs above timber line, and bade it farewell to -plunge and flounder across the snow-drifts lining the crest. In this -last effort ourselves and animals were almost exhausted. On the “divide” -was a lake, not over five hundred yards long, which supplied water to -the Big Horn on the west and the Tongue on the east side of the range. -Large cakes and floes of black ice, over a foot in thickness, floated on -its waters. Each of these was covered deep with snow and regelated ice. - -It was impossible to make camp in this place. There was no -timber—nothing but rocks and ice-cold water, which chilled the hands -dipped into it. Granite and granite alone could be seen in massy crags, -timberless and barren of all trace of vegetation, towering into the -clouds, in bold-faced ledges, the home of the mountain sheep; and in -cyclopean blocks, covering acres upon acres of surface. Continuing due -west we clambered over another ridge of about the same elevation, and as -deep with snow and ice, and then saw in the distance the Wind River -range, one hundred and thirty miles to the west. With some difficulty a -way was made down the flank of the range, through the asperous -declivities of the cañon of “No Wood” Creek, and, after being sated with -the monotonous beauties of precipices, milky cascades, gloomy forests, -and glassy springs, the welcome command was given to bivouac. - -We had climbed and slipped fifteen miles at an altitude of 12,000 feet, -getting far above the timber line and into the region of perpetual snow. -Still, at that elevation, a few pleasant-faced little blue and white -flowers, principally forget-me-nots, kept us company to the very edge of -snow-banks. I sat upon a snowbank, and with one hand wrote my notes and -with the other plucked forget-me-nots or fought off the mosquitoes. We -followed down the cañon of the creek until we had reached the timber, -and there, in a dense growth of spruce and fir, went into bivouac in a -most charming retreat. Buffalo tracks were seen all day, the animal -having crossed the range by the same trail we had used. Besides buffalo -tracks we saw the trails of mountain sheep, of which General Crook and -Lieutenant Schuyler killed two. The only other life was tit-larks, -butterflies, grasshoppers, flies, and the mosquitoes already spoken of. -The snow in one place was sixty to seventy feet deep and had not been -disturbed for years, because there were five or six strata of -grasshoppers frozen stiff, each representing one season. In all cases -where the snow had drifted into sheltered ravines and was not exposed to -direct solar action, it never melted from year’s end to year’s end. Our -supper of mountain mutton and of sheep and elk heart boiled in salt -water was eaten by the light of the fire, and was followed by a restful -sleep upon couches of spruce boughs. - -We returned to our main camp on the 4th of July, guided by General Crook -over a new trail, which proved to be a great improvement upon the other. -Mr. John F. Finerty killed his first buffalo, which appeared to be a -very good specimen at the time, but after perusing the description given -by Finerty in the columns of the _Times_, several weeks later, we saw -that it must have been at least eleven feet high and weighed not much -less than nine thousand pounds. We made chase after a herd of sixteen -elk drinking at one of the lakes, but on account of the noise in getting -through fallen timber were unable to approach near enough. An hour -later, while I was jotting down the character of the country in my -note-book, eight mountain sheep came up almost close enough to touch me, -and gazed with wonder at the intruder. They were beautiful creatures in -appearance: somewhat of a cross between the deer, the sheep, and the -mule; the head resembles that of the domestic sheep, surmounted by a -pair of ponderous convoluted horns; the body, in a slight degree, that -of a mule, but much more graceful; and the legs those of a deer, but -somewhat more “chunky;” the tail, short, slender, furnished with a brush -at the extremity; the hair, short and chocolate-gray in color; the eyes -rival the beauty of the topaz. Before I could grasp my carbine they had -scampered around a rocky promontory, where three of them were killed: -one by General Crook and two by others of the party. - -Camp kept moving from creek to creek in the valley of the Tongue, always -finding abundant pasturage, plenty of fuel, and an ample supply of the -coldest and best water. The foot-hills of the Big Horn are the ideal -camping-grounds for mounted troops; the grass grows to such a height -that it can be cut with a mowing-machine; cattle thrive, and although -the winters are severe, with proper shelter all kinds of stock should -prosper. The opportunity of making a suitable cross between the -acclimatized buffalo and the domestic stock has perhaps been lost, but -it is not too late to discuss the advisability of introducing the -Thibetan yak, a bovine accustomed to the polar rigors of the Himalayas, -and which has been tamed and used either for the purposes of the dairy -or for those of draught and saddle. The body of the yak is covered with -a long coat of hair, which enables it to lie down in the snow-drifts -without incurring any risk of catching cold. The milk of the yak is said -to be remarkably rich, and the butter possesses the admirable quality of -keeping fresh for a long time. - -This constant moving of camp had another object: the troops were kept in -practice in taking down and putting up tents; saddling and unsaddling -horses; packing and unpacking wagons; laying out camps, with a due -regard for hygiene by building sinks in proper places; forming promptly; -and, above all, were kept occupied. The raw recruits of the spring were -insensibly converted into veterans before the close of summer. The -credulity of the reader will be taxed to the utmost limit if he follow -my record of the catches of trout made in all these streams. What these -catches would have amounted to had there been no herds of horses and -mules—we had, it must be remembered, over two thousand when the -wagon-trains, pack-trains, Indian scouts, and soldiers were all -assembled together—I am unable to say; but the hundreds and thousands of -fine fish taken from that set of creeks by officers and soldiers, who -had nothing but the rudest appliances, speaks of the wonderful resources -of the country in game at that time. - -The ambition of the general run of officers and men was to take from -fifteen to thirty trout, enough to furnish a good meal for themselves -and their messmates; but others were carried away by the desire to make -a record as against that of other fishers of repute. These catches were -carefully distributed throughout camp, and the enlisted men fared as -well as the officers in the matter of game and everything else which the -country afforded. General Crook and the battalion commanders under him -were determined that there should be no waste, and insisted upon the -fish being eaten at once or dried for later use. Major Dewees is -credited with sixty-eight large fish caught in one afternoon, Bubb with -eighty, Crook with seventy, and so on. Some of the packers having -brought in reports of beautiful deep pools farther up the mountain, in -which lay hidden fish far greater in size and weight than those caught -closer to camp, a party was formed at headquarters to investigate and -report. Our principal object was to enjoy the cool swimming pools so -eloquently described by our informants; but next to that we intended -trying our luck in hauling in trout of exceptional size. - -The rough little bridle-path led into most romantic scenery: the grim -walls of the cañon began to crowd closely upon the banks of the stream; -in places there was no bank at all, and the swirling, brawling current -rushed along the rocky wall, while our ponies carefully picked their way -over a trail, narrow, sharp, and dangerous as the knife-edge across -which true believers were to enter into Mahomet’s Paradise. Before long -we gained a mossy glade, hidden in the granite ramparts of the cañon, -where we found a few blades of grass for the animals and shade from the -too warm rays of the sun. The moss-covered banks terminated in a flat -stone table, reaching well out into the current and shaded by -overhanging boulders and widely-branching trees. The dark-green water in -front rushed swiftly and almost noiselessly by, but not more than five -or six yards below our position several sharp-toothed fragments of -granite barred the progress of the current, which grew white with rage -as it hissed and roared on its downward course. - -We disrobed and entered the bath, greatly to the astonishment of a -school of trout of all sizes which circled about and darted in and out -among the rocks, trying to determine who and what we were. We were -almost persuaded that we were the first white men to penetrate to that -seclusion. Our bath was delightful; everything combined to make it -so—shade, cleanliness, convenience of access, purity and coolness of the -water, and such perfect privacy that Diana herself might have chosen it -for her ablutions! Splash! splash!—a sound below us! The illusion was -very strong, and for a moment we were willing to admit that the -classical huntress had been disturbed at her toilet, and that we were -all to share the fate of Actæon. Our apprehensions didn’t last long; we -peeped through the foliage and saw that it was not Diana, but an army -teamster washing a pair of unquestionably muddy overalls. Our bath -finished, we took our stand upon projecting rocks and cast bait into the -stream. - -We were not long in finding out the politics of the Big Horn trout; they -were McKinleyites, every one; or, to speak more strictly, they were the -forerunners of McKinleyism. We tried them with all sorts of imported and -manufactured flies of gaudy tints or sombre hues—it made no difference. -After suspiciously nosing them they would flap their tails, strike with -the side-fins, and then, having gained a distance of ten feet, would -most provokingly stay there and watch us from under the shelter of -slippery rocks. Foreign luxuries evidently had no charm for them. Next -we tried them with home-made grasshoppers, caught on the banks of their -native stream. The change was wonderful: in less than a second, trout -darted out from all sorts of unexpected places—from the edge of the -rapids below us, from under gloomy blocks of granite, from amid the -gnarly roots of almost amphibious trees. My comrades had come for an -afternoon’s fishing, and began, without more ado, to haul in the -struggling, quivering captives. My own purpose was to catch one or two -of good size, and then return to camp. A teamster, named O’Shaughnessy, -formerly of the Fourteenth Infantry, who had been brought up in the -salmon districts of Ireland, was standing near me with a large mess just -caught; he handed me his willow branch, most temptingly baited with -grasshoppers, at the same time telling me there was a fine big fish, “a -regular buster, in the hole beyant.” He had been unable to coax him out -from his retreat, but thought that, if anything could tempt him, my bait -would. I cautiously let down the line, taking care to keep in the -deepest shadow. I did not remain long in suspense; in an instant the big -fellow came at full speed from his hiding-place, running for the bait. -He was noble, heavy, and gorgeous in his dress of silver and gold and -black and red. He glanced at the grasshoppers to satisfy himself they -were the genuine article, and then one quick, nervous bound brought his -nose to the hook and the bait into his mouth, and away he went. I gave -him all the line he wanted, fearing I should lose him. His course took -him close to the bank, and, as he neared the edge of the stream, I laid -him, with a quick, firm jerk, sprawling on the moss. I was glad not to -have had any fight with him, because he would surely have broken away -amid the rocks and branches. He was pretty to look upon, weighed three -pounds, and was the largest specimen reaching camp that week. He graced -our dinner, served up, roasted and stuffed, in our cook Phillips’s best -style. - -General Crook, wishing to ascertain with some definiteness the -whereabouts of the Sioux, sent out during the first week of July a -reconnoitring party of twenty enlisted men, commanded by Lieutenant -Sibley, Second Cavalry, to escort Frank Gruard, who wished to move along -the base of the mountains as far as the cañon of the Big Horn and -scrutinize the country to the north and west. A larger force would be -likely to embarrass the rapidity of marching with which Gruard hoped to -accomplish his intention, which was that of spying as far as he could -into the region where he supposed the hostiles to be; all the party were -to go as lightly equipped as possible, and to carry little else than -arms and ammunition. With them went two volunteers, Mr. John F. Finerty -and Mr. Jim Traynor, the latter one of the packers and an old -frontiersman. Another member of the party was “Big Bat.” - -This little detachment had a miraculous escape from destruction: at or -near the head of the Little Big Horn River, they were discovered, -charged upon, and surrounded by a large body of hostile Cheyennes and -Sioux, who fired a volley of not less than one hundred shots, but aimed -too high and did not hit a man; three of the horses and one of the mules -were severely crippled, and the command was forced to take to the rocks -and timber at the edge of the mountains, whence they escaped, leaving -animals and saddles behind. The savages seemed confident of their -ability to take all of them alive, which may explain in part why they -succeeded in slipping away under the guidance of Frank Gruard, to whom -the whole country was as familiar as a book; they crept along under -cover of high rocks until they had gained the higher slopes of the -range, and then travelled without stopping for two days and nights, -pursued by the baffled Indians, across steep precipices, swift torrents, -and through almost impenetrable forests. When they reached camp the -whole party looked more like dead men than soldiers of the army: their -clothes were torn into rags, their strength completely gone, and they -faint with hunger and worn out with anxiety and distress. Two of the -men, who had not been long in service, went completely crazy and refused -to believe that the tents which they saw were those of the command; they -persisted in thinking that they were the “tepis” of the Sioux and -Cheyennes, and would not accompany Sibley across the stream, but -remained hiding in the rocks until a detachment had been sent out to -capture and bring them back. It should be mentioned that one of the -Cheyenne chiefs, “White Antelope,” was shot through the head by Frank -Gruard and buried in all his fine toggery on the ground where he fell; -his body was discovered some days after by “Washakie,” the head-chief of -the Shoshones, who led a large force of his warriors to the spot. -General Crook, in forwarding to General Sheridan Lieutenant Sibley’s -report of the affair, indorsed it as follows: “I take occasion to -express my grateful appreciation to the guides, Frank Gruard and -Baptiste Pourrier, to Messrs. Bechtel, called Traynor in my telegram, -and John F. Finerty, citizen volunteers, and to the small detachment of -picked men from the Second Cavalry, for their cheerful endurance of the -hardships and perils such peculiarly dangerous duty of necessity -involves. The coolness and judgment displayed by Lieutenant Sibley and -Frank Gruard, the guide, in the conduct of this reconnaissance, made in -the face of the whole force of the enemy, are deserving of my warmest -acknowledgments. Lieutenant Sibley, although one of the youngest -officers in this department, has shown a gallantry that is an honor to -himself and the service.” A very vivid and interesting description of -this perilous affair has been given by Finerty in his fascinating -volume, “War-Path and Bivouac.” During the absence of the Sibley party -General Crook ascended the mountains to secure meat for the command; we -had a sufficiency of bacon, and all the trout the men could possibly -eat, but fresh meat was not to be had in quantity, and the amount of -deer, elk, antelope, and bear brought in by our hunters, although -considerable in itself, cut no figure when portioned out among so many -hundreds of hungry mouths. The failure to hear from Terry or Gibbon -distressed Crook a great deal more than he cared to admit; he feared for -the worst, obliged to give ear to all the wild stories brought in by -couriers and others reaching the command from the forts and agencies. By -getting to the summit of the high peaks which overlooked our camps in -the drainage of the Tongue, the surrounding territory for a distance of -at least one hundred miles in every direction could be examined through -glasses, and anything unusual going on detected. Every afternoon we were -now subjected to storms of rain and lightning, preceded by gusts of -wind. They came with such regularity that one could almost set his watch -by them. - -Major Noyes, one of our most earnest fishermen, did not return from one -of his trips, and, on account of the very severe storm assailing us that -afternoon, it was feared that some accident had befallen him: that he -had been attacked by a bear or other wild animal, had fallen over some -ledge of rocks, been carried away in the current of the stream, or in -some other manner met with disaster. Lieutenant Kingsbury, Second -Cavalry, went out to hunt him, accompanied by a mounted detachment and a -hound. Noyes was found fast asleep under a tree, completely exhausted by -his hard work: he was afoot and unable to reach camp with his great haul -of fish, over one hundred and ten in number; he had played himself out, -but had broken the record, and was snoring serenely. Mr. Stevens, chief -clerk for Major Furey, the quartermaster, was another sportsman whose -chief delight in life seemed to be in tearing the clothes off his back -in efforts to get more and bigger fish than any one else. - -Word came in from General Crook to send pack mules to a locality -indicated, where the carcasses of fourteen elk and other game for the -command had been tied to the branches of trees. It was not until the -10th of July, 1876, that Louis Richaud and Ben Arnold rode into camp, -bearing despatches from Sheridan to Crook with the details of the -terrible disaster which had overwhelmed the troops commanded by General -Custer; the shock was so great that men and officers could hardly speak -when the tale slowly circulated from lip to lip. The same day the Sioux -made their appearance, and tried to burn us out: they set fire to the -grass near the infantry battalions; and for the next two weeks paid us -their respects every night in some manner, trying to stampede stock, -burn grass, annoy pickets, and devil the command generally. They did not -escape scot-free from these encounters, because we saw in the rocks the -knife left by one wounded man, whose blood stained the soil near it; -another night a pony was shot through the body and abandoned; and on -still another occasion one of their warriors, killed by a bullet through -the brain, was dragged to a ledge of rocks and there hidden, to be found -a week or two after by our Shoshone scouts. - -The Sioux destroyed an immense area of pasturage, not less than one -hundred miles each way, leaving a charred expanse of territory where had -so lately been the refreshing green of dainty grass, traversed by -crystal brooks; over all that blackened surface it would have been -difficult to find so much as a grasshopper; it could be likened to -nothing except Burke’s description of the devastation wrought by Hyder -Ali in the plains of the Carnatic. Copious rains came to our relief, and -the enemy desisted; besides destroying the pasturage, the Sioux had -subjected us to the great annoyance of breathing the tiny particles of -soot which filled the air and darkened the sky. - -Hearing from some of our hunters that the tracks of a party—a large -party—of Sioux and Cheyennes, mounted, had been seen on the path taken -by Crook and his little detachment of hunters, going up into the Big -Horn, Colonel Royall ordered Mills to take three companies and proceed -out to the relief, if necessary, of our General and comrades. They all -returned safely in the course of the afternoon, and the next day, July -11th, we were joined by a force of two hundred and thirteen Shoshones, -commanded by their head-chief, “Washakie,” whose resemblance in face and -bearing to the eminent divine, Henry Ward Beecher, was noticeable. This -party had been delayed, waiting for the Utes and Bannocks, who had sent -word that they wanted to take part in the war against the Sioux; but -“Washakie” at last grew tired, and started off with his own people and -two of the Bannock messengers. - -Of these two a story was related to the effect that, during the previous -winter, they had crossed the mountains alone, and slipped into a village -of Sioux, and begun to cut the fastenings of several fine ponies; the -alarm was given, and the warriors began to tumble out of their beds; our -Bannocks were crouching down in the shadow of one of the lodges, and in -the confusion of tongues, barking of dogs, hurried questioning and -answering of the Sioux, boldly entered the “tepi” just vacated by two -warriors and covered themselves up with robes. The excitement quieted -down after a while, and the camp was once more in slumber, the presence -of the Bannocks undiscovered, and the Sioux warriors belonging to that -particular lodge blissfully ignorant that they were harboring two of the -most desperate villains in the whole western country. When the proper -moment had come, the Bannocks quietly reached out with their keen -knives, cut the throats of the squaws and babies closest to them, -stalked out of the lodge, ran rapidly to where they had tied the two -best ponies, mounted, and like the wind were away. - -Besides the warriors with “Washakie,” there were two squaws, wives of -two of the men wounded in the Rosebud fight, who had remained with us. -As this was the last campaign in which great numbers of warriors -appeared with bows, arrows, lances, and shields as well as rifles, I may -say that the shields of the Shoshones, like those of the Sioux and Crows -and Cheyennes, were made of the skin of the buffalo bull’s neck, which -is an inch in thickness. This is cut to the desired, shape, and slightly -larger than the required size to allow for shrinking; it is pegged down -tight on the ground, and covered with a thin layer of clay upon which is -heaped a bed of burning coals, which hardens the skin so that it will -turn the point of a lance or a round bullet. A war-song and dance from -the Shoshones ended the day. - -On the 12th of July, 1876, three men, dirty, ragged, dressed in the -tatters of army uniforms, rode into camp and gave their names as Evans, -Stewart, and Bell, of Captain Clifford’s company of the Seventh -Infantry, bearers of despatches from General Terry to General Crook; in -the dress of each was sewed a copy of the one message which revealed the -terrible catastrophe happening to the companies under General Custer. -These three modest heroes had ridden across country in the face of -unknown dangers, and had performed the duty confided to them in a manner -that challenged the admiration of every man in our camp. I have looked -in vain through the leaves of the Army Register to see their names -inscribed on the roll of commissioned officers; and I feel sure that -ours is the only army in the world in which such conspicuous courage, -skill, and efficiency would have gone absolutely unrecognized. - -Colonel Chambers, with seven companies of infantry and a wagon-train -loaded with supplies, reached camp on the 13th. With him came, as -volunteers, Lieutenants Hayden Delaney, of the Ninth, and Calhoun and -Crittenden, of the Fourteenth Infantry, and Dr. V. T. McGillicuddy. -Personal letters received from General Sheridan informed General Crook -that General Merritt, with ten companies of the Fifth Cavalry, had left -Red Cloud Agency with orders to report to Crook, and that as soon after -they arrived as possible, but not until then, Crook was to start out and -resume the campaign. Courier Fairbanks brought in despatches from -Adjutant-General Robert Williams at Omaha, Nebraska, to the effect that -we should soon be joined by a detachment of Utes, who were desirous of -taking part in the movements against the Sioux, but had been prevented -by their agent. General Williams had made a representation of all the -facts in the case to superior authority, and orders had been received -from the Department of the Interior directing their enlistment. Nearly -fifty of the Utes did start out under Lieutenant Spencer, of the Fourth -Infantry, and made a very rapid march to overtake us, but failed to -reach our wagon-train camp until after our command had departed; and, in -the opinion of Major Furey, the risk for such a small party was too -great to be undertaken. - -Camp was the scene of the greatest activity: both infantry and cavalry -kept up their exercises in the school of the soldier, company and -battalion, and in skirmishing. Detachments of scouts were kept -constantly in advanced positions, and although the enemy had made no -attempt to do anything more than annoy us in our strong natural -intrenchments, as the camps close to the Big Horn might fairly be -designated, yet it was evident that something unusual was in the wind. -“Washakie” ascended to the tops of the highest hills every morning and -scanned the horizon through powerful field-glasses, and would then -report the results of his observations. Colonel Mills did the same thing -from the peaks of the Big Horn, to some of the more accessible of which -he ascended. The Shoshones were kept in the highest state of efficiency, -and were exercised every morning and evening like their white brothers. -At first they had made the circuit of camp unattended, and advanced five -or ten miles out into the plains in the performance of their evolutions; -but after the arrival of fresh troops, under Chambers, “Washakie” was -afraid that some of the new-comers might not know his people and would -be likely to fire upon them when they charged back to camp; so he asked -General Crook to detail some of his officers to ride at the head of the -column, with a view to dispelling any apprehensions the new recruits -might feel. It fell to my lot to be one of the officers selected. In all -the glory of war-bonnets, bright blankets, scarlet cloth, head-dresses -of feathers, and gleaming rifles and lances, the Shoshones, mounted -bareback on spirited ponies, moved slowly around camp, led by -“Washakie,” alongside of whom was borne the oriflamme of the tribe—a -standard of eagle feathers attached to a lance-staff twelve feet in -length. Each warrior wore in his head-dress a small piece of white -drilling as a distinguishing mark to let our troops know who he was. - -We moved out in column of twos; first at a fast walk, almost a trot, -afterwards increasing the gait. The young warriors sat like so many -statues, horse and rider moving as one. Not a word was spoken until the -voices of the leaders broke out in their war-song, to which the whole -column at once lent the potent aid of nearly two hundred pairs of sturdy -lungs. Down the valley about three miles, and then, at a signal from -“Washakie,” the column turned, and at another, formed front into line -and proceeded slowly for about fifty yards. “Washakie” was endeavoring -to explain something to me, but the noise of the ponies’ hoofs striking -the burnt ground and my ignorance of his language were impediments to a -full understanding of what the old gentleman was driving at. I learned -afterwards that he was assuring me that I was now to see some drill such -as the Shoshones alone could execute. He waved his hands; the line -spread out as skirmishers and took about two yards’ interval from knee -to knee. Then somebody—“Washakie” or one of his lieutenants—yelled a -command in a shrill treble; that’s all I remember. The ponies broke into -one frantic rush for camp, riding over sage-brush, rocks, stumps, -bunches of grass, buffalo heads—it mattered not the least what, they -went over it—the warriors all the while squealing, yelling, chanting -their war-songs, or howling like coyotes. The ponies entered into the -whole business, and needed not the heels and “quirts” which were plied -against their willing flanks. In the centre of the line rode old -“Washakie;” abreast of him the eagle standard. It was an exciting and -exhilarating race, and the force preserved an excellent alignment. Only -one thought occupied my mind during this charge, and that thought was -what fools we were not to incorporate these nomads—the finest light -cavalry in the world—into our permanent military force. With five -thousand such men, and our aboriginal population would readily furnish -that number, we could harass and annoy any troops that might have the -audacity to land on our coasts, and worry them to death. - -General Crook attempted to open communication with General Terry by -sending out a miner named Kelly, who was to strike for the head of the -Little Big Horn, follow that down until it proved navigable, then make a -raft or support for himself of cottonwood or willow saplings and float -by night to the confluence of the Big Horn and the Yellowstone, and down -the latter to wherever Terry’s camp might be. Kelly made two attempts to -start, but was each time driven or frightened back; but the third time -got off in safety and made the perilous journey, and very much in the -lines laid down in his talk with Crook. - -Violent storms of snow, hail, and cold rain, with tempests of wind, -prevailed upon the summits of the range, which was frequently hidden -from our gaze by lowering masses of inky vapor. Curious effects, not -strictly meteorological, were noticed; our camp was visited by clouds of -flies from the pine forests, which deposited their eggs upon everything; -the heat of the sun was tempered by a gauze veil which inspection showed -to be a myriad of grasshoppers seeking fresh fields of devastation. -Possibly the burning over of hundreds of square miles of pasturage had -driven them to hunt new and unharmed districts; possibly they were -driven down from the higher elevations by the rigorous cold of the -storms; possibly both causes operated. The fact was all we cared for, -and we found it disagreeable enough. With these insects there was larger -game: mountain sheep appeared in the lower foot-hills, and two of them -were killed along our camp lines. To balk any attempt of the enemy to -deprive us altogether of grass, whenever camp was moved to a new site, a -detail of men was put to work to surround us with a fire-line, which -would prevent the fires set by mischievous Sioux from gaining headway. -In making one of these moves we found the Tongue River extremely swollen -from the storms in the higher peaks, and one of the drivers, a good man -but rather inexperienced, had the misfortune to lose his -self-possession, and his wagon was overturned by the deep current and -three of the mules drowned, the man himself being rescued by the -exertions of the Shoshone scouts, who were passing at the moment. - -On the 19th of July four Crow Indians rode into camp bearing despatches, -the duplicates of those already received by the hands of Evans, Stewart, -and Bell. General Terry, realizing the risk the latter ran, had taken -the precaution to repeat his correspondence with Crook in order that the -latter might surely understand the exact situation of affairs in the -north. After being refreshed with sleep and a couple of good warm meals, -the Crows were interrogated concerning all they knew of the position of -the hostiles, their numbers, ammunition, and other points of the same -kind. Squatting upon the ground, with fingers and hands deftly moving, -they communicated through the “sign language” a detailed account of the -advance of Terry, Gibbon, and Custer; the march of Custer, the attack -upon the village of “Crazy Horse” and “Sitting Bull,” the massacre, the -retreat of Reno, the investment, the arrival of fresh troops on the -field, the carrying away of the wounded to the steamboats, the sorrow in -the command, and many other things which would astonish persons ignorant -of the scope and power of this silent vehicle for the interchange of -thought. - -The troops having been paid off by Major Arthur, who had come with -Colonel Chambers and the wagon-train, the Shoshones each evening had -pony races for some of the soldiers’ money. This was the great amusement -of our allies, besides gambling, fishing, drilling, and hunting. The -greater the crowd assembled, the greater the pleasure they took in -showing their rare skill in riding and managing their fleet little -ponies. The course laid off was ordinarily one of four hundred yards. -The signal given, with whip and heel each rider plied his maddened -steed; it was evident that the ponies were quite as much worked up in -the matter as their riders. With one simultaneous bound the half-dozen -or more contestants dart like arrow from bow; a cloud of dust rises and -screens them from vision; it is useless to try to pierce this veil; it -is unnecessary, because within a very few seconds the quaking earth -throbs responsive to many-footed blows, and, quick as lightning’s flash, -the mass of steaming, panting, and frenzied steeds dash past, and the -race is over. Over so far as the horses were concerned, but only begun -so far as the various points of excellence of the riders and their -mounts could be argued about and disputed. - -This did not conclude the entertainment of each day: the Shoshones -desired to add still more to the debt of gratitude we already owed them, -so they held a serenade whenever the night was calm and fair. Once when -the clouds had rolled by and the pale light of the moon was streaming -down upon tents and pack-trains, wagons and sleeping animals, the -Shoshones became especially vociferous, and I learned from the -interpreter that they were singing to the moon. This was one of the most -pronounced examples of moon worship coming under my observation. - -The Shoshones were expert fishermen, and it was always a matter of -interest to me to spend my spare moments among them, watching their way -of doing things. Their war lodges were entirely unlike those of the -Apaches, with which I had become familiar. The Shoshones would take half -a dozen willow branches and insert them in the earth, so as to make a -semi-cylindrical framework, over which would be spread a sufficiency of -blankets to afford the requisite shelter. They differed also from the -Apaches in being very fond of fish; the Apaches could not be persuaded -to touch anything with scales upon it, or any bird which lived upon -fish; but the Shoshones had more sense, and made the most of their -opportunity to fill themselves with the delicious trout of the mountain -streams. They did not bother much about hooks and lines, flies, casts, -and appliances and tricks of that kind, but set to work methodically to -get the biggest mess the streams would yield. They made a dam of rocks -and a wattle-work of willow, through which the water could pass without -much impediment, but which would retain all solids. Two or three young -men would stay by this dam or framework as guards to repair accidents. -The others of the party, mounting their ponies, would start down-stream -to a favorable location and there enter and begin the ascent of the -current, keeping their ponies in touch, lashing the surface of the -stream in their front with long poles, and all the while joining in a -wild medicine song. The frightened trout, having no other mode of -escape, would dart up-stream only to be held in the dam, from which the -Indians would calmly proceed to take them out in gunny sacks. It was not -very sportsmanlike, but it was business. - -I find the statement in my note-books that there must have been at least -fifteen thousand trout captured in the streams upon which we had been -encamped during that period of three weeks, and I am convinced that my -figures are far below the truth; the whole command was living upon trout -or as much as it wanted; when it is remembered that we had hundreds of -white and red soldiers, teamsters, and packers, and that when Crook -finally left this region the camp was full of trout, salt or dried in -the sun or smoked, and that every man had all he could possibly eat for -days and days, the enormous quantity taken must be apparent. Added to -this we continued to have a considerable amount of venison, elk, and -bear meat, but no buffalo had been seen for some days, probably on -account of the destruction of grass. Mountain sheep and bear took its -place to a certain extent. - -It was the opinion and advice of Sheridan that Crook should wait for the -arrival of Merritt, and that the combined force should then hunt Terry -and unite with him, and punish the Sioux, rather than attempt to do -anything with a force which might prove inadequate. In this view old -“Washakie” fully concurred. The old chief said to Crook: “The Sioux and -Cheyennes have three to your one, even now that you have been -reinforced; why not let them alone for a few days? they cannot subsist -the great numbers of warriors and men in their camp, and will have to -scatter for pasturage and meat; they’ll begin to fight among themselves -about the plunder taken on the battle-field, and many will want to slip -into the agencies and rejoin their families.” - -But, while waiting for Merritt to come up with his ten companies of -cavalry, Crook sent out two large scouting parties to definitely -determine the location and strength of the enemy. One of these consisted -entirely of Shoshones, under “Washakie;” it penetrated to the head of -the Little Big Horn and around the corner of the mountain to the cañon -of the Big. Horn; the site of a great camp was found of hundreds of -lodges and thousands of ponies, but the indications were that the enemy -were getting hard pressed for food, as they had been eating their dogs -and ponies whose bones were picked up around the camp-fires. From that -point the trails showed that the enemy had gone to the northeast towards -the Powder River. The other scouting party was led by Louis Richaud, and -passed over the Big Horn Mountains and down into the cañon of the Big -Horn River; they found where the Sioux of the big village had sent -parties up into the range to cut and trim lodge-poles in great numbers. -Richaud and his party suffered extremely from cold; the lakes on the -summit of the mountains were frozen, and on the 1st of August they were -exposed to a severe snow-storm. - -Later advices from Sheridan told that the control of the Sioux agencies -had been transferred to the War Department; that Mackenzie and six -companies of his regiment had been ordered to take charge at Red Cloud -and Spotted Tail, assisted by Gordon with two companies of the Fifth -Cavalry. Although showers of rain were of almost daily occurrence, and -storms of greater importance very frequent, the weather was so far -advanced, and the grass so dry and so far in seed, that there was always -danger of a conflagration from carelessness with fire. - -One of the Shoshones dropped a lighted match in the dry grass near his -lodge, and in a second a rattle and crackle warned the camp of its -danger. All hands, Indian and white, near by rushed up with blankets, -blouses, switches, and branches of trees to beat back the flames. This -was a dangerous task; as, one after another, the Shoshone frame shelters -were enveloped in the fiery embrace of the surging flames, the explosion -of cartridges and the whistling of bullets drove our men back to places -of safety. In the tall and dry grass the flames held high revel; the -whole infantry command was turned out, and bravely set to work, and, -aided by a change in the wind, secured camp from destruction. While thus -engaged, they discovered a body of Indians moving down the declivity of -the mountain; they immediately sprang to arms and prepared to resist -attack; a couple of white men advanced from the Indian column and called -out to the soldiers that they were a band of Utes and Shoshones from -Camp Brown, coming to join General Crook. - -Our men welcomed and led them into camp, where friends gave them a warm -reception, which included the invariable war-dance and the evening -serenade. Some of the new-comers strolled over to chat with the -Shoshones who had been wounded in the Rosebud fight, and who, although -horribly cut up with bullet wounds in the thigh or in the flanks, as the -case was, had recovered completely under the care of their own doctors, -who applied, nothing but cool water as a dressing; but I noticed that -they were not all the time washing out the wounds as Americans would -have done, which treatment as they think would only irritate the tender -surfaces. The new-comers proved to be a band of thirty-five, and were -all good men. - -On the 2d of August camp was greatly excited over what was termed a game -of base-ball between the officers of the infantry and cavalry; quite a -number managed to hit the ball, and one or two catches were made; the -playing was in much the same style, and of about the same comparative -excellence, as the amateur theatrical exhibitions, where those who come -to scoff remain to pray that they may never have to come again. - - - - - CHAPTER XX. - -THE JUNCTION WITH MERRITT AND THE MARCH TO MEET TERRY—THE COUNTRY ON - FIRE—MERRITT AND HIS COMMAND—MR. “GRAPHIC”—STANTON AND HIS - “IRREGULARS”—“UTE JOHN”—THE SITE OF THE HOSTILE CAMP—A SIOUX - CEMETERY—MEETING TERRY’S COMMAND—FINDING TWO SKELETONS—IN THE BAD - LANDS—LANCING RATTLESNAKES—BATHING IN THE YELLOWSTONE—MACKINAW BOATS - AND “BULL” BOATS—THE REES HAVE A PONY DANCE—SOME TERRIBLE - STORMS—LIEUTENANT WILLIAM P. CLARKE. - - -On the 3d of August, 1876, Crook’s command marched twenty miles -north-northeast to Goose Creek, where Merritt had been ordered to await -its arrival. The flames of prairie fires had parched and disfigured the -country. “Big Bat” took me a short cut across a petty affluent of the -Goose, which had been full of running water but was now dry as a bone, -choked with ashes and dust, the cottonwoods along its banks on fire, and -every sign that its current had been dried up by the intense heat of the -flames. In an hour or so more the pent-up waters forced a passage -through the ashes, and again flowed down to mingle with the Yellowstone. -The Sioux had also set fire to the timber in the Big Horn, and at night -the sight was a beautiful one of the great line of the foot-hills -depicted in a tracery of gold. - -General Merritt received us most kindly. He was at that time a very -young man, but had had great experience during the war in command of -mounted troops. He was blessed with a powerful physique, and seemed to -be specially well adapted to undergo any measure of fatigue and -privation that might befall him. His force consisted of ten companies of -the Fifth Cavalry, and he had also brought along with him seventy-six -recruits for the Second and Third Regiments, and over sixty surplus -horses, besides an abundance of ammunition. - -The officers with General Merritt, or whose names have not already been -mentioned in these pages, were: Lieutenant-Colonel E. A. Carr, Major -John V. Upham, Lieutenant A. D. B. Smead, A. D. King, George O. Eaton, -Captain Robert H. Montgomery, Emil Adam, Lieutenant E. L. Keyes, Captain -Samuel Sumner, Lieutenant C. P. Rodgers, Captain George F. Price, -Captain J. Scott Payne, Lieutenants A. B. Bache, William P. Hall, -Captain E. M. Hayes, Lieutenant Hoel S. Bishop, Captain Sanford C. -Kellogg, Lieutenants Bernard Reilly and Robert London, Captain Julius W. -Mason, Lieutenant Charles King, Captain Edward H. Leib, Captain William -H. Powell, Captain James Kennington, Lieutenant John Murphy, Lieutenant -Charles Lloyd, Captain Daniel W. Burke, Lieutenant F. S. Calhoun, -Captain Thomas F. Tobey, Lieutenant Frank Taylor, Lieutenant Richard T. -Yeatman, Lieutenants Julius H. Pardee, Robert H. Young, Rockefeller, and -Satterlle C. Plummer, with Lieutenants W. C. Forbush as Adjutant, and -Charles H. Rockwell as Quartermaster of the Fifth Cavalry, and Assistant -Surgeons Grimes, Lecompt, and Surgeon B. H. Clements, who was announced -as Medical Director of the united commands by virtue of rank. Colonel T. -H. Stanton was announced as in command of the irregulars and citizen -volunteers, who in small numbers accompanied the expedition. He was -assisted by Lieutenant Robert H. Young, Fourth Infantry, a gallant and -efficient soldier of great experience. At the head of the scouts with -Merritt rode William F. Cody, better known to the world at large by his -dramatic representation which has since traversed two continents: -“Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.” - -Major Furey was directed to remain at this point, or in some eligible -locality close to it, and keep with him the wagon-train and the -disabled. Paymaster Arthur was to stay with him; and outside of that -there were three casualties in the two commands: Sutorius, dismissed by -sentence of general court-martial; Wilson, resigned July 29th; and Cain, -whose mind betrayed symptoms of unsoundness, and who was ordered to -remain with Furey, but persisted in keeping with the column until the -Yellowstone had been reached. Couriers arrived with telegrams from -General Sheridan at Chicago, Williams at Omaha, and Colonel Townsend, -commanding at Fort Laramie; all of whom had likewise sent clippings from -the latest papers, furnishing information from all points in the Indian -country. From these clippings it was learned that the stream of -adventurers pouring into the Black Hills was unabated, and that at the -confluence of the Deadwood and Whitewood Creeks a large town or city of -no less than four thousand inhabitants had sprung up and was working the -gold “placers,” all the time exposed to desperate attacks from the -Indians, who, according to one statement, which was afterwards shown to -be perfectly true, had murdered more than eighty men in less than eight -days. These men were not killed within the limits of the town, but in -its environs and in the exposed “claims” out in the Hills. - -Several new correspondents had attached themselves to Merritt’s column; -among them I recall Mills, of the New York _Times_, and Lathrop, of the -_Bulletin_, of San Francisco. These, I believe, were the only real -correspondents in the party, although there were others who vaunted -their pretensions; one of these last, name now forgotten, claimed to -have been sent out by the New York _Graphic_, a statement very few were -inclined to admit. He was the greenest thing I ever saw without -feathers; he had never been outside of New York before, and the way the -scouts, packers, and soldiers “laid for” that man was a caution. Let the -other newspaper men growl as they might about the lack of news, Mr. -“Graphic,” as I must call him, never had any right to complain on that -score. Never was packer or scout or soldier—shall I add officer?—so -weary, wet, hungry, or miserable at the end of a day’s march that he -couldn’t devote a half-hour to the congenial task of “stuffin’ the -tenderfoot,” The stories told of Indian atrocities to captives, -especially those found with paper and lead-pencils, were enough to make -the stoutest veteran’s teeth chatter, and at times our newly-discovered -acquisition manifested a disinclination to swallow, unstrained, the -stories told him; but his murmurs of mild dissent were drowned in an -inundation of “Oh, that hain’t nawthin’ to what I’ve seed ’em do.” Who -the poor fellow was I do not know; no one seemed to know him by any -other designation than “The Tenderfoot.” He had no money, he could not -draw, and was dependent upon the packers and others for every meal; I -must say that he never lacked food, provided he swallowed it with tales -of border horrors which would cause the pages of the Boys’ Own Five-Cent -Novelette series to creak with terror. I never saw him smile but once, -and that was under provocation sufficient to lead a corpse to laugh -itself out of its shroud. - -One of the biggest liars among Stanton’s scouts—I do not recall whether -it was “Slap-jack Billy, the Pride of the Pan-Handle,” or “Pisen-weed -Patsey, the Terror of the Bresh”—was devoting a half-hour of his -valuable time to “gettin’ in his work” on the victim, and was riding one -pony and leading another, which he had tied to the tail of the first by -a rope or halter. This plan worked admirably, and would have been a -success to the end had not the led pony started at some Indian clothing -in the trail, and jumped, and pulled the tail of the leader nearly out -by the roots. The front horse wasn’t going to stand any such nonsense as -that; he squealed and kicked and plunged in rage, sending his rider over -his head like a rocket, and then, still attached to the other, something -after the style of a Siamese twin, charged through the column of scouts, -scattering them in every direction. But this paroxysm of hilarity was -soon over, and the correspondent subsided into his normal condition of -deep-settled melancholy. He left us when we reached the Yellowstone, and -I have never blamed him. - -One of the facts brought out in the telegrams received by General Crook -was that eight warriors, who had left the hostiles and surrendered at -Red Cloud Agency, had reported that the main body of the hostiles would -turn south. Lieutenant E. B. Robertson, Ninth Infantry, found a -soapstone dish on the line of march, which could have come from the -Mandans only, either by trade or theft; or, possibly, some band of -Mandans, in search of buffalo, had penetrated thus far into the interior -and had lost it. - -In a telegram sent in to Sheridan about this date Crook said: “On the -25th or 26th, all the hostile Indians left the foot of the Big Horn -Mountains, and moved back in the direction of the Rosebud Mountains, so -that it is now impracticable to communicate with General Terry by -courier. I am fearful that they will scatter, as there is not sufficient -grass in that country to support them in such large numbers. If we meet -the Indians in too strong force, I will swing around and unite with -General Terry. Your management of the agencies will be a great benefit -to us here.” - -We had one busy day; saddles had to be exchanged or repaired, horses -shod, ammunition issued, provisions packed, and all stores in excess -turned into the wagon-train. The allowance of baggage was cut down to -the minimum: every officer and soldier was to have the clothes on his -back and no more; one overcoat, one blanket (to be carried by the -cavalry over the saddle blanket), and one India-rubber poncho or -one-half of a shelter tent, was the allowance carried by General Crook, -the members of his staff, and all the officers, soldiers, and packers. -We had rations for fifteen days—half of bacon, sugar, coffee, and salt, -and full of hard bread; none of vinegar, soap, pepper, etc. There were -two hundred and fifty rounds of ammunition to the man; one hundred to be -carried on the person, and the rest on the pack-mules, of which there -were just three hundred and ninety-nine. The pack-train was in five -divisions, each led by a bell-mare; no tents allowed, excepting one for -the use of the surgeons attending to critical cases. “Travois” poles -were hauled along to drag wounded in case it should become necessary. - -Our mess, which now numbered eleven, was, beyond dispute, the most -remarkable mess the army has ever known. I challenge comparison with it -from anything that has ever been seen among our officers outside of -Libby or Andersonville prisons. General Crook did not allow us either -knife, fork, spoon, or plate. Each member carried strapped to the pommel -of his saddle a tin cup, from which at balmy morn or dewy eve, as the -poets would say, he might quaff the decoction called coffee. Our kitchen -utensils comprised one frying-pan, one carving-knife, one carving-fork, -one large coffee pot, one large tin platter, one large and two small tin -ladles or spoons, and the necessary bags for carrying sugar, coffee, -bacon, and hard bread. I forgot to say that we had also one sheet-iron -mess pan. General Crook had determined to make his column as mobile as a -column of Indians, and he knew that example was more potent than a score -of general orders. - -We marched down “Prairie Dog” Creek, to its junction with Tongue River, -passing through a village of prairie dogs, which village was six miles -long. The mental alienation of our unfortunate friend—Captain -Cain—became more and more apparent. By preference, I rode with Colonel -Stanton’s scouts; they called themselves the “Montana Volunteers,” but -why they did so I never could understand, unless it was that every other -State and Territory had repudiated them and set a price upon their -heads. There was a rumor widely circulated in camp to the effect that -one or two of these scouts had never been indicted for murder; it was -generally suspected that Stanton himself was at the bottom of this, in -his anxiety to secure a better name for his corps. There were very few -of them who couldn’t claim the shelter of the jails of Cheyenne, Denver, -and Omaha by merely presenting themselves, and confessing certain -circumstances known to the police and detectives of those thriving -boroughs. Many a night Joe Wasson, Strahorn, and I sat upon our saddles, -to be sure that we should have them with us at sunrise. One of the most -important of these volunteers was “Ute John,” a member of the tribe of -the same name, who claimed to have been thoroughly civilized and -Christianized, because he had once, for six months, been “dlivin’ team -fo’ Mo’mon” in Salt Lake. “Ute John” was credited by most people with -having murdered his own grandmother and drunk her blood, but, in my -opinion, the reports to his detriment were somewhat exaggerated, and he -was harmless except when sober, which wasn’t often, provided whiskey was -handy. “John’s” proudest boast was that he was a “Klischun,” and he -assured me that he had been three times baptized in one year by the -“Mo’mon,” who had made him “heap wash,” and gave him “heap biled shirt,” -by which we understood that he had been baptized and clad in the -garments of righteousness, which he sorely needed. “Ute John” had one -peculiarity: he would never speak to any one but Crook himself in regard -to the issues of the campaign. “Hello, Cluke,” he would say, “how you -gittin’ on? Where you tink dem Clazy Hoss en Settin’ Bull is now, -Cluke?” - -We had a difficult time marching down the Tongue, which had to be forded -thirteen times in one day, the foot-soldiers disdaining the aid which -the cavalry was ordered to extend by carrying across all who so desired. -The country was found to be one gloomy desolation. We crossed the -Rosebud Mountains and descended into the Rosebud Creek, where trails -were found as broad and distinct as wagon-roads; the grass was picked -clean, and the valley, of which I wrote so enthusiastically in the -spring, was now a desert. We discovered the trap which “Crazy Horse” had -set for us at the Rosebud fight on the 17th of June, and confidence in -Crook was increased tenfold by the knowledge that he had outwitted the -enemy on that occasion. The Sioux and Cheyennes had encamped in seven -circles, covering four miles in length of the valley. The trail was from -ten to twelve days old, and, in the opinion of Frank and the other -guides, had been made by from ten to twenty thousand ponies. - -The hills bordering the Rosebud were vertical bluffs presenting -beautiful alternations of color in their stratification; there were -bands of red, pink, cream, black, and purple; the different tints -blending by easy gradations into a general effect pleasing to the eye. -There were quantities of lignite which would be of incalculable benefit -to the white settlers who might in the future flock into this region. In -riding along with our Indian scouts we learned much of the secret -societies among the aboriginal tribes: the “Brave Night Hearts,” the -“Owl Feathers,” and the “Wolves and Foxes.” These control the tribe, -fight its battles, and determine its policy. Initiation into some one of -them is essential to the young warrior’s advancement. The cañon of the -Rosebud would seem to have been the burying-ground of the Western -Dakotas; there were dozens of graves affixed to the branches of the -trees, some of them of great age, and all raided by our ruthless -Shoshones and Utes, who with their lances tumbled the bones to the -ground and ransacked the coverings for mementos of value, sometimes -getting fine bows, at others, nickel-plated revolvers. There was one -which the Shoshones were afraid to touch, and which they said was full -of bad “medicine;” but “Ute John,” fortified, no doubt, by the grace of -his numerous Mormon baptisms, was not restrained by vain fears, and -tumbled it to the ground, letting loose sixteen field mice which in some -way had made their home in those sepulchral cerements. - -Captain “Jack Crawford, the Poet Scout,” rode into camp on the 8th of -August attended by a few companions. The weather became rainy, and the -trail muddy and heavy. August 11th our scouts sent in the information -that a line of Indians was coming up the valley, and our men advanced as -skirmishers. Soon word was received that behind the supposed enemy could -be seen the white canvas coders of a long column of wagons, and we then -knew that we were about to meet Terry’s command. Our cavalry were -ordered to halt and unsaddle to await the approach of the infantry. The -Indian scouts were directed to proceed to the front and determine -exactly who the strangers were. They decked themselves in all the -barbaric splendors of which they were capable: war-bonnets streamed to -the ground; lances and rifles gleamed in the sun; ponies and riders, -daubed with mud, pranced out to meet our friends, as we were assured -they must be. - -When our Indians raised their yells and chants, the scouts at the head -of the other column took fright and ran in upon the solid masses of -horsemen following the main trail. These immediately deployed into line -of skirmishers, behind which we saw, or thought we saw, several pieces -of artillery. “Buffalo Bill,” who was riding at the head of our column, -waved his hat, and, putting spurs to his horse, galloped up alongside of -Major Reno, of the Seventh Cavalry, who was leading Terry’s advance. -When the news passed down from man to man, cheers arose from the two -columns; as fast as the cheers of Terry’s advance guard reached the ears -of our men, they responded with heart and soul. General Crook sent -Lieutenant Schuyler to extend a welcome to General Terry, and proffer to -him and his officers such hospitalities as we could furnish. - -Schuyler returned, leading to the tree under which Crook was seated a -band of officers at whose head rode Terry himself. The meeting between -the two commanders was most cordial, as was that between the subalterns, -many of whom had served together during the war and in other places. We -made every exertion to receive our guests with the best in our -possession: messengers were despatched down to the pack-trains to borrow -every knife, fork, spoon, and dish available, and they returned with -about thirty of each and two great coffee-pots, which were soon humming -on the fire filled to the brim with an exhilarating decoction. Phillips, -the cook, was assisted on this occasion by a man whose experience had -been garnered among the Nez Percés and Flat-Heads, certainly not among -Caucasians, although I must admit that he worked hard and did the best -he knew how. A long strip of canvas was stretched upon the ground and -covered with the tin cups and cutlery. Terry and his staff seated -themselves and partook of what we had to offer, which was not very much, -but was given with full heart. - -Terry was one of the most charming and affable of men; his general air -was that of the scholar no less than the soldier. His figure was tall -and commanding; his face gentle, yet decided; his kindly blue eyes -indicated good-nature; his complexion, bronzed by wind and rain and sun -to the color of an old sheepskin-covered Bible, gave him a decidedly -martial appearance. He won his way to all hearts by unaffectedness and -affability. In his manner he was the antithesis of Crook. Crook was also -simple and unaffected, but he was reticent and taciturn to the extreme -of sadness, brusque to the verge of severity. In Terry’s face I thought -I could sometimes detect traces of indecision; but in Crook’s -countenance there was not the slightest intimation of anything but -stubbornness, rugged resolution, and bull-dog tenacity. Of the two men -Terry alone had any pretensions to scholarship, and his attainments were -so great that the whole army felt proud of him; but Nature had been -bountiful to Crook, and as he stood there under a tree talking with -Terry, I thought that within that cleanly outlined skull, beneath that -brow, and behind those clear-glancing blue-gray eyes, there was -concealed more military sagacity, more quickness of comprehension and -celerity to meet unexpected emergencies, than in any of our then living -Generals excepting Grant, of whose good qualities he constantly reminded -me, or Sheridan, whose early friend and companion he had been at West -Point and in Oregon. - -That evening, General Crook and his staff dined with General Terry, -meeting with the latter Captains Smith and Gibbs, Lieutenants Maguire, -Walker, Thompson, Nowlan, and Michaelis. From this point Terry sent his -wagon-train down to the Yellowstone, and ordered the Fifth Infantry to -embark on one of the steamboats and patrol the river, looking out for -trails of hostiles crossing or attempting to cross to the north. All the -sick and disabled were sent down with this column; we lost Cain and -Bache and a number of enlisted men, broken down by the exposure of the -campaign. The heat in the middle of the day had become excessive, and -General Terry informed me that on the 8th it registered in his own tent -117° Fahrenheit, and on the 7th, 110°. Much of this increase of -temperature was, no doubt, due to the heat from the pasturage destroyed -by the hostiles, which comprehended an area extending from the -Yellowstone to the Big Horn Mountains, from the Big Horn River on the -west to the Little Missouri on the east. - -In two things the column from the Yellowstone was sadly deficient: in -cavalry and in rapid transportation. The Seventh Cavalry was in need of -reorganization, half of its original numbers having been killed or -wounded in the affair of the Big Horn; the pack-train, made up, as it -necessarily was, of animals taken out of the traces of the heavy wagons, -was the saddest burlesque in that direction which it has ever been my -lot to witness—for this no blame was ascribable to Terry, who was doing -the best he could with the means allowed him from Washington. The Second -Cavalry was in good shape, and so was Gibbon’s column of infantry, which -seemed ready to go wherever ordered and go at once. Crook’s pack-train -was a marvel of system; it maintained a discipline much severer than had -been attained by any company in either column; under the indefatigable -supervision of Tom Moore, Dave Mears, and others, who had had an -experience of more than a quarter of a century, our mules moved with a -precision to which the worn-out comparison of “clockwork” is justly -adapted. The mules had been continuously in training since the preceding -December, making long marches, carrying heavy burdens in the worst sort -of weather. Consequently, they were hardened to the hardness and -toughness of wrought-iron and whalebone. They followed the bell, and -were as well trained as any soldiers in the command. Behind them one -could see the other pack-train, a string of mules, of all sizes, each -led by one soldier and beaten and driven along by another—attendants -often rivalling animals in dumbness—and it was hard to repress a smile -except by the reflection that this was the motive power of a column -supposed to be in pursuit of savages. On the first day’s march, after -meeting Crook, Terry’s pack-train dropped, lost, or damaged more stores -than Crook’s command had spoiled from the same causes from the time when -the campaign commenced. - -When the united columns struck the Tongue, the trail of the hostile -bands had split into three: one going up stream, one down, and one -across country east towards the Powder. Crook ordered his scouts to -examine in front and on flanks, and in the mean time the commands -unsaddled and went into camp; the scouts did not return until almost -dark, when they brought information that the main trail had kept on in -the direction of the Powder. Colonel Royall’s command found the -skeletons of two mining prospectors in the bushes near the Tongue; -appearances indicated that the Sioux had captured these men and roasted -them alive. On this march we saw a large “medicine rock,” in whose -crevices the Sioux had deposited various propitiatory offerings, and -upon whose face had been graven figures and symbols of fanciful and -grotesque outline. - -In following the main trail of the enemy it seemed as if we were on a -newly cut country road; when we reached a projecting hill of marl and -sandy clay, the lodge poles had cut into the soft soil to such an extent -that we could almost believe that we were on the line of work just -completed, with pick, spade, and shovel, by a gang of trained laborers. -Trout were becoming scarce in this part of the Tongue, but a very -delicious variety of the “cat” was caught and added to the mess to the -great delight of the epicure members. The rain had increased in volume, -and rarely an hour now passed without its shower. One night, while -sitting by what was supposed to be our camp-fire, watching the -sputtering flames struggling to maintain life against the down-pouring -waters, I heard my name called, and as soon as I could drag my sodden, -sticky clothes through a puddle of mud I found myself face to face with -Sam Hamilton, of the Second, whom I had not seen since we were boys -together in the volunteer service in the Stone River campaign, in 1862. -It was a very melancholy meeting, each soaked through to the skin, -seated alongside of smoking embers, and chilled to the marrow, talking -of old times, of comrades dead, and wondering who next was to be called. - -The Indian trail led down the Tongue for some miles before it turned -east up the “Four Horn” Creek, where we followed it, being rewarded with -an abundance of very fine grama, called by our scouts the “Two-Day” -grass, because a bellyful of it would enable a tired horse to travel for -two days more. An Indian puppy was found abandoned by its red-skinned -owners, and was adopted by one of the infantry soldiers, who carried it -on his shoulders. Part of this time we were in “Bad Lands,” infested -with rattlesnakes in great numbers, which our Shoshones lanced with -great glee. It was very interesting to watch them, and see how they -avoided being bitten: three or four would ride up within easy distance -of the doomed reptile and distract its attention by threatening passes -with their lances; the crotalus would throw itself into a coil in half a -second, and stay there, tongue darting in and out, head revolving from -side to side, leaden eyes scintillating with the glare of the diamond, -ready to strike venomous fangs into any one coming within reach. The -Shoshone boys would drive their lances into the coil from three or four -different directions, exclaiming at the same time: “Gott tammee you! -Gott tammee you!” which was all the English they had been able to -master. - -We struck the Powder and followed it down to its junction with the -Yellowstone, where we were to replenish our supplies from Terry’s -steamboats. The Powder contrasted unfavorably with the Tongue: the -latter was about one hundred and fifty feet wide, four feet deep, swift -current, and cold water, and, except in the Bad Lands near its mouth, -clear and sweet, and not perceptibly alkaline. The Powder was the -opposite in every feature: its water, turbid and milky; current, slow; -bottom, muddy and frequently miry, whereas that of the Tongue was nearly -always hard-pan. The water of the Powder was alkaline and not always -palatable, and the fords rarely good and often dangerous. The -Yellowstone was a delightful stream: its width was not over two hundred -and fifty yards, but its depth was considerable, its bed constant, and -channel undeviating. The current flows with so little noise that an -unsuspecting person would have no idea of its velocity; but steamboats -could rarely stem it, and bathers venturing far from the banks were -swept off their feet. The depth was never less than five feet in the -main channel during time of high water. The banks were thickly grassed -and covered with cottonwood and other timber in heavy copses. - -Crook’s forces encamped on the western bank of the Powder; the supplies -we had looked for were not on hand in sufficient quantity, and -Lieutenant Bubb, our commissary, reported that he was afraid that we -were going to be grievously disappointed in that regard. General Terry -sent steamers up and down the Yellowstone to gather up all stores from -depots, and also from points where they had been unloaded on account of -shallow water. Crook’s men spent a great deal of the time bathing in the -Yellowstone and washing their clothes, following the example set by the -General himself: each man waded out into the channel clad in his -undergarments and allowed the current to soak them thoroughly, and he -would then stand in the sunlight until dried. Each had but the suit on -his back, and this was all the cleaning or change they had for sixty -days. The Utes and Shoshones became very discontented, and “Washakie” -had several interviews with Crook, in which he plainly told the latter -that his people would not remain longer with Terry’s column, because of -the inefficiency of its transportation; with such mules nothing could be -done; the infantry was all right, and so was part of the cavalry, but -the pack-train was no good, and was simply impeding progress. The -steamer “Far West,” Captain Grant Marsh, was sent up the river to the -mouth of the Rosebud to bring down all the supplies to be found in the -depot at that point, but returned with very little for so many mouths as -we now had—about four thousand all told. - -A great many fine agates were found in the Yellowstone near the Powder, -and so common were they that nearly all provided themselves with -souvenirs from that source. Colonel Burt was sent up the river to try to -induce the Crows to send some of their warriors to take the places soon -to be vacated by the Shoshones, as Crook foresaw that without native -scouts the expedition might as well be abandoned. Burt was unsuccessful -in his mission, and all our scouts left with the exception of the -much-disparaged “Ute John,” who expressed his determination to stick it -out to the last. - -Mackinaw boats, manned by adventurous traders from Montana, had -descended the river loaded with all kinds of knick-knacks for the use of -the soldiers; these were retailed at enormous prices, but eagerly bought -by men who had no other means of getting rid of their money. Besides the -“Mackinaw,” which was made of rough timber framework, the waters of the -Yellowstone and the Missouri were crossed by the “bull-boat,” which bore -a close resemblance to the basket “coracle” of the west coast of -Ireland, and, like it, was a framework of willow or some kind of -basketry covered with the skins of the buffalo, or other bovine; in -these frail hemispherical barks squaws would paddle themselves and -baggage and pappooses across the swift-running current and gain the -opposite bank in safety. - -At the mouth of Powder there was a sutler’s store packed from morning -till night with a crowd of expectant purchasers. To go in there was all -one’s life was worth: one moment a soldier stepped on one of your feet, -and the next some two-hundred-pound packer favored the other side in the -same manner. A disagreeable sand-storm drove Colonel Stanton and myself -to the shelter of the lunette constructed by Lieutenant William P. -Clarke, Second Cavalry, who had descended the Yellowstone from Fort -Ellis with a piece of artillery. Here we lunched with Clarke and Colonel -Carr, of the Fifth Cavalry, stormbound like ourselves. The Ree scouts -attached to Terry’s column favored our Utes and Shoshones with a “pony” -dance after nightfall. The performers were almost naked, and, with their -ponies, bedaubed and painted from head to foot. They advanced in a -regular line, which was not broken for any purpose, going over every -obstruction, even trampling down the rude structures of cottonwood -branches erected by the Utes and Shoshones for protection from the -elements. As soon as they had come within a few yards of the camp-fires -of the Shoshones, the latter, with the Utes, joined the Rees in their -chant and also jumped upon their ponies, which staggered for some -minutes around camp under their double and even treble load, until, -thank Heaven! the affair ended. Although I had what might be called a -“deadhead” view of the dance, I did not enjoy it at all, and was not -sorry when the Rees said that they would have to go back to their own -camp. - -There was not very much to eat down on the Yellowstone, and one could -count on his fingers the “square” meals in that lovely valley. -Conspicuous among them should be the feast of hot bacon and beans, to -which Tom Moore invited Hartsuff, Stanton, Bubb, Wasson, Strahorn, -Schuyler, and myself long after the camp was wrapped in slumber. The -beans were cooked to a turn; there was plenty of hard-tack and coffee, -with a small quantity of sugar; each knew the other, there was much to -talk about, and in the light and genial warmth of the fire, with -stomachs filled, we passed a delightful time until morning had almost -dawned. - -On the 20th of August, our Utes and Shoshones left, and word was also -received from the Crows that they were afraid to let any of the young -men leave their own country while such numbers of the Sioux and -Cheyennes were in hostility, and so close to them. General Crook had a -flag prepared for his headquarters after the style prevailing in Terry’s -column, which served the excellent purpose of directing orderlies and -officers promptly to the battalion or other command to which a message -was to be delivered. This standard, for the construction of which we -were indebted to the industry of Randall and Schuyler, was rather -primitive in design and general make-up. It was a guidon, of two -horizontal bands, white above, red beneath, with a blue star in the -centre. The white was from a crash towel contributed by Colonel Stanton, -the red came from a flannel undershirt belonging to Schuyler, and an old -blouse which Randall was about to throw away furnished the star. Tom -Moore had a “travois” pole shaved down for a staff, the ferrule and tip -of which were made of metallic cartridges. - -Supper had just been finished that day when we were exposed to as -miserable a storm as ever drowned the spirit and enthusiasm out of any -set of mortals. It didn’t come on suddenly, but with slowness and -deliberation almost premeditated. For more than an hour fleecy clouds -skirmished in the sky, wheeling and circling lazily until re-enforced -from the west, and then moving boldly forward and hanging over camp in -dense, black, sullen masses. All bestirred themselves to make such -preparations as they could to withstand the siege: willow twigs and -grasses were cut in quantities, and to these were added sage-brush and -grease-wood. Wood was stacked up for the fire, so that at the earliest -moment possible after the cessation of the storm it could be rekindled -and afford some chance of warming ourselves and drying clothing. With -the twigs and sage-brush we built up beds in the best-drained nooks and -corners, placed our saddles and bridles at our heads, and carbines and -cartridges at our sides to keep them dry. As a last protection, a couple -of lariats were tied together, one end of the rope fastened to a picket -pin in the ground, the other to the limb of the withered Cottonwood -alongside of which headquarters had been established; over this were -stretched a couple of blankets from the pack-train, and we had done our -best. There was nothing else to do but grin and bear all that was to -happen. The storm-king had waited patiently for the completion of these -meagre preparations, and now, with a loud, ear-piercing crash of -thunder, and a hissing flash of white lightning, gave the signal to the -elements to begin the attack. We cowered helplessly under the shock, -sensible that human strength was insignificant in comparison with the -power of the blast which roared and yelled and shrieked about us. - -For hours the rain poured down—either as heavy drops which stung by -their momentum; as little pellets which drizzled through canvas and -blankets, chilling our blood as they soaked into clothing; or -alternating with hail which in great, globular crystals, crackled -against the miserable shelter, whitened the ground, and froze the air. -The reverberation of the thunder was incessant; one shock had barely -begun to echo around the sky, when peal after peal, each stronger, -louder, and more terrifying than its predecessors, blotted from our -minds the sounds and flashes which had awakened our first astonishment, -and made us forget in new frights our old alarms. The lightning darted -from zenith to horizon, appeared in all quarters, played around all -objects. In its glare the smallest bushes, stones, and shrubs stood out -as plainly as under the noon sun of a bright summer’s day; when it -subsided, our spirits were oppressed with the weight of darkness. No -stringing together of words can complete a description of what we saw, -suffered, and feared during that awful tempest. The stoutest hearts, the -oldest soldiers, quailed. - -The last growl of thunder was heard, the last flash of lightning seen, -between two and three in the morning, and then we turned out from our -wretched, water-soaked couches, and gathering around the lakelet in -whose midst our fire had been, tried by the smoke of sodden chips and -twigs to warm our benumbed limbs and dry our saturated clothing. Not -until the dawn of day did we feel the circulation quicken and our -spirits revive. A comparison of opinion developed a coincidence of -sentiment. Everybody agreed that while perhaps this was not the worst -storm he had ever known, the circumstances of our complete exposure to -its force had made it about the very worst any of the command had ever -experienced. There was scarcely a day from that on for nearly a month -that my note-books do not contain references to storms, some of them -fully as severe as the one described in the above lines; the exposure -began to tell upon officers, men, and animals, and I think the statement -will be accepted without challenge that no one who followed Crook during -those terrible days was benefited in any way. - -I made out a rough list of the officers present on this expedition, and -another of those who have died, been killed, died of wounds, or been -retired for one reason or another, and I find that the first list had -one hundred and sixteen names and the second sixty-nine; so it can be -seen that of the officers who were considered to be physically able to -enter upon that campaign in the early summer months of 1876, over fifty -per cent, are not now answering to roll-call on the active list, after -about sixteen years’ interval. The bad weather had the good effects of -bringing to the surface all the dormant geniality of Colonel Evans’s -disposition: he was the Mark Tapley of the column; the harder it rained, -the louder he laughed; the bright shafts of lightning revealed nothing -more inspiriting than our worthy friend’s smile of serene contentment. -In Colonel Evans’s opinion, which he was not at all diffident about -expressing, the time had come for the young men of the command to see -what real service was like. “There had been entirely too much of this -playing soldier, sir; what had been done by soldiers who were soldiers, -sir, before the war, sir, had never been properly appreciated, sir, and -never would be until these young men got a small taste of it themselves, -sir.” - -General Merritt’s division of the command was provided with a signal -apparatus, and the flags were of great use in conveying messages to camp -from the outlying pickets, and thus saving the wear and tear of -horse-flesh; but in this dark and rainy season the system was a failure, -and many thought that it would have been well to introduce a code of -signals by whistles, but it was not possible to do so under our -circumstances. - -The “Far West” had made several trips to the depot at the mouth of the -Rosebud, and had brought down a supply of shoes, which was almost -sufficient for our infantry battalions, but there was little of anything -else, and Bubb, our commissary, was unable to obtain more than eleven -pounds of tobacco for the entire force. - -We were now laboring under the serious disadvantage of having no native -scouts, and were obliged to start out without further delay, if anything -was to be done with the trail of the Sioux, which had been left several -marches up the Powder, before we started down to the Yellowstone to get -supplies. Crook had sent out Frank Gruard, “Big Bat,” and a small party -to learn all that could be learned of that trail, which was found -striking east and south. Terry’s scouts had gone to the north of the -Yellowstone to hunt for the signs of bands passing across the Missouri. -The report came in that they had found some in that direction, and the -two columns separated, Terry going in one direction, and Crook keeping -his course and following the large trail, which he shrewdly surmised -would lead over towards the Black Hills, where the savages would find -easy victims in the settlers pouring into the newly discovered mining -claims. Captain Cain, Captain Burrowes, and Lieutenant Eaton, the latter -broken down with chills and fever as well a pistol wound in the hand, -were ordered on board the transports, taking with them twenty-one men of -the command pronounced unfit for field service. One of these enlisted -men—Eshleman, Ninth Infantry—was violently insane. Our mess gained a new -member, Lieutenant William P. Clarke, Second Cavalry, ordered to report -to General Crook for duty as aide-de-camp. He was a brave, bright, -companionable gentleman, always ready in an emergency, and had he lived -would, beyond a doubt, have attained, with opportunity, a distinguished -place among the soldiers of our country. General Terry very kindly lent -General Crook five of his own small band of Ree scouts; they proved of -great service while with our column. - - - - - CHAPTER XXI. - -CROOK AND TERRY SEPARATE—THE PICTURESQUE LITTLE MISSOURI—THE “HORSE MEAT - MARCH” FROM THE HEAD OF THE HEART RIVER TO DEADWOOD—ON THE SIOUX - TRAIL—MAKING COFFEE UNDER DIFFICULTIES—SLAUGHTERING WORN-OUT CAVALRY - HORSES FOR FOOD—THE FIGHT AT SLIM BUTTES—LIEUTENANT VON LEUTTEWITZ - LOSES A LEG—THE DYING CHIEF, “AMERICAN HORSE,” SURRENDERS—RELICS OF - THE CUSTER MASSACRE—“CRAZY HORSE” ATTACKS OUR LINES—SUNSHINE AND - RATIONS. - - -On the 23d of August we were beset by another violent storm, worse, if -such a thing were possible, than any yet experienced. All through the -night we lay in from three to four inches of water, unable to shelter -ourselves against the strong wind and pelting Niagara which inundated -the country. Sleep was out of the question, and when morning came it -threw its cold gray light upon a brigade of drowned rats, of disgusted -and grumbling soldiers. It was with difficulty we got the fires to burn, -but a cup of strong coffee was ready in time, and with the drinking of -that the spirits revived, and with a hearty good-will all hands pulled -out from the valley of the Yellowstone, and plodded slowly through the -plastic mud which lay ankle deep along the course of the Powder. There -was a new acquisition to the column—a fine Newfoundland dog, which -attached itself to the command, or was reported to have done so, -although I have always had doubts upon that subject. Soldiers will steal -dogs, and “Jack,” as he was known to our men, may have been an unwilling -captive, for all I know to the contrary. - -There was no trouble in finding the big Sioux trail, or in following it -east to O’Fallon’s Creek, finding plenty of water and getting out of -“the burnt district.” The grass was as nutritive as it ought to have -been in Wyoming and Montana, and as it would have been had not the red -men destroyed it all. Another trying storm soaked through clothing, and -dampened the courage of our bravest. The rain which set in about four in -the afternoon, just as we were making camp, suddenly changed to hail of -large size, which, with the sudden fall in temperature, chilled and -frightened our herds of horses and mules, and had the good effect of -making them cower together in fear, instead of stampeding, as we had -about concluded they would surely do. Lightning played about us with -remorseless vividness, and one great bolt crashed within camp limits, -setting fire to the grass on a post near the sentinel. - -The 29th and 30th of August we remained in bivouac at a spring on the -summit of the ridge overlooking the head waters of Cabin Creek, while -our blankets and clothing were drying; and the scouts reconnoitred to -the front and flanks to learn what was possible regarding the trail, -which seemed much fresher, as if made only a few days previously. -Hunting detachments were sent out on each flank to bring in deer, -antelope and jack rabbits for the sick, of whom we now had a number -suffering from neuralgia, rheumatism, malaria, and diarrhœa. Lieutenant -Huntington was scarcely able to sit his horse, and Lieutenant Bache had -to be hauled in a “travois.” - -The night of August 31, 1876, was so bitter cold that a number of -General Crook’s staff, commissioned and enlisted, had a narrow escape -from freezing to death. In our saturated condition, with clothing scant -even for summer, we were in no condition to face a sudden “norther,” -which blew vigorously upon all who were encamped upon the crests of the -buttes but neglected those in the shelter of the ravines. The scenery in -this neighborhood was entrancing. Mr. Finerty accompanied me to the -summit of the bluffs, and we looked out upon a panorama grander than any -that artist would be bold enough to trace upon canvas. In the western -sky the waning glories of the setting sun were most dazzling. Scarlet -and gold, pink and yellow—in lovely contrast or graceful harmony—were -scattered with reckless prodigality from the tops of the distant hills -to near the zenith, where neutral tints of gray and pale blue marked the -dividing line between the gorgeousness of the vanishing sunlight and the -more placid splendors of the advancing night, with its millions of -stars. The broken contour of the ground, with its deeply furrowed -ravines, or its rank upon rank of plateaux and ridges, resembled an -angry sea whose waves had been suddenly stilled at the climax of a -storm. The juiciest grama covered the pink hillocks from base to crest, -but scarcely a leaf could be seen; it was pasturage, pure and simple—the -paradise of the grazier and the cowboy. We gave free rein to our fancy -in anticipating the changes ten years would effect in this noble region, -then the hunting ground of the savage and the lair of the wild beast. - -We crossed the country to the east, going down Beaver Creek and finding -indications that the hostiles knew that we were on their trail, which -now showed signs of splitting; we picked up four ponies, abandoned by -the enemy, and Frank Gruard, who brought them in, was sure that we were -pressing closely upon the rear of the Indians, and might soon expect a -brush with them. A soldier was bitten in the thumb by a rattlesnake; -Surgeon Patzki cauterized the wound, administered ammonia, and finished -up with two stiff drinks of whiskey from the slender allowance of -hospital supplies. The man was saved. The trail kept trending to the -south, running down towards the “Sentinel” Buttes, where our advance had -a running fight with the enemy’s rear-guard, killing one or two ponies. - -The next point of note was the Little Missouri River, into the valley of -which we descended on the 4th of September, at the place where General -Stanley had entered it with the expedition to survey the line of the -Northern Pacific Railroad in 1873. This is called by the Indians the -“Thick Timber” Creek, a name which it abundantly deserves in comparison -with the other streams flowing within one hundred miles on either side -of it. We emerged from the narrow defile of Andrus’ Creek, into a broad -park, walled in by precipitous banks of marl, clay, and sandstone, -ranging from one hundred to three hundred feet high. Down the central -line of this park grew a thick grove of cottonwood, willow, and -box-elder, marking the channel of the stream, which at this spot was -some thirty yards wide, two to three feet deep, carrying a good volume -of cold, sweet water, rather muddy in appearance. The bottom is of clay, -and in places miry, and the approaches are not any too good. A small -amount of work was requisite to cut them down to proper shape, but there -was such a quantity of timber and brush at hand that corduroy and -causeway were soon under construction. The fertility of the soil was -attested by the luxuriance of the grass, the thickness of timber, the -dense growth of grape-vines, wild plums, and bull berries, already -ripening under the warm rays of the sun and the constant showers. Where -the picket lines of Terry’s cavalry had been stretched during the -spring, and the horses had scattered grains of corn from their feed, a -volunteer crop had sprung up, whose stalks were from ten to twelve feet -high, each bearing from two to four large ears still in the milk. - -Our scouts and the advance-guard of the cavalry rushed into this -unexpected treasure-trove, cutting and slashing the stalks, and bearing -them off in large armfuls for the feeding of our own animals. The -half-ripened plums and bull berries were thoroughly boiled, and, -although without sugar, proved pleasant to the taste and a valuable -anti-scorbutic. Trial was also made of the common opuntia, or Indian -fig, the cactus which is most frequent in that section of Dakota; the -spines were burnt off, the thick skin peeled, and the inner meaty pulp -fried; it is claimed as an excellent remedy for scurvy, but the taste is -far from agreeable, being slimy and mucilaginous. - -On the 5th of September we made a long march of thirty miles in -drizzling rain and sticky mud, pushing up Davis Creek, and benefiting by -the bridges which Terry’s men had erected in many places where the -stream had to be crossed; we reached the head of the Heart River, and -passed between the Rosebud Butte on the right and the Camel’s Hump on -the left. Here we again ran upon the enemy’s rear-guard, which seemed -disposed to make a fight until our advance got up and pushed them into -the bluffs, when they retreated in safety, under cover of the heavy fog -which had spread over the hills all day. Of the fifteen days’ rations -with which we had started out from the Yellowstone, only two and a half -days’ rations were left. When Randall and Stanton returned from the -pursuit of the enemy, the Rees, who were still with us, gave it as their -opinion that the command could easily reach Fort Abraham Lincoln in four -days, or five; Glendive, on the Yellowstone, in our rear, could not be -much farther in a direct line; but here was a hot trail leading due -south towards the Black Hills, which were filling with an unknown number -of people, all of whom would be exposed to slaughter and destruction. -There is one thing certain about a hot trail: you’ll find Indians on it -if you go far enough, and you’ll find them nowhere else. Comfort and -ease beckoned from Fort Lincoln, but duty pointed to Deadwood, and -straight to Deadwood Crook went. His two and a half days’ rations were -made to last five; the Rees were sent in with despatches as fast as -their ponies could travel to Lincoln, to inform Sheridan of our -whereabouts, and to ask that supplies be hurried out from Camp Robinson -to meet us. With anything like decent luck we ought to be able to force -a fight and capture a village with its supplies of meat. Still, it was -plain that all the heroism of our natures was to be tried in the fire -before that march should be ended; Bubb concealed seventy pounds of -beans to be used for the sick and wounded in emergencies; Surgeon -Hartsuff carried in his saddle-bags two cans of jelly and half a pound -of cornstarch, with the same object; the other medical officers had each -a little something of the same sort—tea, chocolate, etc. This was a -decidedly gloomy outlook for a column of two thousand men in an unknown -region in tempestuous weather. We had had no change of clothing for more -than a month since leaving Goose Creek, and we were soaked through with -rain and mud, and suffering greatly in health and spirits in -consequence. - -We left the Heart River in the cold, bleak mists of a cheerless morning, -which magnified into grim spectres the half-dozen cottonwoods nearest -camp, which were to be imprinted upon memory with all the more -vividness, because until we had struck the Belle Fourche, the type of -the streams encountered in our march was the same—timberless, muddy, and -sluggish. The ground was covered with grass, alternating with great -patches of cactus. Villages of prairie dogs extended for leagues, and -the angry squeak of the population was heard on all sides. “Jack,” the -noble Newfoundland dog which had been with us since we started out from -the mouth of Powder, was now crazy for some fresh meat, and would charge -after the prairie dogs with such impetuosity that when he attempted to -seize his victim, and the loosely packed soil around the burrow had -given way beneath their united weight, he would go head over heels, -describing a complete somersault, much to his own astonishment and our -amusement. After turning the horses out to graze in the evening, it -generally happened that camp would be visited by half a dozen jack -rabbits, driven out of their burrows by fear of the horses’ hoofs. The -soldiers derived great enjoyment every time one was started, and as poor -pussy darted from bush to bush, doubled and twisted, bounded boldly -through a line of her tormentors, or cowered trembling under some -sage-brush, the pursuers, armed with nose-bags, lariats, and halters, -would advance from all sides, and keep up the chase until the wretched -victim was fairly run to death. There would be enough shouting, yelling, -and screeching to account for the slaughter of a thousand buffaloes. We -learned to judge of the results of the chase in the inverse ratio to the -noise: when an especially deafening outcry was heard, the verdict would -be rendered at once that an unusually pigmy rabbit had been run to -cover, and that the men who had the least to do with the capture had -most to do with the tumult. - -The country close to the head of Heart River was strewn with banded -agate, much of it very beautiful. We made our first camp thirty-five -miles south of Heart River by the side of two large pools of brackish -water, so full of “alkali” that neither men nor horses cared to touch -it. There wasn’t a stick of timber in sight as big around as one’s -little finger; we tried to make coffee by digging a hole in the ground -upon which we set a tin cup, and then each one in the mess by turns fed -the flames with wisps of such dry grass as could be found and twisted -into a petty fagot. We succeeded in making the coffee, but the water in -boiling threw up so much saline and sedimentary matter that the -appearance was decidedly repulsive. To the North Fork of the Grand River -was another thirty-five miles, made, like the march of the preceding -day, in the pelting rain which had lasted all night. The country was -beautifully grassed, and we saw several patches of wild onions, which we -dug up and saved to boil with the horse-meat which was now appearing as -our food; General Crook found half a dozen rose-bushes, which he had -guarded by a sentinel for the use of the sick; Lieutenant Bubb had four -or five cracker-boxes broken up and distributed to the command for fuel; -it is astonishing what results can be effected with a handful of -fire-wood if people will only half try. The half and third ration of -hard-tack was issued to each and every officer in the headquarters mess -just the same as it was issued to enlisted men; the coffee was prepared -with a quarter ration, and even that had failed. Although there could -not be a lovelier pasturage than that through which we were marching, -yet our animals, too, began to play out, because they were carrying -exhausted and half-starved men who could not sit up in the saddle, and -couldn’t so frequently dismount on coming to steep, slippery descents -where it would have been good policy to “favor” their faithful steeds. - -Lieutenant Bubb was now ordered forward to the first settlement he could -find in the Black Hills—Deadwood or any other this side—and there to buy -all the supplies in sight; he took fifty picked mules and packers under -Tom Moore; the escort of one hundred and fifty picked men from the Third -Cavalry, mounted on our strongest animals, was under command of Colonel -Mills, who had with him Lieutenants Chase, Crawford, Schwatka, Von -Leuttewitz, and Doctor Stevens. Two of the correspondents, Messrs. -Strahorn and Davenport, went along, leaving the main column before it -had reached the camp of the night. We marched comparatively little the -next day, not more than twenty-four miles, going into camp in a -sheltered ravine on the South Fork of the Grand River, within sight of -the Slim Buttes, and in a position which supplied all the fuel needed, -the first seen for more than ninety miles, but so soaked with water that -all we could do with it was to raise a smoke. It rained without -intermission all day and all night, but we had found wood, and our -spirits rose with the discovery; then, our scouts had killed five -antelope, whose flesh was distributed among the command, the sick in -hospital being served first. Plums and bull berries almost ripe were -appearing in plenty, and gathered in quantity to be boiled and eaten -with horse-meat. Men were getting pretty well exhausted, and each mile -of the march saw squads of stragglers, something which we had not seen -before; the rain was so unintermittent, the mud so sticky, the air so -damp, that with the absence of food and warmth, men lost courage, and -not a few of the officers did the same thing. Horses had to be abandoned -in great numbers, but the best of them were killed to supply meat, which -with the bull berries and water had become almost our only certain food, -eked out by an occasional slice of antelope or jack rabbit. - -The 8th of September was General Crook’s birthday; fifteen or sixteen of -the officers had come to congratulate him at his fire under the cover of -a projecting rock, which kept off a considerable part of the down-pour -of rain; it was rather a forlorn birthday party,—nothing to eat, nothing -to drink, no chance to dry clothes, and nothing for which to be thankful -except that we had found wood, which was a great blessing. Sage-brush, -once so despised, was now welcomed whenever it made its appearance, as -it began to do from this on; it at least supplied the means of making a -small fire, and provided the one thing which under all circumstances the -soldier should have, if possible. Exhausted by fatiguing marches through -mud and rain, without sufficient or proper food, our soldiers reached -bivouac each night, to find only a rivulet of doubtful water to quench -their thirst, and then went supperless to bed. - -In all the hardships, in all the privations of the humblest soldier, -General Crook freely shared; with precisely the same allowance of food -and bedding, he made the weary campaign of the summer of 1876; criticism -was silenced in the presence of a general who would reduce himself to -the level of the most lowly, and even though there might be -dissatisfaction and grumbling, as there always will be in so large a -command, which is certain to have a percentage of the men who want to -wear uniform without being soldiers, the reflective and observing saw -that their sufferings were fully shared by their leader and honored him -accordingly. There was no mess in the whole column which suffered as -much as did that of which General Crook was a member; for four days -before any other mess had been so reduced we had been eating the meat of -played-out cavalry horses, and at the date of which I am now writing all -the food within reach was horse-meat, water, and enough bacon to grease -the pan in which the former was to be fried. Crackers, sugar, and coffee -had been exhausted, and we had no addition to our bill of fare beyond an -occasional plateful of wild onions gathered alongside of the trail. An -antelope had been killed by one of the orderlies attached to the -headquarters, and the remains of this were hoarded with care for -emergencies. - -On the morning of September 9th, as we were passing a little watercourse -which we were unable to determine correctly, some insisting that it was -the South Fork of the Grand, others calling it the North Fork of Owl -Creek—the maps were not accurate, and it was hard to say anything about -that region—couriers from Mills’s advance-guard came galloping to -General Crook with the request that he hurry on to the aid of Mills, who -had surprised and attacked an Indian village of uncertain size, -estimated at twenty-five lodges, and had driven the enemy into the -bluffs near him, but was able to hold his own until Crook could reach -him. The couriers added that Lieutenant Von Leuttewitz had been severely -wounded in the knee, one soldier had been killed, and five wounded; the -loss of the enemy could not then be ascertained. Crook gave orders for -the cavalry to push on with all possible haste, the infantry to follow -more at leisure; but these directions did not suit the dismounted -battalions at all, and they forgot all about hunger, cold, wet, and -fatigue, and tramped through the mud to such good purpose that the first -infantry company was overlapping the last one of the mounted troops when -the cavalry entered the ravine in which Mills was awaiting them. Then we -learned that the previous evening Frank Gruard had discovered a band of -ponies grazing on a hill-side and reported to Mills, who, thinking that -the village was inconsiderable, thought himself strong enough to attack -and carry it unaided. - -He waited until the first flush of daylight, and then left his -pack-train in the shelter of a convenient ravine, under command of Bubb, -while he moved forward with the greater part of his command on foot in -two columns, under Crawford and Von Leuttewitz respectively, intending -with them to surround the lodges, while Schwatka, with a party of -twenty-five mounted men, was to charge through, firing into the “tepis.” -The enemy’s herd stampeded through the village, awakening the inmates, -and discovering the presence of our forces. Schwatka made his charge in -good style, and the other detachments moved in as directed, but the -escape of nearly all the bucks and squaws could not be prevented, some -taking shelter in high bluffs surrounding the village, and others -running into a ravine where they still were at the moment of our -arrival—eleven A.M. - -The village numbered more than Mills had imagined: we counted -thirty-seven lodges, not including four upon which the covers had not -yet been stretched. Several of the lodges were of unusual dimensions: -one, probably that occupied by the guard called by Gruard and “Big Bat” -the “Brave Night Hearts,” contained thirty saddles and equipments. Great -quantities of furs—almost exclusively untanned buffalo robes, antelope, -and other skins—wrapped up in bundles, and several tons of meat, dried -after the Indian manner, formed the main part of the spoil, although -mention should be made of the almost innumerable tin dishes, blankets, -cooking utensils, boxes of caps, ammunition, saddles, horse equipments, -and other supplies that would prove a serious loss to the savages rather -than a gain to ourselves. Two hundred ponies—many of them fine -animals—not quite one-half the herd, fell into our hands. A cavalry -guidon, nearly new and torn from the staff; an army officer’s overcoat; -a non-commissioned officer’s blouse; cavalry saddles of the McClellan -model, covered with black leather after the latest pattern of the -ordnance bureau; a glove marked with the name of Captain Keogh; a letter -addressed to a private soldier in the Seventh Cavalry; horses branded U. -S. and 7 C.—one was branded D 7 / C were proofs that the members of this -band had taken part, and a conspicuous part, in the Custer massacre. -General Crook ordered all the meat and other supplies to be taken from -the village and piled up so that it could be issued or packed upon our -mules. Next, he ordered the wounded to receive every care; this had -already been done, as far as he was able, by Mills, who had pitched one -of the captured lodges in a cool, shady spot, near the stream, and safe -from the annoyance of random shots which the scattered Sioux still fired -from the distant hills. - -A still more important task was that of dislodging a small party who had -run into a gulch fifty or sixty yards outside of the line of the lodges, -from which they made it dangerous for any of Mills’s command to enter -the village, and had already killed several of the pack-mules whose -carcasses lay among the lodges. Frank Gruard and “Big Bat” were sent -forward, crawling on hands and feet from shelter to shelter, to get -within easy talking distance of the defiant prisoners in the gulch, who -refused to accede to any terms and determined to fight it out, confident -that “Crazy Horse,” to whom they had despatched runners, would soon -hasten to their assistance. Lieutenant William P. Clarke was directed to -take charge of a picked body of volunteers and get the Indians out of -that gulch; the firing attracted a large crowd of idlers and others, who -pressed so closely upon Clarke and his party as to seriously embarrass -their work. Our men were so crowded that it was a wonder to me that the -shots of the beleaguered did not kill them by the half-dozen; but the -truth was, the Sioux did not care to waste a shot: they were busy -digging rifle-pits in the soft marly soil of the ravine, which was a -perfect ditch, not more than ten to fifteen feet wide, and fifteen to -twenty deep, with a growth of box elder that aided in concealing their -doings from our eyes. But, whenever a particularly good chance for doing -mischief presented itself, the rifle of the Sioux belched out its fatal -missile. Private Kennedy, Company “C,” Fifth Cavalry, had all the calf -of one leg carried away by a bullet, and at the same time another -soldier was shot through the ankle-joint. - -The ground upon which Captain Munson and I were standing suddenly gave -way, and down we both went, landing in the midst of a pile of squaws and -children. The warriors twice tried to get aim at us, but were prevented -by the crooked shape of the ravine; on the other side, “Big Bat” and -another one of Stanton’s men, named Cary, had already secured position, -and were doing their best to induce the Indians to surrender, crying out -to them “Washte-helo” (Very good) and other expressions in Dakota, the -meaning of which I did not clearly understand. The women and pappooses, -covered with dirt and blood, were screaming in an agony of terror; -behind and above us were the oaths and yells of the surging soldiers; -back of the women lay what seemed, as near as we could make out, to be -four dead bodies still weltering in their gore. Altogether, the scene, -as far as it went, was decidedly infernal; there was very little to add -to it, but that little was added by one of the scouts named Buffalo -White, who incautiously exposed himself to find out what all the hubbub -in the ravine meant. Hardly had he lifted his body before a rifle-ball -pierced him through and through. He cried out in a way that was -heart-rending: “O, Lord! O, Lord! They’ve got me now, boys!” and dropped -limp and lifeless to the base of the hillock upon which he had perched -himself, thirty feet into the ravine below at its deepest point. - -Encouraged by “Big Bat,” the squaws and children ventured to come up to -us, and were conducted down through the winds and turns of the ravine to -where General Crook was; he approached and addressed them pleasantly; -the women divined at once who he was, and clung to his hand and -clothing, their own skirts clutched by the babies, who all the while -wailed most dismally. When somewhat calmed down they said that their -village belonged to the Spotted Tail Agency and was commanded by “Roman -Nose” and “American Horse,” or “Iron Shield,” the latter still in the -ravine. General Crook bade one of them go back and say that he would -treat kindly all who surrendered. The squaw complied and returned to the -edge of the ravine, there holding a parley, as the result bringing back -a young warrior about twenty years old. To him General Crook repeated -the assurances already given, and this time the young man went back, -accompanied by “Big Bat,” whose arrival unarmed convinced “American -Horse” that General Crook’s promises were not written in sand. - -“American Horse” emerged from his rifle-pit, supported on one side by -the young warrior, on the other by “Big Bat,” and slowly drew near the -group of officers standing alongside of General Crook; the reception -accorded the captives was gentle, and their wounded ones were made the -recipients of necessary attentions. Out of this little nook twenty-eight -Sioux—little and great, dead and alive—were taken; the corpses were -suffered to lie where they fell. “American Horse” had been shot through -the intestines, and was biting hard upon a piece of wood to suppress any -sign of pain or emotion; the children made themselves at home around our -fires, and shared with the soldiers the food now ready for the evening -meal. We had a considerable quantity of dried buffalo-meat, a few -buffalo-tongues, some pony-meat, and parfleche panniers filled with -fresh and dried buffalo berries, wild cherries, wild plums, and other -fruit—and, best find of all, a trifle of salt. One of the Sioux food -preparations—dried meat, pounded up with wild plums and wild -cherries—called “Toro,” was very palatable and nutritious; it is -cousin-german to our own plum pudding. - -These Indians had certificates of good conduct dated at Spotted Tail -Agency and issued by Agent Howard. General Crook ordered that every -vestige of the village and the property in it which could not be kept as -serviceable to ourselves should be destroyed. The whole command ate -ravenously that evening and the next morning, and we still had enough -meat to load down twenty-eight of our strongest pack-mules. This will -show that the official reports that fifty-five hundred pounds had been -captured were entirely too conservative. I was sorry to see that the -value of the wild fruit was not appreciated by some of the company -commanders, who encouraged their men very little in eating it and thus -lost the benefit of its anti-scorbutic qualities. All our wounded were -cheerful and doing well, including Von Leuttewitz, whose leg had been -amputated at the thigh. - -The barking of stray puppies, the whining of children, the confused hum -of the conversation going on among two thousand soldiers, officers, and -packers confined within the narrow limits of the ravine, were augmented -by the sharp crack of rifles and the whizzing of bullets, because “Crazy -Horse,” prompt in answering the summons of his distressed kinsmen, was -now on the ground, and had drawn his lines around our position, which he -hoped to take by assault, not dreaming that the original assailants had -been re-enforced so heavily. It was a very pretty fight, what there was -of it, because one could take his seat almost anywhere and see all that -was going on from one end of the field to the other. “Crazy Horse” moved -his men up in fine style, but seemed to think better of the scheme after -the cavalry gave him a volley from their carbines; the Sioux were not -left in doubt long as to what they were to do, because the infantry -battalions commanded by Burt and Daniel W. Burke got after them and -raced them off the field, out of range. - -One of our officers whose conduct impressed me very much was Lieutenant -A. B. Bache, Fifth Cavalry: he was so swollen with inflammatory -rheumatism that he had been hauled for days in a “travois” behind a -mule; but, hearing the roll of rifles and carbines, he insisted upon -being mounted upon a horse and strapped to the saddle, that he might go -out upon the skirmish line. We never had a better soldier than he, but -he did not survive the hardships of that campaign. The Sioux did not -care to leave the battle-field without some token of prowess, and seeing -a group of ten or twelve cavalry horses which had been abandoned during -the day, and were allowed to follow along at their own pace, merely to -be slaughtered by Bubb for meat when it should be needed, flattered -themselves that they had a grand prize within reach; a party of bold -young bucks, anxious to gain a trifle of renown, stripped themselves and -their ponies, and made a dash for the broken-down cast-offs; the -skirmishers, by some sort of tacit consent, refrained from firing a -shot, and allowed the hostiles to get right into the “bunch” and see how -hopelessly they had been fooled, and then when the Sioux started to spur -and gallop back to their own lines the humming of bullets apprised them -that our men were having the joke all to themselves. - -Just as “Crazy Horse” hauled off his forces, two soldiers bare-footed, -and in rags, walked down to our lines and entered camp; their horses had -“played out” in the morning, and were in the group which the Sioux had -wished to capture; the soldiers themselves had lain down to rest in a -clump of rocks and fallen asleep to be awakened by the circus going on -all around them; they kept well under cover, afraid as much of the -projectiles of their friends as of the fire of the savages, but were not -discovered, and now rejoined the command to be most warmly and sincerely -congratulated upon their good fortune. It rained all night, but we did -not care much, provided as we now were with plenty of food, plenty of -fuel, and some extra bedding from the furs taken in the lodges. In the -drizzling rain of that night the soul of “American Horse” took flight, -accompanied to the Happy Hunting Grounds by the spirit of Private -Kennedy. - -After breakfast the next morning General Crook sent for the women and -children, and told them that we were not making war upon such as they, -and that all those who so desired were free to stay and rejoin their own -people, but he cautioned them to say to all their friends that the -American Government was determined to keep pegging away at all Indians -in hostility until the last had been killed or made a prisoner, and that -the red men would be following the dictates of prudence in surrendering -unconditionally instead of remaining at war, and exposing their wives -and children to accidents and dangers incidental to that condition. The -young warrior, “Charging Bear,” declined to go with the squaws, but -remained with Crook and enlisted as a scout, becoming a corporal, and -rendering most efficient service in the campaign during the following -winter which resulted so brilliantly. - -“Crazy Horse” felt our lines again as we were moving off, but was held -in check by Sumner, of the Fifth, who had one or two men slightly -wounded, while five of the attacking party were seen to fall out of -their saddles. The prisoners informed us that we were on the main trail -of the hostiles, which, although now split, was all moving down to the -south towards the agencies. Mills, Bubb, Schwatka, Chase, and fifty -picked men of the Third Cavalry, with a train made up of all our strong -mules under Tom Moore, with Frank Gruard as guide, were once more sent -forward to try to reach Deadwood, learn all the news possible concerning -the condition of the exposed mining hamlets near there, and obtain all -the supplies in sight. Crook was getting very anxious to reach Deadwood -before “Crazy Horse” could begin the work of devilment upon which he and -his bands were bent, as the squaws admitted. Bubb bore a despatch to -Sheridan, narrating the events of the trip since leaving Heart River. - -Knowing that we were now practically marching among hostile Sioux, who -were watching our every movement, and would be ready to attack at the -first sign of lack of vigilance, Crook moved the column in such a manner -that it could repel an attack within thirty seconds; that is to say, -there was a strong advance-guard, a rear-guard equally strong, and lines -of skirmishers moving along each flank, while the wounded were placed on -“travois,” for the care of which Captain Andrews and his company of the -Third Cavalry were especially detailed. One of the lodges was brought -along from the village for the use of the sick and wounded, and -afterwards given to Colonel Mills. The general character of the country -between the Slim Buttes and the Belle Fourche remained much the same as -that from the head of Heart River down, excepting that there was a small -portion of timber, for which we were truly thankful. The captured ponies -were butchered and issued as occasion required; the men becoming -accustomed to the taste of the meat, which was far more juicy and tender -than that of the broken-down old cavalry nags which we had been -compelled to eat a few days earlier. The sight of an antelope, however, -seemed to set everybody crazy, and when one was caught and killed squads -of officers and men would fight for the smallest portion of flesh or -entrails; I succeeded in getting one liver, which was carried in my -nose-bag all day and broiled over the ashes at night, furnishing a very -toothsome morsel for all the members of our mess. - -While speaking upon the subject of horse-meat, let me tell one of the -incidents vividly imprinted upon memory. Bubb’s butcher was one of the -least poetical men ever met in my journey through life; all he cared for -was to know just what animals were to be slaughtered, and presto! the -bloody work was done, and a carcass gleamed in the evening air. Many and -many a pony had he killed, although he let it be known to a couple of -the officers whom he took into his confidence that he had been raised a -gentleman, and had never before slaughtered anything but cows and pigs -and sheep. One evening, he killed a mare whose daughter and -granddaughter were standing by her side, the daughter nursing from the -mother and the granddaughter from the daughter. On another occasion he -was approached by one of Stanton’s scouts—I really have not preserved -his name, but it was the dark Mexican who several weeks after killed, -and was killed by, Carey, his best friend. After being paid off, they -got into some kind of a drunken row in a gambling saloon, in Deadwood, -and shot each other to death. Well, this man drew near the butcher and -began making complaint that the latter, without sufficient necessity, -had cut up a pony which the guide was anxious to save for his own use. -The discussion lasted for several minutes and terminated without -satisfaction to the scout, who then turned to mount his pony and ride -away; no pony was to be seen; he certainly had ridden one down, but it -had vanished into vapor; he could see the saddle and bridle upon the -ground, but of the animal not a trace; while he had been arguing with -the butcher, the assistants of the latter had quickly unsaddled the -mount and slaughtered and divided it, and the quarters were then on -their way over to one of the battalions. It was a piece of rapid work -worthy of the best skill of Chicago, but it confirmed one man in a -tendency to profanity and cynicism. - -Our maps led us into a very serious error: from them it appeared that -the South Fork of Owl Creek was not more than twenty or twenty-five -miles from the Belle Fourche, towards which we were trudging so wearily, -the rain still beating down without pity. The foot soldiers, eager to -make the march which was to end their troubles and lead them to food and -rest, were ready for the trail by three on the morning of the 12th of -September, and all of them strung out before four. As soon as it was -light enough we saw that a portion of the trail had set off towards the -east, and Major Upham was sent with one hundred and fifty men from the -Fifth Cavalry to find out all about it. It proved to be moving in the -direction of Bear Lodge Butte, and the intention evidently was to annoy -the settlements in the Hills; one of Upham’s men went off without -permission, after antelope, and was killed and cut to pieces by the -prowling bands watching the column. The clouds lifted once or twice -during the march of the 12th and disclosed the outline of Bear Butte, a -great satisfaction to us, as it proved that we were going in the right -direction for Deadwood. The country was evenly divided between cactus -and grass, in patches of from one to six miles in breadth; the mud was -so tenacious that every time foot or hoof touched it there would be a -great mass of “gumbo” adhering to render progress distressingly tiresome -and slow. Our clothing was in rags of the flimsiest kind, shoes in -patches, and the rations captured at the village exhausted. Mules and -horses were black to the houghs with the accretions of a passage through -slimy ooze which pulled off their shoes. - -Crook’s orders to the men in advance were to keep a sharp lookout for -anything in the shape of timber, as the column was to halt and bivouac -the moment we struck anything that would do to make a fire. On we -trudged, mile succeeding mile, and still no sign of the fringe of -cottonwood, willow, and elder which we had been taught to believe -represented the line of the stream of which we were in search. The rain -poured down, clothes dripped with moisture, horses reeled and staggered, -and were one by one left to follow or remain as they pleased, while the -men, all of whom were dismounted and leading their animals, fell out -singly, in couples, in squads, in solid platoons. It was half-past ten -o’clock that never-to-be-forgotten night, when the last foot soldier had -completed his forty miles, and many did not pretend to do it before the -next morning, but lay outside, in rear of the column, on the muddy -ground, as insensible to danger and pain as if dead drunk. - -We did not reach the Belle Fourche that night, but a tributary called -Willow Creek which answered every purpose, as it had an abundance of -box-elder, willow, ash, and plum bushes, which before many minutes -crackled and sprang skyward in a joyous flame; we piled high the dry -wood wherever found, thinking to stimulate comrades who were weary with -marching and sleeping without the cheerful consolation of a sparkling -camp-fire. There wasn’t a thing to eat in the whole camp but pony-meat, -slices of which were sizzling upon the coals, but the poor fellows who -did not get in killed their played-out horses and ate the meat raw. If -any of my readers imagines that the march from the head of Heart River -down to the Belle Fourche was a picnic, let him examine the roster of -the command and tell off the scores and scores of men, then hearty and -rugged, who now fill premature graves or drag out an existence with -constitutions wrecked and enfeebled by such privations and vicissitudes. -There may still be people who give credence to the old superstitions -about the relative endurance of horses of different colors, and believe -that white is the weakest color. For their information I wish to say -that the company of cavalry which had the smallest loss of horses during -this exhausting march was the white horse troop of the Fifth, commanded -by Captain Robert H. Montgomery; I cannot place my fingers upon the note -referring to it, but I will state from recollection that not one of them -was left behind. - -On the 13th we remained in camp until noon to let men have a rest and -give stragglers a chance to catch up with the command. Our cook made a -most tempting ragout out of some pony-meat, a fragment of antelope -liver, a couple of handfuls of wild onions, and the shin-bone of an ox -killed by the Sioux or Cheyennes, and which was to us almost as -interesting as the fragments of weeds to the sailors of Columbus. This -had been simmering all night, and when morning came there was enough of -it to supply many of our comrades with a hot platterful. At noon we -crossed to the Belle Fourche, six miles to the south, the dangerous -approaches of Willow Creek being corduroyed and placed in good order by -a party under Lieutenant Charles King, who had been assigned by General -Merritt to the work. - -The Belle Fourche appealed to our fancies as in every sense deserving of -its flattering title: it was not less than one hundred feet wide, three -deep, with a good flow of water, and a current of something like four -miles an hour. The bottom was clay and sandstone drift, and even if the -water was a trifle muddy, it tasted delicious after our late -tribulations. Wells dug in the banks afforded even better quality for -drinking or cooking. The dark clouds still hung threateningly overhead, -but what of that? all eyes were strained in the direction of Deadwood, -for word had come from Mills and Bubb that they had been successful, and -that we were soon to catch a glimpse of the wagons laden with food for -our starving command. A murmur rippled through camp; in a second it had -swelled into a roar, and broken into a wild cry, half yell, half cheer. -Down the hill-sides as fast as brawny men could drive them ran fifty -head of beef cattle, and not more than a mile in the rear wagon sheets -marked out the slower-moving train with the supplies of the -commissariat. - -As if to manifest sympathy with our feelings, the sun unveiled himself, -and for one good long hour shone down through scattering clouds—the -first fair look we had had at his face for ten dreary days. Since our -departure from Furey and the wagon-train, it had rained twenty-two days, -most of the storms being of phenomenal severity, and it would need a -very strong mind not to cherish the delusion that the elements were in -league with the red men to preserve the hunting lands of their fathers -from the grasp of the rapacious whites. When the supplies arrived the -great aim of every one seemed to be to carry out the old command: “Eat, -drink, and be merry, for to-morrow ye die.” The busy hum of cheerful -conversation succeeded to the querulous discontent of the past week, and -laughter raised the spirits of the most tired and despondent; we had won -the race and saved the Black Hills with their thousands of unprotected -citizens, four hundred of whom had been murdered since the summer began. -The first preacher venturing out to Deadwood paid the penalty of his -rashness with his life, and yielded his scalp to the Cheyennes. It was -the most ordinary thing in the world to have it reported that one, or -two, or three bodies more were to be found in such and such a gulch; -they were buried by people in no desire to remain near the scene of -horror, and as the Hills were filling up with restless spirits from all -corners of the world, and no one knew his neighbor, it is doubtful if -all the murdered ones were ever reported to the proper authorities. When -the whites succeeded in killing an Indian, which happened at extremely -rare intervals, Deadwood would go crazy with delight; the skull and -scalp were paraded and sold at public auction to the highest bidder. - - - - - CHAPTER XXII. - -TO AND THROUGH THE BLACK HILLS—HOW DEADWOOD LOOKED IN 1876—THE DEADWOOD - “ACADEMY OF MUSIC”—THE SECOND WINTER CAMPAIGN—THE NAMES OF THE - INDIAN SCOUTS—WIPING OUT THE CHEYENNE VILLAGE—LIEUTENANT MCKINNEY - KILLED—FOURTEEN CHEYENNE BABIES FROZEN TO DEATH IN THEIR MOTHERS’ - ARMS—THE CUSTER MASSACRE AGAIN—THE TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE OF RANDALL - AND THE CROW SCOUTS. - - -The joy of the people in the Hills knew no bounds; the towns of -Deadwood, Crook City, Montana, and many others proceeded to celebrate -the news of their freedom and safety by all the methods suitable to such -a momentous occasion in a frontier civilization: there was much in the -way of bonfires, the firing of salutes from anvils, cheering, -mass-meetings, alleged music, and no small portion of hard drinking. By -resolution of the Deadwood Council, a committee, consisting of the first -mayor, Farnum, and councilmen Kurtz, Dawson, and Philbrick, was sent out -to meet General Crook and extend to him and his officers the freedom of -the city; in the same carriage with them came Mr. Wilbur Hugus, who had -assisted me in burying Captain Philip Dwyer at Camp Date Creek, Arizona, -four years previously. The welcome extended these representatives was -none the less cordial because they had brought along with them a most -acceptable present of butter, eggs, and vegetables raised in the Hills. -Despatches were also received from General Sheridan, informing Crook -that the understanding was that the hostiles were going to slip into the -agencies, leaving out in the Big Horn country “Crazy Horse” and “Sitting -Bull,” with their bands, until the next spring. To prevent a recurrence -of the campaign the next year, Sheridan was determined to disarm and -dismount all the new arrivals, and for that purpose had stationed a -strong force at each agency, but he wished Crook to move in with his -command to “Red Cloud” and “Spotted Tail” and superintend the work there -instead of remaining in the Hills as Crook wished to do, and continue -the campaign from there with some of the towns, either Deadwood or -Custer City, as might be found best adapted to the purpose, as a base. -Congress had authorized the enlistment of four hundred additional Indian -scouts, and had also appropriated a liberal sum for the construction of -the posts on the Yellowstone. Crook was to turn over the command to -Merritt, and proceed in person, as rapidly as possible, to confer with -Sheridan, who was awaiting him at Fort Laramie, with a view to -designating the force to occupy the site of old Fort Reno during the -winter. - -After enduring the hardships and discomforts of the march from the head -of Heart River, the situation in the bivouac on the Whitewood, a -beautiful stream flowing out of the Hills at their northern extremity, -was most romantic and pleasurable. The surrounding knolls were thickly -grassed; cold, clear water stood in deep pools hemmed in by thick belts -of timber; and there was an abundance of juicy wild plums, grapes, and -bull berries, now fully ripe, and adding a grateful finish to meals -which included nearly everything that man could desire, brought down in -wagons by the enterprising dealers of Deadwood, who reaped a golden -harvest. We were somewhat bewildered at sitting down before a canvas -upon which were to be seen warm bread baked in ovens dug in the ground, -delicious coffee, to the aroma of which we had been for so long a time -strangers, broiled and stewed meat, fresh eggs, pickles, preserves, and -fresh vegetables. Soldiers are in one respect like children: they forget -the sorrows of yesterday in the delights of to-day, and give to glad -song the same voices which a few hours ago were loudest in grumbling and -petty complaint. So it was with our camp: the blazing fires were -surrounded by crowds of happy warriors, each rivalling the other in -tales of the “times we had” in a march whose severity has never been -approached by that made by any column of our army of the same size, and -of which so little is known that it may truly be said that the hardest -work is the soonest forgotten. - -Crook bade good-by to the officers and men who had toiled along with him -through the spring and summer, and then headed for the post of Fort -Robinson, Nebraska, one hundred and sixty miles to the south. For -one-half this distance our road followed down through the centre of the -Black Hills, a most entrancing country, laid out apparently by a -landscape artist; it is not so high as the Big Horn range, although -Harney’s and other peaks of granite project to a great elevation, their -flanks dark with pine, fir, and other coniferæ; the foot-hills velvety -with healthful pasturage; the narrow valleys of the innumerable petty -creeks a jungle of willow, wild rose, live oak, and plum. Climbing into -the mountains, one can find any amount of spruce, juniper, cedar, fir, -hemlock, birch, and whitewood; there are no lakes, but the springs are -legion and fill with gentle melody the romantic glens—the retreat of the -timid deer. - -A description of Deadwood as it appeared at that time will suffice for -all the settlements of which it was the metropolis. Crook City, Montana, -Hills City, Castleton, Custer City, and others through which we passed -were better built than Deadwood and better situated for expansion, but -Deadwood had struck it rich in its placers, and the bulk of the -population took root there. Crook City received our party most -hospitably, and insisted upon our sitting down to a good hot breakfast, -after which we pressed on to Deadwood, twenty miles or more from our -camping place on the Whitewood. The ten miles of distance from Crook -City to Deadwood was lined on both sides with deep ditches and -sluice-boxes, excavated to develop or work the rich gravel lying along -the entire gulch. But it seemed to me that with anything like proper -economy and care there was wealth enough in the forests to make the -prosperity of any community, and supply not alone the towns which might -spring up in the hills, but build all the houses and stables needed in -the great pastures north, as far as the head of the Little Missouri. It -was the 16th of September when we entered Deadwood, and although I had -been through the Black Hills with the exploring expedition commanded by -Colonel Dodge, the previous year, and was well acquainted with the -beautiful country we were to see, I was unbalanced by the exhibition of -the marvellous energy of the American people now laid before us. The -town had been laid off in building lots on the 15th of May, and all -supplies had to be hauled in wagons from the railroad two hundred and -fifty miles away and through bodies of savages who kept up a constant -series of assaults and ambuscades. - -The town was situated at the junction of the Whitewood and Deadwood -creeks or gulches, each of which was covered by a double line of -block-houses to repel a sudden attack from the ever-to-be-dreaded enemy, -the Sioux and Cheyennes, of whose cruelty and desperate hostility the -mouths of the inhabitants and the columns of the two newspapers were -filled. I remember one of these journals, _The Pioneer_, edited at that -time by a young man named Merrick, whose life had been pleasantly -divided into three equal parts—setting type, hunting for Indians, and -“rasslin’” for grub—during the days when the whole community was reduced -to deer-meat and anything else they could pick up. Merrick was a very -bright, energetic man, and had he lived would have been a prominent -citizen in the new settlements. It speaks volumes for the intelligence -of the element rolling into the new El Dorado to say that the -subscription lists of _The Pioneer_ even then contained four hundred -names. - -The main street of Deadwood, twenty yards wide, was packed by a force of -men, drawn from all quarters, aggregating thousands; and the windows of -both upper and lower stories of the eating-houses, saloons, hotels, and -wash-houses were occupied by women of good, bad, and indifferent -reputation. There were vociferous cheers, clappings of hands, wavings of -handkerchiefs, shrieks from the whistles of the planing mills, reports -from powder blown off in anvils, and every other manifestation of -welcome known to the populations of mining towns. The almond-eyed -Celestial laundrymen had absorbed the contagion of the hour, and from -the doors of the “Centennial Wash-House” gazed with a complacency -unusual to them upon the doings of the Western barbarians. We were -assigned quarters in the best hotel of the town: “The Grand Central -Hotel, Main Street, opposite Theatre, C. H. Wagner, Prop. (formerly of -the Walker House and Saddle Rock Restaurant, Salt Lake), the only -first-class hotel in Deadwood City, D. T.” - -This was a structure of wood, of two stories, the lower used for the -purposes of offices, dining-room, saloon, and kitchen; the upper was -devoted to a parlor, and the rest was partitioned into bedrooms, of -which I wish to note the singular feature that the partitions did not -reach more than eight feet above the floor, and thus every word said in -one room was common property to all along that corridor. The “Grand -Central” was, as might be expected, rather crude in outline and -construction, but the furniture was remarkably good, and the table -decidedly better than one had a right to look for, all circumstances -considered. Owing to the largeness of our party, the escort and packers -were divided off between the “I. X. L.” and the “Centennial” hotels, -while the horses and mules found good accommodations awaiting them in -Clarke’s livery stable. I suppose that much of this will be Greek to the -boy or girl growing up in Deadwood, who may also be surprised to hear -that very many of the habitations were of canvas, others of unbarked -logs, and some few “dug-outs” in the clay banks. By the law of the -community, a gold placer or ledge could be followed anywhere, regardless -of other property rights; in consequence of this, the office of _The -Pioneer_ was on stilts, being kept in countenance by a Chinese -laundryman whose establishment was in the same predicament. Miners were -at work under them, and it looked as if it would be more economical to -establish one’s self in a balloon in the first place. - -That night, after supper, the hills were red with the flare and flame of -bonfires, and in front of the hotel had assembled a large crowd, eager -to have a talk with General Crook; this soon came, and the main part of -the General’s remarks was devoted to an expression of his desire to -protect the new settlements from threatened danger, while the citizens, -on their side, recited the various atrocities and perils which had -combined to make the early history of the settlements, and presented a -petition, signed by seven hundred and thirteen full-grown white -citizens, asking for military protection. Then followed a reception in -the “Deadwood Theatre and Academy of Music,” built one-half of boards -and the other half of canvas. After the reception, there was a -performance by “Miller’s Grand Combination Troupe, with the Following -Array of Stars.” It was the usual variety show of the mining towns and -villages, but much of it was quite good; one of the saddest -interpolations was the vocalization by Miss Viola de Montmorency, the -Queen of Song, prior to her departure for Europe to sing before the -crowned heads. Miss Viola was all right, but her voice might have had -several stitches in it, and been none the worse; if she never comes back -from the other side of the Atlantic until I send for her, she will be -considerably older than she was that night when a half-drunken miner -energetically insisted that she was “old enough to have another set o’ -teeth.” We left the temple of the Muses to walk along the main street -and look in upon the stores, which were filled with all articles -desirable in a mining district, and many others not usual in so young a -community. Clothing, heavy and light, hardware, tinware, mess-pans, -camp-kettles, blankets, saddlery, harness, rifles, cartridges, -wagon-grease and blasting powder, india-rubber boots and garden seeds, -dried and canned fruits, sardines, and yeast powders, loaded down the -shelves; the medium of exchange was gold dust; each counter displayed a -pair of delicate scales, and every miner carried a buckskin pouch -containing the golden grains required for daily use. - -Greenbacks were not in circulation, and already commanded a premium of -five per cent, on account of their portability. Gambling hells -flourished, and all kinds of games were to be found—three card monte, -keno, faro, roulette, and poker. Close by these were the -“hurdy-gurdies,” where the music from asthmatic pianos timed the dancing -of painted, padded, and leering Aspasias, too hideous to hope for a -livelihood in any village less remote from civilization. We saw and met -representatives of all classes of society—gamblers, chevaliers -d’industrie, callow fledglings, ignorant of the world and its ways, -experienced miners who had labored in other fields, men broken down in -other pursuits, noble women who had braved all perils to be by their -husbands’ sides, smart little children, and children who were adepts in -profanity and all other vices—just such a commingling as might be looked -for, but we saw very little if any drinking, and the general tone of the -place was one of good order and law, to which vice and immorality must -bow. - -We started out from Deadwood, and rode through the beautiful hills from -north to south, passing along over well-constructed corduroy roads to -Custer City, sixty miles to the south; about half way we met a -wagon-train of supplies, under charge of Captain Prank Guest Smith, of -the Fourth Artillery, and remained a few moments to take luncheon with -himself and his subordinates—Captain Cushing and Lieutenants Jones, -Howe, Taylor, and Anderson, and Surgeon Price. Custer City was a -melancholy example of a town with the “boom” knocked out of it; there -must have been as many as four hundred comfortable houses arranged in -broad, rectilinear streets, but not quite three hundred souls remained, -and all the trade of the place was dependent upon the three saw and -shingle mills still running at full time. Here we found another -wagon-train of provisions, under command of Captain Egan and Lieutenant -Allison, of the Second Cavalry, who very kindly insisted upon exchanging -their fresh horses for our tired-out steeds so as to let us go on at -once on our still long ride of nearly one hundred miles south to -Robinson; we travelled all night, stopping at intervals to let the -horses have a bite of grass, but as Randall and Sibley were left behind -with the pack-train, our reduced party kept a rapid gait along the wagon -road, and arrived at the post the next morning shortly after breakfast. -Near Buffalo Gap we crossed the “Amphibious” Creek, which has a double -bottom, the upper one being a crust of sulphuret of lime, through which -rider and horse will often break to the discomfort and danger of both; -later on we traversed the “Bad Lands,” in which repose the bones of -countless thousands of fossilized monsters—tortoises, lizards, and -others—which will yet be made to pay heavy tribute to the museums of the -world. Here we met the officers of the garrison as well as the members -of the commission appointed by the President to confer with the Sioux, -among whom I remember Bishop Whipple, Judge Moneypenny, Judge Gaylord, -and others. - -This terminated the summer campaign, although, as one of the results of -Crook’s conference with Sheridan at Fort Laramie, the Ogallalla chiefs -“Red Cloud” and “Red Leaf” were surrounded on the morning of the 23d of -October, and all their guns and ponies taken from them. There were seven -hundred and five ponies and fifty rifles. These bands were supposed to -have been selling arms and ammunition to the part of the tribe in open -hostility, and this action of the military was precipitated by “Red -Cloud’s” refusal to obey the orders to move his village close to the -agency, so as to prevent the incoming stragglers from being confounded -with those who had remained at peace. He moved his village over to the -Chadron Creek, twenty-two miles away, where he was at the moment of -being surrounded and arrested. - -General Crook had a conference with the head men of the Ogallallas and -Brulés, the Cheyennes and Arapahoes, and told them in plain language -what he expected them to do. The Government of the United States was -feeding them, and was entitled to loyal behavior in return, instead of -which many of our citizens had been killed and the trails of the -murderers ran straight for the Red Cloud Agency; it was necessary for -the chiefs to show their friendship by something more than empty words, -and they would be held accountable for the good behavior of their young -men. He did not wish to do harm to any one, but he had been sent out -there to maintain order and he intended to do it, and if the Sioux did -not see that it was to their interest to help they would soon regret -their blindness. If all the Sioux would come in and start life as -stock-raisers, the trouble would end at once, but so long as any -remained out, the white men would insist upon war being made, and he -should expect all the chiefs there present to aid in its prosecution. - -There were now fifty-three companies of soldiers at Red Cloud, and they -could figure for themselves just how long they could withstand such -force. “Red Cloud” had been insolent to all officers placed over him, -and his sympathies with the hostiles had been open and undisguised; -therefore he had been deposed, and “Spotted Tail,” who had been -friendly, was to be the head chief of all the Sioux. - -The assignment of the troops belonging to the summer expedition to -winter quarters, and the organization from new troops of the expedition, -which was to start back and resume operations in the Big Horn and -Yellowstone country, occupied several weeks to the exclusion of all -other business, and it was late in October before the various commands -began concentrating at Fort Fetterman for the winter’s work. - -The wagon-train left at Powder River, or rather at Goose Creek, under -Major Furey, had been ordered in by General Sheridan, and had reached -Fort Laramie and been overhauled and refitted. It then returned to -Fetterman to take part in the coming expedition. General Crook took a -small party to the summit of the Laramie Peak, and killed and brought -back sixty-four deer, four elk, four mountain sheep, and one cinnamon -bear; during the same week he had a fishing party at work on the North -Platte River, and caught sixty fine pike weighing one hundred and one -pounds. - -Of the resulting winter campaign I do not intend to say much, having in -another volume described it completely and minutely; to that volume -(“Mackenzie’s Last Fight with the Cheyennes—a Winter Campaign in -Wyoming”) the curious reader is referred; but at the present time, as -the country operated in was precisely the same as that gone over during -the preceding winter and herein described—as the Indians in hostility -were the same, with the same habits and peculiarities, I can condense -this section to a recapitulation of the forces engaged, the fights -fought, and the results thereof, as well as a notice of the invaluable -services rendered by the Indian scouts, of whom Crook was now able to -enlist all that he desired, the obstructive element—the Indian -agent—having been displaced. Although this command met with severe -weather, as its predecessor had done, yet it was so well provided and -had such a competent force of Indian scouts that the work to be done by -the soldiers was reduced to the zero point; had Crook’s efforts to -enlist some of the Indians at Red Cloud Agency not been frustrated by -the agent and others in the spring, the war with the hostile Sioux and -Cheyennes would have been over by the 4th of July, instead of dragging -its unsatisfactory length along until the second winter and entailing -untold hardships and privations upon officers and men and swelling the -death roll of the settlers. - -The organization with which Crook entered upon his second winter -campaign was superb in equipment; nothing was lacking that money could -provide or previous experience suggest. There were eleven companies of -cavalry, of which only one—“K,” of the Second (Egan’s)—had been engaged -in previous movements, but all were under excellent discipline and had -seen much service in other sections. - -Besides Egan’s there were “H” and “K,” of the Third, “B,” “D,” “E,” “F,” -“I,” and “M,” of the Fourth, and “H” and “L,” of the Fifth Cavalry. -These were placed under the command of Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie, of -the Fourth Cavalry. - -Colonel R. I. Dodge, Twenty-third Infantry, commanded the infantry and -artillery companies, the latter serving as foot troops; his force -included Batteries “C,” “F,” “H,” and “K,” of the Fourth Artillery; -Companies “A,” “B,” “C,” “F,” “I,” and “K,” of the Ninth Infantry; “D” -and “G,” of the Fourteenth Infantry; and “C,” “G,” and “I,” of the -Twenty-third Infantry. - -General Crook’s personal staff was composed of myself as Acting -Assistant Adjutant-General; Schuyler and Clarke, Aides-de-Camp; Randall, -Chief of Scouts; Rockwell, of the Fifth Cavalry, as Commissary; Surgeon -Joseph R. Gibson as Chief Medical Officer. - -In the list of officers starting out with this expedition are to be -found the names of Major G. A. Gordon, Fifth Cavalry, and Major E. F. -Townsend, Ninth Infantry, and Captain C. V. Mauck, Fourth Cavalry, and -Captain J. B. Campbell, Fourth Artillery, commanding battalions; -Lieutenant Hayden Delaney, Ninth Infantry, commanding company of Indian -scouts; and the following from the various regiments, arranged without -regard to rank: Wessels and Hammond; Gerald Russell, Oscar Elting, and -George A. Dodd, of the Third Cavalry; James Egan and James Allison, of -the Second Cavalry; John M. Hamilton, E. W. Ward and E. P. Andrus, -Alfred B. Taylor and H. W. Wheeler, of the Fifth Cavalry; J. H. Dorst, -H. W. Lawton, C. Mauck, J. W. Martin, John Lee, C. M. Callahan, S. A. -Mason, H. H. Bellas, Wirt Davis, F. L. Shoemaker, J. Wesley Rosenquest, -W. C. Hemphill, J. A. McKinney, H. G. Otis, of the Fourth Cavalry; -Cushing, Taylor, Bloom, Jones, Campbell, Cummins, Crozier, Frank G. -Smith, Harry R. Anderson, Greenough, Howe, French, of the Fourth -Artillery; Jordan, MacCaleb, Devin, Morris C. Foot, Pease, Baldwin, -Rockefeller, Jesse M. Lee, Bowman, of the Ninth Infantry; Vanderslice, -Austin, Krause, Hasson, Kimball, of the Fourteenth Infantry; Pollock, -Hay, Claggett, Edward B. Pratt, Wheaton, William L. Clarke, Hoffman, -Heyl, of the Twenty-third Infantry; and Surgeons Gibson, Price, Wood, -Pettys, Owsley, and La Garde. - -Mackenzie’s column numbered twenty-eight officers and seven hundred and -ninety men; Dodge’s, thirty-three officers and six hundred and forty-six -enlisted men. There were one hundred and fifty-five Arapahoes, -Cheyennes, and Sioux; ninety-one Shoshones, fifteen Bannocks, one -hundred Pawnees, one Ute, and one Nez Percé, attached as scouts; and -four interpreters. - -The supplies were carried on four hundred pack-mules, attended by -sixty-five packers under men of such experience as Tom Moore, Dave -Mears, Young Delaney, Patrick, and others; one hundred and sixty-eight -wagons and seven ambulances—a very imposing cavalcade. Major Frank -North, assisted by his brother, Luke North, commanded the Pawnees; they, -as well as all the other scouts, rendered service of the first value, as -will be seen from a glance at these pages. General Crook had succeeded -in planting a detachment of infantry at old Fort Reno, which was rebuilt -under the energetic administration of Major Pollock, of the Ninth, and -had something in the way of supplies, shelter, and protection to offer -to small parties of couriers or scouts who might run against too strong -a force of the enemy. This post, incomplete as it was, proved of prime -importance before the winter work was over. - -We noticed one thing in the make-up of our scouting force: it was an -improvement over that of the preceding summer, not in bravery or energy, -but in complete familiarity with the plans and designs of the hostile -Sioux and Cheyennes whom we were to hunt down. Of the Cheyennes, I am -able to give the names of “Thunder Cloud,” “Bird,” “Blown Away,” “Old -Crow,” “Fisher,” and “Hard Robe.” Among the Sioux were, in addition to -the young man, “Charging Bear,” who had been taken prisoner at the -engagement of Slim Buttes, “Three Bears,” “Pretty Voiced Bull,” “Yellow -Shirt,” “Singing Bear,” “Lone Feather,” “Tall Wild Cat,” “Bad Boy,” -“Bull,” “Big Horse,” “Black Mouse,” “Broken Leg,” a second Indian named -“Charging Bear,” “Crow,” “Charles Richaud,” “Eagle,” “Eagle” (2), -“Feather On The Head,” “Fast Thunder,” “Fast Horse,” “Good Man,” “Grey -Eyes,” “James Twist,” “Kills First,” “Keeps The Battle,” “Kills In The -Winter,” “Lone Dog,” “Owl Bull,” “Little Warrior,” “Leading Warrior,” -“Little Bull,” “No Neck,” “Poor Elk,” “Rocky Bear,” “Red Bear,” “Red -Willow,” “Six Feathers,” “Sitting Bear,” “Scraper,” “Swift Charger,” -“Shuts The Door,” “Slow Bear,” “Sorrel Horse,” “Swimmer,” “Tobacco,” -“Knife,” “Thunder Shield,” “Horse Comes Last,” “White Face,” “Walking -Bull,” “Waiting,” “White Elk,” “Yellow Bear,” “Bad Moccasin,” “Bear -Eagle,” “Yankton,” “Fox Belly,” “Running Over,” “Red Leaf”—representing -the Ogallallas, Brulés, Cut Offs, Loafers, and Sans Arcs bands. - -The Arapahoes were “Sharp Nose,” “Old Eagle,” “Six Feathers,” “Little -Fox,” “Shell On The Neck,” “White Horse,” “Wolf Moccasin,” “Sleeping -Wolf,” “William Friday,” “Red Beaver,” “Driving Down Hill,” “Yellow -Bull,” “Wild Sage,” “Eagle Chief,” “Sitting Bull,” “Short Head,” “Arrow -Quiver,” “Yellow Owl,” “Strong Bear,” “Spotted Crow,” “White Bear,” “Old -Man,” “Painted Man,” “Left Hand,” “Long Hair,” “Ground Bear,” “Walking -Water,” “Young Chief,” “Medicine Man,” “Bull Robe,” “Crying Dog,” “Flat -Foot,” “Flint Breaker,” “Singing Beaver,” “Fat Belly,” “Crazy,” “Blind -Man,” “Foot,” “Hungry Man,” “Wrinkled Forehead,” “Fast Wolf,” “Big Man,” -“White Plume,” “Coal,” “Sleeping Bear,” “Little Owl,” “Butcher,” “Broken -Horn,” “Bear’s Backbone,” “Head Warrior,” “Big Ridge,” “Black Man,” -“Strong Man,” “Whole Robe,” “Bear Wolf.” - -The above will surely show that we were excellently provided with -material from the agencies, which was the main point to be considered. -The Pawnees were led by “Li-here-is-oo-lishar” and “U-sanky-su-cola;” -the Bannocks and Shoshones by “Tupsi-paw” and “O-ho-a-te.” The chief -“Washakie” was not with them this time; he sent word that he was -suffering from rheumatism and did not like to run the risks of a winter -campaign, but had sent his two sons and a nephew and would come in -person later on if his services were needed. These guides captured a -Cheyenne boy and brought him in a prisoner to Crook, who learned from -him much as to the location of the hostile villages. - -In the gray twilight of a cold November morning (the 25th), Mackenzie -with the cavalry and Indian scouts burst like a tornado upon the -unsuspecting village of the Cheyennes at the head of Willow Creek, a -tributary of the Powder, and wiped it from the face of the earth. There -were two hundred and five lodges, each of which was a magazine of -supplies of all kinds—buffalo and pony meat, valuable robes, ammunition, -saddles, and the comforts of civilization—in very appreciable -quantities. The roar of the flames exasperated the fugitive Cheyennes to -frenzy; they saw their homes disappearing in fire and smoke; they heard -the dull thump, thump, of their own medicine drum, which had fallen into -the hands of our Shoshones; and they listened to the plaintive drone of -the sacred flageolets upon which the medicine men of the Pawnees were -playing as they rode at the head of their people. Seven hundred and five -ponies fell into our hands and were driven off the field; as many more -were killed and wounded or slaughtered by the Cheyennes the night after -the battle, partly for food and partly to let their half-naked old men -and women put their feet and legs in the warm entrails. We lost one -officer, Lieutenant John A. McKinney, Fourth Cavalry, and six men killed -and twenty-five men wounded; the enemy’s loss was unknown; at least -thirty bodies fell into our hands, and at times the fighting had a -hand-to-hand character, especially where Wirt Davis and John M. Hamilton -were engaged. The village was secured by a charge on our left in which -the companies of Taylor, Hemphill, Russell, Wessells, and the Pawnees -participated. The Shoshones, under Lieutenant Schuyler and Tom Cosgrove, -seized a commanding peak and rained down bullets upon the brave -Cheyennes, who, after putting their women and children in the best -places of safety accessible, held on to the rocks, and could not be -dislodged without great loss of life. - -Mackenzie sent couriers to Crook, asking him to come to his help as soon -as he could with the long rifles of the infantry, to drive the enemy -from their natural fortifications. Crook and the foot troops under -Dodge, Townsend, and Campbell made the wonderful march of twenty-six -miles over the frozen, slippery ground in twelve hours, much of the -distance by night. But they did not reach us in time, as the excessive -cold had forced the Cheyennes to withdraw from our immediate front, -eleven of their little babies having frozen to death in their mothers’ -arms the first night and three others the second night after the fight. - -The Cheyennes were spoken to by Bill Roland and Frank Gruard, but were -very sullen and not inclined to talk much; it was learned that we had -struck the village of “Dull Knife,” who had with him “Little Wolf,” -“Roman Nose,” “Gray Head,” “Old Bear,” “Standing Elk,” and “Turkey -Legs.” “Dull Knife” called out to our Sioux and Cheyenne scouts: “Go -home—you have no business here; we can whip the white soldiers alone, -but can’t fight you too.” The other Cheyennes called out that they were -going over to a big Sioux village, which they asserted to be near by, -and get its assistance, and then come back and clean us out. “You have -killed and hurt a heap of our people,” they said, “and you may as well -stay now and kill the rest of us.” The Custer massacre was represented -by a perfect array of mute testimony: gauntlets, hats, and articles of -clothing marked with the names of officers and men of the ill-fated -Seventh Cavalry, saddles, silk guidons, and other paraphernalia pointing -the one moral, that the Cheyennes had been as foremost in the battle -with Custer as they had been in the battle with Crook on the Rosebud a -week earlier. - -All the tribes of the plains looked up to the Cheyennes, and respected -their impetuous valor; none stood higher than they as fierce, skilful -fighters; and to think that we had broken the back of their hostility -and rendered them impotent was a source of no small gratification. They -sent a party of young men to follow our trail and see whither we went; -these young men crawled up close to our camp-fires and satisfied -themselves that some of their own people were really enlisted to fight -our battles, as Ben Roland had assured them was the case. This -disconcerted them beyond measure, added to what they could see of our -column of scouts from the other tribes. “Dull Knife” made his way down -the Powder to where “Crazy Horse” was in camp, expecting to be received -with the hospitality to which his present destitution and past services -entitled him. “Crazy Horse” was indifferent to the sufferings of his -allies and turned the cold shoulder upon them completely, and this so -aroused their indignation that they decided to follow the example of -those who had enrolled under our flag and sent in word to that effect. - -At first it was not easy to credit the story that the Cheyennes were not -only going to surrender, but that every last man of them would enlist as -a soldier to go out and demolish “Crazy Horse;” but the news was -perfectly true, and in the last days of December and the first of -January the first detachment of them arrived at Red Cloud Agency; just -as fast as the condition of their ponies and wounded would admit, -another detachment arrived; and then the whole body—men, women, and -children—made their appearance, and announced their desire and intention -to help us whip “Crazy Horse.” “Crazy Horse” happened to be related by -blood or by marriage to both “Spotted Tail” and “Red Cloud,” and each of -these big chiefs exerted himself to save him. “Spotted Tail” sounded the -Cheyennes and found that they were in earnest in the expressed purpose -of aiding the Americans; and when he counted upon his fingers the -hundreds of allies who were coming in to the aid of the whites in the -suppression, perhaps the extermination, of the Dakotas, who had so long -lorded it over the population of the Missouri Valley, he saw that it was -the part of prudence for all his people to submit to the authority of -the General Government and trust to its promises. - -Colonel Mason was not only a good soldier, he was a man of most -excellent education, broad views and humane impulses; he had gained a -great influence over “Spotted Tail,” which he used to the best -advantage. He explained to his red-skinned friends that the force soon -to be put in the field would embrace hundreds of the Sioux at the -agencies, who were desirous of providing themselves with ponies from the -herds of their relations, the Minneconjous; that every warrior of the -Cheyennes had declared his intention of enlisting to fight “Crazy -Horse”; that there would be, if needed, two hundred and fifty men, or -even more, from the Utes, Bannocks, and Shoshones; that over one hundred -Pawnees were determined to accompany any expedition setting out; that -one hundred Winnebagoes had offered their services; that all the -able-bodied Arapahoes were enrolled, and that the Crows had sent word -that two hundred of their best warriors would take part. In the early -part of the winter the Crows had sent two hundred and fifty of their -warriors under Major George M. Randall and the interpreter, Fox, to find -and join Crook’s expedition. After being subjected to indescribable -privations and almost frozen to death in a fierce wind and snow storm -upon the summits of the Big Horn range—from the fury of which Randall -and his companions were saved by the accident of discovering a herd of -buffaloes hiding from the blast in a little sag, which animals they -attacked, killing a number and eating the flesh raw, as no fire could -live in such a blast, and putting their feet inside the carcasses to -keep from freezing stiff—the brave detachment of Crows succeeded in -uniting with us on Christmas morning, 1876, in one of the most -disagreeable blizzards of that trip. - -Their number had been reduced below one hundred, but they were still -able to aid us greatly, had not Crook deemed it best for them to return -home and apprise their tribe of the complete downfall of the Cheyennes -and the breaking of the backbone of hostility. There might be other -fights and skirmishes in the future, but organized antagonism to the -whites was shattered when the Cheyenne camp was laid low, and future -military operations would be minimized into the pursuit of straggling -detachments or conflicts with desperate bands which had no hope of -success, but would wish to sell their lives at the highest rate -possible. The best thing for the Crows and Utes and Shoshones to do -would be to move into, or at least close to, the Big Horn Mountains, and -from there raid upon the petty villages of the Sioux who might try to -live in the seclusion of the rocks and forests. “Spotted Tail” said that -“Crazy Horse” was his nephew, and he thought he could make him see the -absolute inutility of further resistance by going out to have a talk -with him. - -Mason telegraphed all the foregoing facts to General Crook, who had been -summoned to Cheyenne as a witness before a general court-martial; Crook -replied that there was no objection to the proposed mission, but that -“Spotted Tail” must let “Crazy Horse” understand that he was not sent -out with any overtures, and that all “Crazy Horse” could count upon was -safety in his passage across the country, by setting out at once before -another movement should begin. “Spotted Tail” found “Crazy Horse” -encamped near the head of the Little Powder, about midway between -Cantonment Reno and the southwestern corner of the Black Hills. He made -known his errand, and had no great difficulty in making his nephew see -that he had better begin his movement towards the agency without a -moment’s delay. Several of “Crazy Horse’s” young men came in with -“Spotted Tail,” who was back at Camp Robinson by the last week in -January, 1877. General Crook’s headquarters had been transferred to that -point, and there was little to do beyond waiting for the arrival of -“Crazy Horse” and other chiefs. - -Of our mess and its members, as well as the people who dined or supped -with us, I am sure that my readers will pardon me for saying a word. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - -STRANGE MESS-MATES—THE JOURNEY TO THE AGENCIES—GENERAL SHERIDAN’S - VISIT—“SPOTTED TAIL”—THE STORY OF HIS DEAD DAUGHTER’S - BONES—“WHITE THUNDER”—“RED CLOUD”—“DULL KNIFE”—“BIG WOLF”—THE - NECKLACE OF HUMAN FINGERS—THE MEDICINE MAN AND THE ELECTRIC - BATTERY—“WASHINGTON”—“FRIDAY”—INDIAN BROTHERS—“SORREL - HORSE”—“THREE BEARS”—“YOUNG MAN AFRAID OF HIS HORSES”—“ROCKY - BEAR”—“RED CLOUD’S” LETTER—INDIAN DANCES—THE BAD LANDS—HOW THE - CHEYENNES FIRST GOT HORSES. - - -Camp Robinson was situated in the extreme northwestern corner of the -State of Nebraska, close to the line of Dakota and that of Wyoming; -aside from being the focus of military activity, there was little in the -way of attraction; the scenery in the vicinity is picturesque, without -any special features. There were great numbers of Indians of the Sioux, -Cheyenne, and Arapahoe tribes, to whose ranks accessions were made daily -by those surrendering, but reference to them will be postponed for the -present. The white members of our mess were General Crook, General -Mackenzie, Colonel J. W. Mason, Lieutenant William P. Clarke, Lieutenant -Hayden Delaney, Lieutenant Walter S. Schuyler, Major George M. Randall, -and myself. Neither Mackenzie nor Mason could, strictly speaking, be -called a member of the mess, but as they generally “dropped in,” and as -a plate was regularly placed for each, there is no direct violation of -the unities in including them. Randall was still full of his recent -perilous adventure with the Crows, and we often were successful in -drawing him out about his experiences in the Civil War, in which he had -borne a most gallant part and of which he could, when disposed, relate -many interesting episodes. Schuyler had made a tour through Russia and -Finland, and observed not a little of the usages and peculiarities of -the people of those countries. Mr. Strahorn, who was often with us, had -wandered about in many curious spots of our own territory, and was -brimful of anecdote of quaint types of human nature encountered far away -from the centres of civilization. Crook and Mackenzie and Mason would -sometimes indulge in reminiscences to which all eagerly listened, and it -is easy to see that such a mess would of itself have been a place of no -ordinary interest; but for me the greatest attraction was to be found in -the constant presence of distinguished Indian chiefs whose names had -become part and parcel of the history of our border. General Sheridan -had paid one hurried visit and remained a day, but being better known to -American readers, there is no use in speaking of him and his work during -the war. - -There were two cooks, Phillips and Boswell, the former of whom had -shared the trials and tribulations of the terrible march down from the -head of Heart River, and seemed resolved to make hay while the sun -shone; he could make anything but pie—in that he failed miserably. I -think it was Oliver Wendell Holmes who once wrote an essay to -demonstrate that the isothermal line of perpetual pumpkin pie was the -line of highest civilization and culture. The converse of the -proposition would seem to be equally true: pie, of any kind, cannot be -made except under the most æsthetic surroundings; amid the chilling -restraints of savagery and barbarism, pie is simply an impossibility. It -did not make much difference what he prepared, Boswell was sure of an -appreciative discussion of its merits by a mess which was always hungry, -and which always had guests who were still hungrier and still more -appreciative. - -Taking our aboriginal guests in order of rank, the chief, of course, was -“Spotted Tail.” This is, unfortunately, not the age of monument-building -in America; if ever the day shall come when loyal and intelligent -friendship for the American people shall receive due recognition, the -strong, melancholy features of “Siutiega-leska,” or “Spotted Tail,” cast -in enduring bronze, will overlook the broad area of Dakota and Nebraska, -which his genius did so much to save to civilization. In youth a warrior -of distinction, in middle age a leader among his people, he became, ere -time had sprinkled his locks with snow, the benefactor of two races. A -diplomatist able to hold his own with the astutest agents the Great -Father could depute to confer with him, “Spotted Tail” recognized the -inevitable destruction of his kinsmen if they persisted in war and -turned their backs upon overtures of peace. He exerted himself, and -generally with success, to obtain the best terms possible from the -Government in all conferences held with its representatives, but he was -equally earnest in his determination to restrain the members of his own -band, and all others whom he could control, from going out upon the -war-path. If any persisted in going, they went to stay; he would not -allow them to return. - -There was a story current in army circles that years and years ago a -young daughter of “Spotted Tail” had fallen in love with an officer just -out of West Point, and had died of a broken heart. In her last hours she -asked of her father the pledge that he would always remain the friend of -the Americans—a pledge given with affectionate earnestness, and observed -with all the fidelity of a noble nature. I have often seen the grave of -this young maiden at Fort Laramie—a long pine box, resting high in air -upon a scaffold adorned with the tails of the ponies upon which her -gentle soul had made the lonesome journey to the Land of the Great -Hereafter. I may as well tell here a romance about her poor bones, which -insatiate Science did not permit to rest in peace. Long after her -obsequies, when “Spotted Tail’s” people had been moved eastward to the -White Earth country, and while the conflict with the hostiles was at its -bitterest, the garrison of Fort Laramie was sent into the field, new -troops taking their places. There was a new commanding officer, a new -surgeon, and a new hospital steward; the last was young, bright, -ambitious, and desirous of becoming an expert in anatomy. The Devil saw -his opportunity for doing mischief; he whispered in the young man’s ear: -“If you want an articulated skeleton, what’s the matter with those -bones? Make your own articulated skeleton.” Turn where he would, the -Devil followed him; the word “bones” sounded constantly in his ears, -and, close his eyes or open them, there stood the scaffold upon which, -wrapped in costly painted buffalo robes and all the gorgeous decoration -of bead-work, porcupine quill, and wampum that savage affection could -supply, reposed the mortal remains of the Dakota maiden.... A dark -night, a ladder, a rope, and a bag—the bones were lying upon the -steward’s table, cleaned, polished, and almost adjusted, and if there -was one happy man in the United States Army it was the hospital steward -of Fort Laramie. - -How fleeting is all human joy! A little cloud of dust arose above the -hills to the northeast in the direction of the Raw-Hide; it grew bigger -and bigger and never ceased until, in front of the commanding officer’s -quarters, it revealed the figures of “Spotted Tail,” the head chief of -the Sioux, and a dozen of his warriors. The great chief had come, he -said, for the bones of his child; he was getting old, and his heart felt -cold when it turned to the loved one who slept so far from the graves of -her people. The way was long, but his ponies were fresh, and to help out -the ride of the morrow he would start back with the rising of the moon -that night. Consternation! Panic! Dismay! Use any term you please to -describe the sensation when the steward confessed to the surgeon, and -the surgeon to the commanding officer, the perilous predicament in which -they were placed. The commanding officer was polite and diplomatic. He -urged upon “Spotted Tail” that the requirements of hospitality could not -permit of his withdrawal until the next day; neither was it proper that -the bones of the daughter of so distinguished a chief should be carried -off in a bundle uncoffined. He would have a coffin made, and when that -should be ready the remains could be placed in it without a moment’s -delay or a particle of trouble. Once again, a ladder, a rope, and the -silence of night—and the secret of the robbery was secure. When the -story reached our camp on Goose Creek, Terry’s Crow Indian messengers -were relating to Crook the incidents of the Custer massacre. - -I thought then with horror, and I still think, what might have been the -consequences had “Spotted Tail” discovered the abstraction of those -bones? Neither North nor South Dakota, Wyoming nor Montana might now be -on the map, and their senators might not be known in Congress; and, -perhaps, those who so ably represent the flourishing States of Kansas, -Nebraska and Colorado might have some difficulty in finding all of their -constituents. The Northern Pacific Railroad might not yet have been -built, and thousands who to-day own happy homes on fertile plains would -still be toiling aimlessly and hopelessly in the over-populated States -of the Atlantic seaboard. - -We found “Spotted Tail” a man of great dignity, but at all moments easy -and affable in manner; not hard to please, sharp as a brier, and -extremely witty. He understood enough English to get along at table, and -we picked up enough Dakota to know that when he asked for “ahúyape,” he -meant bread; “wosúnna” was butter; “wáka-maza,” corn; that “bellô” was -the name for potatoes, “tollô” for beef, “pazúta-sápa” for coffee, -“witká” for eggs; that white sugar became in his vocabulary -“chahúmpiska,” salt was transformed into “minni-squia”; and that our -mushrooms and black pepper resolved themselves into the jaw-breaking -words: “yamanuminnigawpi” and “numcatchy-numcapa,” respectively. He was -addicted to one habit, not strictly according to our canons, of which we -never succeeded in breaking him: if he didn’t like a piece of meat, or -if he had been served with a greater abundance than he needed of -anything, he lifted what he didn’t want back upon the platter. His -conversational powers were of a high order, his views carefully formed, -clearly expressed. My personal relations with him were extremely -friendly, and I feel free to say that “Spotted Tail” was one of the -great men of this country, bar none, red, white, black, or yellow. When -“Crow Dog” murdered him, the Dakota nation had good reason to mourn the -loss of a noble son. - -“Spotted Tail” was several times accompanied by “White Thunder,” a -handsome chief, most favorably disposed towards the whites, and of good -mental calibre, but in no sense “Spotted Tail’s” equal. On other -occasions we had both “Spotted Tail” and “Red Cloud” at dinner or lunch -on the same day. This we tried to avoid as much as possible, as they -were unfriendly to each other, and were not even on speaking terms. -However, at our table, they always behaved in a gentlemanly manner, and -no stranger would have suspected that anything was wrong. “Red Cloud” -had shown a better disposition since the coming in of the Cheyennes, -their avowed intentions having as much of an effect upon him as upon -“Spotted Tail.” The delegation of Ogallalla warriors had done such good -work during the campaign that General Crook had allowed the members of -the other bands to give to the more deserving some of the ponies taken -away from them and distributed among the other divisions of the Sioux. -This developed a much better feeling all around, and “Red Cloud” had -asked to be enlisted as a soldier, to show that he meant well. - -He had also said that “Crazy Horse” could not travel in as fast as -General Crook expected, partly on account of the soft state of the -trails induced by a heavy January thaw, and partly because it would be -necessary for him to hunt in order to get food for his women and -children. If he, “Red Cloud,” were permitted to take out enough food to -support the women and children on their way to the agency, it would -deprive “Crazy Horse” of any excuse for delay, granting that he was -disposed to be dilatory in his progress; he would go out to see the band -of “Crazy Horse,” and tell them all to come in at once, and give to all -the women and children who needed it the food for their support while -coming down from the Black Hills. This proposition was approved, and -“Red Cloud” started out and did good work, to which I will allude later -on. - -One day when the Cheyenne chief, “Dull Knife,” was at headquarters, I -invited him to stay for luncheon. - -“I should be glad to do so,” he replied, “but my daughters are with me.” - -“Bring them in too,” was the reply from others of the mess, and “Spotted -Tail,” who was present, seconded our solicitations; so we had the -pleasure of the company, not only of old “Dull Knife,” whose life had -been one of such bitterness and sorrow, but of his three daughters as -well. They were fairly good-looking—the Cheyennes will compare favorably -in appearance with any people I’ve seen—and were quite young; one of -nine or ten, one of twelve, and the oldest not yet twenty—a young widow -who, with the coquettishness of the sex, wore her skirts no lower than -the knees to let the world see that in her grief for her husband, killed -in our fight of November 25th, she had gashed and cut her limbs in -accordance with the severest requirements of Cheyenne etiquette. Had she -lost a child she would have cut off one of the joints of the little -finger of her left hand. - -Of the other Cheyennes, there were “Little Wolf,” one of the bravest in -fights, where all were brave; and “Standing Elk,” cool and determined in -action, wise in council, polite in demeanor, reserved in speech, and -adhering in dress to the porcelain bead breastplates of the tribes of -the plains. Last among this deputation was the medicine man, “High -Wolf,” or “Tall Wolf,” or “Big Wolf ”; he had been proud to wear, as his -pet decoration, a necklace of human fingers, which he knew had fallen -into my possession in the fight with Mackenzie. There was no affection -lost between us, but he imagined that by getting upon good terms with me -negotiations might be opened for a return of the ghastly relic. But I -knew its value too well: there is no other in the world that I know -of—that is, in any museum—although the accounts of explorations in the -early days in the South Sea, among the Andamanese, and by Lewis and -Clark, make mention of such things having been seen. While we were -destroying the Cheyenne village, “Big Bat” found two of these necklaces, -together with a buckskin bag containing twelve of the right hands of -little babies of the Shoshone tribe, lately killed by the Cheyennes. The -extra necklace was buried, the buckskin bag with its dreadful relics was -given to our Shoshone allies, who wept and wailed over it all night, -refusing to be comforted, and neglecting to assume the battle-names with -which the Pawnees were signalizing their prowess. The necklace belonging -to “High Wolf” contained eight fingers of Indian enemies slain by that -ornament of society, and has since been deposited in the National -Museum, Washington, D. C. - -There was an old, broken-down electrical apparatus in the post hospital, -which had long ago been condemned as unserviceable, but which we managed -to repair so that it would send a pretty severe shock through the person -holding the poles. The Indian boys and girls looked upon this as -wonderful “medicine,” and hung in groups about the headquarters, from -reveille till retreat, hoping to see the machine at work—not at work -upon themselves exactly, but upon some “fresh fish” which they had -enticed there from among the later surrenders. Many and many a time, -generally about the lunch hour, a semicircle would form outside the -door, waiting for the appearance of some one connected with the -headquarters, who would be promptly nudged by one of the more -experienced boys, as a sign that there was fun in sight. The novice -couldn’t exactly comprehend what it all meant when he saw at the bottom -of a pail of water a shining half-dollar which was to be his if he could -only reach it while holding that innocent-looking cylinder in one hand. -There was any amount of diversion for everybody; the crop of shorn lambs -increased rapidly, each boy thinking that the recollection of his own -sorrows could be effaced in no better way than by contemplating those of -the newer arrivals; and so from guard mount to parade the wonder grew as -to what was the mysterious machine which kept people from seizing the -piece of silver. - -We were becoming more generous, or more confident, by this time, and -doubled the value of the money prize, and issued a challenge to the -“medicine men” to try their powers. Several of them did so, only to be -baffled and disgraced. No matter what “medicine” they made use of, no -matter what “medicine song” they chanted, our “medicine song” was more -potent: never were the strains of “Pat Malloy” warbled to a nobler -purpose, and ere long it began to be bruited about from “tepi” to -“tepi”—from “Sharp Nose’s” hearth-fire to “White Thunder’s,” and farther -down the vale to where the blue smoke from “Little Wolf’s” cottonwood -logs curled lazily skyward—that “Wichakpa-yamani” (“Three Stars,” the -Sioux name for General Crook) had a “Mini-hoa” (Ink Man-Adjutant -General) whose “medicine song” would nullify anything that Cheyenne or -Arapahoe or Dakota could invent; and naturally enough, this brought -“High Wolf,” the great doctor of the Cheyennes, to the fore. The squaws -nagged him into accepting the gauntlet thrown down so boldly. Excitement -ran high when word was passed around that “High Wolf” was going to test -the power of the battery. There was a most liberal attendance of -spectators, and both whites and reds knew that the ordeal was to be one -of exceptional importance. “High Wolf” had with him a good deal of -“medicine,” but he asked a few moments’ delay, as he had to make some -more. I watched him closely to guard against trickery, but detected -nothing to cause me any apprehension: he plucked one or two lengths of -grass just peeping above the ground, rolled them in the palms of his -hands, and then put them into his mouth, wherein he had previously -placed a small stone, glanced up at the sun, and then at the cardinal -points, all the while humming, half distinctly, his “medicine song,” in -which two sympathizing friends were joining, and then was ready for the -fray. - -I was not asleep by any means, but putting in all the muscle I could -command in revolving the handle of the battery, and so fully absorbed in -my work, that I almost forgot to summon “Pat Malloy” to my aid. “High -Wolf” took one of the poles, and of course felt no shock; he looked -first at the glittering dollar in the bottom of the bucket, and next at -the extra prize—five dollars, if I remember correctly—contributed by the -officers standing by; and in another second his brawny left arm was -plunged up to the elbow in the crystal fluid. Not being an adept in such -matters, I am not prepared to say exactly how many hundred thousand -volts he got in the back of the neck, but he certainly had a more -thorough experience with electricity than any aborigine, living or dead, -and, worst of all, he couldn’t let go. He was strong as a mule and -kicked like a Texas congressman, smashing the poor, rickety battery all -to pieces, which was a sad loss to us. He was neither conquered nor -humiliated, and boldly announced his readiness to repeat the trial, a -proposal we could not in honor decline. The battery was patched up as -well as we knew how, and we allowed him to try again; this time, as the -crafty rascal knew would be the case, the wheezy machine furnished no -great current, and he fished out the dollar, although moisture gathered -in beads around his neck, and his fingers were doubled upon his wrists. -He got the rest of the money, according to promise, and the decision of -the onlookers was that the whole business must be adjudged a “draw.” -“High Wolf” was a powerful “medicine man” as of yore, and he alone of -all the Indians at Red Cloud could compete with the white man’s -“medicine box” whose wheels went whir-r-r-whir-r-r-r. - -The Arapahoes were well represented. Their principal men were of fine -mental calibre, and in all that galaxy of gallant soldiers, white and -copper-colored, whom I met during those years, none stands out more -clearly in my recollection than “Sharp Nose.” He was the inspiration of -the battle-field. He reminded me of a blacksmith: he struck with a -sledge-hammer, but intelligently, at the right spot and right moment. He -handled men with rare judgment and coolness, and was as modest as he was -brave. He never spoke of his own deeds, but was an excellent talker on -general topics, and could not, as a matter of course, refrain from -mention, at times, of active work in which he had had a share. -“Washington,” his boon companion and councillor, was a handsome chief -who had assumed this name in token of his desire to “walk in the new -road.” He had been taken on a trip East, and had been so impressed with -all the wonders seen, that he devoted most of his time to missionary -work among his people, telling them that they could only hope for -advancement by becoming good friends of these progressive white men and -adopting their ways. - -“Friday Fitzpatrick” had been lost when a mere child, during a fight -which arose between the Arapahoes and Blackfeet, at a time when they -were both on the Cimarron, engaged in trading with the Apaches, New -Mexico Pueblos, Kiowas, Utes, Pawnees, and Comanches, some distance to -the south of where the foundry and smelter chimneys of the busy city of -Pueblo, Colorado, now blacken the air. The lost Indian boy fell into the -hands of Mr. Fitzpatrick, a trader of St. Louis, who had him educated by -the Jesuits, an order which had also given the rudiments of learning to -Ouray, the head chief of the Utes. “Friday” was intelligent and shrewd, -speaking English fluently, but his morals were decidedly shady. I used -to talk to him by the hour, and never failed to extract pages of most -interesting information concerning savage ideas, manners, and customs. -He explained the Indian custom of conferring names each time a warrior -had distinguished himself in battle, and gave each of the four agnomens -with which he personally had been honored—the last being a title -corresponding in English to “The Man Who Sits in the Corner and Keeps -His Mouth Shut.” - -“Six Feathers,” “White Horse,” and “Black Coal” were also able men to -whom the Arapahoes looked up; the first was as firm a friend of the -whites as was “Washington”—he became General Crook’s “brother”; others -of our mess were equally fortunate. Being an Arapahoe’s “brother” -possessed many advantages—for the Arapahoe. You were expected to keep -him in tobacco, something of a drain upon your pocket-book, although -Indians did not smoke to such an extent as white men and very rarely -used chewing-tobacco. If your newly-acquired relation won any money on a -horse-race, the understanding was that he should come around to see you -and divide his winnings; but all the Indian “brothers” I’ve ever known -have bet on the wrong plug, and you have to help them through when they -go broke. “White Horse” was a grim sort of a wag. One day, I had him and -some others of the Arapahoes aiding me in the compilation of a -vocabulary of their language, of which the English traveller, Burton, -had made the groundless statement that it was so harsh, meagre, and -difficult that to express their ideas the Arapahoes were compelled to -stand by a camp-fire and talk the “sign language.” I am in a position to -say that the Arapahoe language is full of guttural sounds, and in that -sense is difficult of acquisition, but it is a copious, well-constructed -dialect, inferior to none of the aboriginal tongues of North America. We -had been hard at work for several hours, and all were tired. “To eat,” -said “White Horse,” “is so and so; but to eat something good, and hot, -and sweet, right now, right here in this room, is so and so and so, and -you can tell your good cook to bring it.” It was brought at once. - -I have not introduced the lesser figures in this picture: men like -“American Horse,” “Young Man Afraid,” “Blue Horse,” “Rocky Bear,” and -others who have since become, and were even in those days, leaders among -the Dakotas. My canvas would become too crowded. It must do to say that -each of these was full of native intelligence, wise in his way, and -worthy of being encouraged in his progress along the new and toilsome -path of civilization. But I must make room for a few words about “Three -Bears” (“Mato-yamani”), a warrior fierce in battle and humane to the -vanquished. I remember his coming into my tent one dismally cold night, -while we lay on the Belle Fourche, on the outskirts of the Black Hills, -after wiping out “Dull Knife’s” village. “Three Bears’s” eyes were -moist, and he shook his head mournfully as he said, “Cheyenne pappoose -heap hung’y.” - -“Sorrel Horse” (“Shunca-luta”) was a “medicine man,” a ventriloquist, -and a magician. The women and children stood in awe of an uncanny wretch -who boasted that, if they doubted his power, they might let him cut off -a lock of their hair, and inside of three days they should die. After my -electrical duel with “High Wolf,” “Sorrel Horse” manifested an -inclination to show me what he could do. He lay down on the floor, put -the hot bowl of a pipe in his mouth, and alternately inhaled the smoke -or caused it to issue from the stem. Pretty soon he went into a trance, -and deep groans and grunts were emitted from the abdominal region. When -he came to, he assured us that that was the voice of a spirit which he -kept within him. He shuffled a pack of cards, and handing it to General -Mackenzie, bade him take out any one he wanted and he would tell the -name; Mackenzie did as he desired, and “Sorrel Horse” promptly fixed his -fingers in diamond-shape and called out “Squaw,” for the queen of -diamonds, and similarly for the seven of clubs, and others as fast as -drawn. He again lay down on the floor, and opened his shirt so that his -ribs were exposed; he took a small piece of tobacco, and pretended to -swallow it. To all appearances, he became deathly sick: his countenance -turned of an ashen hue, perspiration stood on his brow, the same -lugubrious grunts issued from his stomach and throat, and I was for a -moment or two in alarm about his condition; but he soon recovered -consciousness, if he had ever lost it, and triumphantly drew the moist -leaf of tobacco from beneath his ribs. He had been a great traveller in -his day, and there was but little of the Missouri or Yellowstone -drainage that he was not familiar with. I have known him to journey -afoot from Red Cloud to Spotted Tail Agency, a distance of forty-three -measured miles, between two in the morning and noon of the same day, -bearing despatches. The Apaches, Mojaves, and other tribes of the -Southwest are far better runners than the horse Indians of the plains, -but I have known few of them who could excel “Sorrel Horse” in this -respect. - -Nothing was to be done at this time except wait for news from “Red -Cloud” and “Crazy Horse.” The Cheyennes were impatient to go out to war, -but it was war against “Crazy Horse” and not the white man. However, the -promise had been sent by General Crook to “Crazy Horse” that if he -started in good faith and kept moving straight in to the agency, he -should be allowed every reasonable facility for bringing all his people -without molestation. “Red Cloud” sent word regularly of the march made -each day: one of the half-breeds with him, a man who prided himself upon -his educational attainments, wrote the letters to Lieutenant Clarke, -who, with Major Randall, was in charge of the Indian scouts. The -following will serve as an example: - - A Pril 16th 1877. - - Sir My Dear I have met some indians on road and thare say the indians - on bear lodge creek on 16th april and I thought let you know it. And I - think 1 will let you know better after I get to the camp so I sent the - young man with this letter he have been to the camp before his name is - arme blown off - - RED CLOUD. - -When “Red Cloud” and his party reached “Crazy Horse” they found the -statements made by the latter Indian were strictly correct. The -thousands of square miles of country burned over during the -preceding season were still gaunt and bare, and “Crazy Horse” was -compelled to march with his famished ponies over a region as -destitute as the Sahara. The rations taken out for the women and -children were well bestowed; there was no food in the village, and -some of the more imprudent ate themselves sick, and I may add that -one of “Crazy Horse’s” men sent on in advance to Camp Robinson -surfeited himself and died. - -While Red Cloud was absent there were several small brushes with -petty bands of prowling hostiles. Lieutenants Lemly, Cumings, and -Hardie, of the Third Cavalry, did spirited work near Deadwood and -Fort Fetterman respectively, and a battalion of the same regiment, -under Major Vroom, was kept patrolling the eastern side of the -Hills. - -Time did not hang heavy upon our hands at Robinson: there were rides -and walks about the post for those who took pleasure in them; -sometimes a party would go as far as Crow Butte, with its weird, -romantic story of former struggles between the Absaroka and the -Dakota; sometimes into the pine-mantled bluffs overlooking the -garrison, where, two years later, the brave Cheyennes, feeling that -the Government had broken faith with them, were again on the -war-path, fighting to the death. There were visits to the Indian -villages, where the courteous welcome received from the owners of -the lodges barely made amends for the vicious attacks by half-rabid -curs upon the horses’ heels. The prismatic splendors of the rainbow -had been borrowed to give beauty to the raiment or lend dignity to -the countenances of Indians of both sexes, who moved in a steady -stream to the trader’s store to buy all there was to sell. Many of -the squaws wore bodices and skirts of the finest antelope skin, -thickly incrusted with vari-colored beads or glistening with the -nacreous brilliancy of the tusks of elk; in all these glories of -personal adornment they were well matched by the warriors, upon -whose heads were strikingly picturesque war-bonnets with eagle -feathers studding them from crown to ground. These were to be worn -only on gala occasions, but each day was a festal one at that time -for all these people. Almost as soon as the sun proclaimed the hour -of noon groups of dancers made their way to the open ground in front -of the commanding general’s quarters, and there favored the whites -with a never-ending series of “Omaha” dances and “Spoon” dances, -“Squaw” dances and “War” dances, which were wonderfully interesting -and often beautiful to look upon, but open to the objection that the -unwary Caucasian who ventured too near the charmed circle was in -danger of being seized by stout-armed viragoes, and compelled to -prance about with them until his comrades had contributed a ransom -of two dollars. - -Neither were we altogether ignorant of the strange wonders of the -“Bad Lands,” which began near by, and are, or were, filled with the -skeletons of mammoth saurians and other monsters of vanished seas. -“Old Paul”—I don’t think he ever had any other name—the driver of -General Mackenzie’s ambulance, had much to relate about these -marvellous animal cemeteries. “Loo-o-tin-int,” he would say, “it’s -the dog-gonedest country I ever seed—reg’lar bone-yard. (Waugh! -Tobacco juice.) Wa’al, I got lots o’ things out thar—thighs ’n -jaw-bones ’n sich—them’s no account, th’ groun’s chock full o’ -_them_. (Waugh! Tobacco juice.) But, pew-trified tar’pin ’n snappin’ -torkle—why, them’s wallerble. Onct I got a bone full o’ pew-trified -marrer; looks like glass; guess I’ll send it to a mew-see-um.” -(Waugh! Tobacco juice.) - -The slopes of the hills seemed to be covered with Indian boys, -ponies, and dogs. The small boy and the big dog are two of the -principal features of every Indian village or Indian cavalcade; to -these must be added the bulbous-eyed pappoose, in its bead-covered -cradle slung to the saddle of its mother’s pony, and wrapped so -tightly in folds of cloth and buckskin that its optics stick out -like door-knobs. The Indian boy is far ahead of his white -contemporary in healthy vigor and manly beauty. Looking at the -subject as a boy would, I don’t know of an existence with more -happiness to the square inch than that of the young redskin from -eight to twelve years old. With no one to reproach him because face -or hands are unclean, to scowl because his scanty allowance of -clothing has run to tatters, and no long-winded lessons in geography -or the Constitution of the United States, his existence is one -uninterrupted gleam of sunshine. The Indian youngster knows every -bird’s nest for miles around, every good place for bathing, every -nice pile of sand or earth to roll in. With a pony to ride—and he -has a pony from the time he is four years old; and a bow—or, better -luck still, a rifle—for shooting: he sees little in the schools of -civilization to excite his envy. On ration days, when the doomed -beeves are turned over to each band, what bliss to compare to that -of charging after the frenzied steers and shooting them down on the -dead run? When the winter sun shone brightly, these martial scions -would sometimes forget their dignity long enough to dismount and -engage in a game of shinny with their gayly-attired sisters, who -rarely failed to bring out all the muscle that was in them. - -It would be impossible to give more than the vaguest shadow of the -occurrences of that period without filling a volume. Indian life was -not only before us and on all sides of us, but we had also -insensibly and unconsciously become part of it. Our eyes looked upon -their pantomimic dances—our ears were regaled with their songs, or -listened to the myths and traditions handed down from the old men. -“Spotted Tail” said that he could not remember the time when the -Sioux did not have horses, but he had often heard his father say -that in _his_ youth they still had dogs to haul their “travois,” as -their kinsmen, the Assiniboines, to the north still do. - -“Friday” said that when he was a very small child, the Arapahoes -still employed big dogs to haul their property, and that old women -and men marched in front laden with paunches filled with water, with -which to sprinkle the parched tongues of the animals every couple of -hundred yards. - -“Fire Crow,” a Cheyenne, here interposed, and said that the -Cheyennes claimed to have been the first Northern Indians to use -horses, and thereupon related the following story: “A young Cheyenne -maiden wandered away from home, and could not be found. Her friends -followed her trail, going south until they came to the shore of a -large lake into which the foot-prints led. While the Indians were -bewailing the supposed sad fate of their lost relative, she suddenly -returned, bringing with her a fine young stallion, the first the -Cheyennes had ever seen. She told her friends that she was married -to a white man living near by, and that she would go back to obtain -a mare, which she did. From this pair sprung all the animals which -the Cheyennes, Sioux, and Arapahoes now have.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV. - -THE SURRENDER OF “CRAZY HORSE”—SELLING AMMUNITION TO HOSTILE - INDIANS—PLUNDERING UNARMED, PEACEABLE INDIANS—SUPPER WITH “CRAZY - HORSE”—CHARACTER OF THIS CHIEF—HIS BRAVERY AND GENEROSITY—THE - STORY OF THE CUSTER MASSACRE AS TOLD BY “HORNY HORSE”—LIEUTENANT - REILLY’S RING—THE DEATH OF “CRAZY HORSE”—“LITTLE BIG MAN’S” - STORY ABOUT IT—“CRAZY HORSE” PROBABLY HIS OWN SLAYER—THE EBB OF - SIOUX SUPREMACY - - -On the 6th of May, 1877, shortly after meridian, “Crazy Horse’s” -band approached the agency, descending the hills in the following -order: First, Lieutenant William P. Clarke, with the agency -Indians—that is, “Red Cloud” and his Indian soldiers; next, “Crazy -Horse,” at the head of his warriors, having abreast of him “Little -Big Man,” “Little Hawk,” “He Dog,” “Old Hawk,” and “Bad Road.” -Stringing along behind, for a distance of nearly two miles, came the -old men with the women and children, lodges, ponies, dogs, and other -plunder. Lieutenant Clarke had gone out early in the morning to a -point seven or eight miles from the post to meet the incoming party. -“Crazy Horse,” upon learning who he was, remained silent, but was -not at all ungracious or surly. He dismounted from his pony, sat -down upon the ground, and said that then was the best time for -smoking the pipe of peace. He then held out his left hand to Clarke, -telling him: “Cola (friend), I shake with this hand because my heart -is on this side; I want this peace to last forever.” The principal -warriors were then presented, each shaking hands. “Crazy Horse” had -given his feather bonnet and all other regalia of the war-path to -“Red Cloud,” his brother-in-law, as he had no further use for them. -“He-Dog” took off his own war bonnet and scalp shirt and put them -upon Clarke in sign of friendly good-will. The most perfect -discipline was maintained, and silence reigned from the head of the -cavalcade to the farthest “travois.” - -When the post was reached, the warriors began to intone a peace -chant, in whose refrain the squaws and older children joined, and -which lasted until a halt was ordered and the work of turning over -ponies and surrendering arms began. An enumeration disclosed the -fact that “Crazy Horse” had with him not quite twenty-five hundred -ponies, over three hundred warriors, one hundred and forty-six -lodges, with an average of almost two families in each, and between -eleven hundred and eleven hundred and fifty people all told, not -counting the very considerable number who were able to precede the -main body, on account of having fatter and stronger ponies. -Lieutenant Clarke, in firm but quiet tones, informed the new -arrivals that everything in the shape of a fire-arm must be given -up, and to insure this being done he would wait until after the -squaws had pitched their “tepis,” and then make the collection in -person. One hundred and seventeen fire-arms, principally cavalry -carbines and Winchesters, were found and hauled away in a cart. -“Crazy Horse” himself gave up three Winchesters, and “Little Hawk” -two. By what seemed to be a curious coincidence, “Little Hawk” wore -pendent at his neck the silver medal given to his father at the -Peace Conference on the North Platte, in 1817; it bore the effigy of -President Monroe. Some of the other chiefs, in surrendering, laid -sticks down upon the ground, saying: “Cola, this is my gun, this -little one is a pistol; send to my lodge and get them.” Every one of -these pledges was redeemed by the owner. There was no disorder and -no bad feeling, which was remarkable enough, considering that so -many of “Crazy Horse’s” band had never been on a reservation before. -Everything ran along as smooth as clock-work, such interpretation as -was necessary being made by Frank Gruard and Billy Hunter; Clarke, -however, needed little help, as he could converse perfectly in the -sign language. Just behind the knoll overlooking the flat upon which -“Crazy Horse’s” village had been erected, every one of the Cheyenne -warriors was in the saddle, armed to the teeth, and ready to charge -down upon “Crazy Horse” and settle their score with him, at the -first sign of treachery. - -“Crazy Horse’s” warriors were more completely disarmed than any -other bands coming under my observation, not so much in the number -of weapons as in the pattern and condition; to disarm Indians is -always an unsatisfactory piece of business, so long as the cowboys -and other lawless characters in the vicinity of the agencies are -allowed to roam over the country, each one a travelling arsenal. The -very same men who will kill unarmed squaws and children, as was done -in January, 1891, near Pine Ridge Agency, will turn around and sell -to the bucks the arms and ammunition which they require for the next -war-path. At the very moment when Crook was endeavoring to deprive -the surrendering hostiles of deadly weapons, Colonel Mason captured -a man with a vehicle loaded with metallic cartridges, brought up -from Cheyenne or Sidney, to be disposed of to the young men at -Spotted Tail. As with cartridges, so with whiskey: the western -country has too many reprobates who make a nefarious living by the -sale of vile intoxicants to savages; this has been persistently done -among the Sioux, Mojaves, Hualpais, Navajos, and Apaches, to my -certain knowledge. Rarely are any of these scoundrels punished. The -same class of men robbed the Indians with impunity; “Spotted Tail” -lost sixty head of ponies which the Indian scouts trailed down to -North Platte, where they were sold among the stock-raisers. The -arrest of the thieves was confided to the then sheriff of Sidney, -who, somehow, always failed to come up with them; possibly the fact -that he was the head of the gang himself may have had something to -do with his non-success, but that is hard to say. - -“Crazy Horse” took his first supper at Red Cloud Agency with Frank -Gruard, who had been his captive for a long time and had made his -escape less than two years previously. Frank asked me to go over -with him. When we approached the chief’s “tepi,” a couple of squaws -were grinding coffee between two stones, and preparing something to -eat. “Crazy Horse” remained seated on the ground, but when Frank -called his name in Dakota, “Tashunca-uitco,” at the same time adding -a few words I did not understand, he looked up, arose, and gave me a -hearty grasp of his hand. I saw before me a man who looked quite -young, not over thirty years old, five feet eight inches high, lithe -and sinewy, with a scar in the face. The expression of his -countenance was one of quiet dignity, but morose, dogged, tenacious, -and melancholy. He behaved with stolidity, like a man who realized -he had to give in to Fate, but would do so as sullenly as possible. -While talking to Frank, his countenance lit up with genuine -pleasure, but to all others he was, at least in the first days of -his coming upon the reservation, gloomy and reserved. All Indians -gave him a high reputation for courage and generosity. In advancing -upon an enemy, none of his warriors were allowed to pass him. He had -made hundreds of friends by his charity towards the poor, as it was -a point of honor with him never to keep anything for himself, -excepting weapons of war. I never heard an Indian mention his name -save in terms of respect. In the Custer massacre, the attack by Reno -had at first caused a panic among women and children, and some of -the warriors, who started to flee, but “Crazy Horse,” throwing away -his rifle, brained one of the incoming soldiers with his stone -war-club and jumped upon his horse. - -“Little Hawk,” who appeared to rank next to “Crazy Horse” in -importance, was much like his superior in size and build, but his -face was more kindly in expression and he more fluent in speech; he -did most of the talking. “Little Big Man” I did not like in those -days; principally on account of his insolent behavior to the members -of the Allison Commission at this same agency, during the summer. In -appearance he was crafty, but withal a man of considerable ability -and force. He and I became better friends afterwards, and exchanged -presents. I hold now his beautiful calumet and a finely-beaded -tobacco bag, as well as a shirt trimmed with human scalps, which was -once the property of “Crazy Horse.” - -As it is never too soon to begin a good work, Mr. Thomas Moore, the -Chief of Transportation, was busy the next morning in teaching the -Sioux squaws how to make bread out of the flour issued to them, -which used to be wasted, fed to their ponies, or bartered off at the -trader’s store. - -Mingling as we were with chiefs and warriors who had been fighting -the Government without intermission for more than a year, and who -had played such a bloody part in the Custer tragedy, it was natural -that we should seek to learn all we could to throw light upon that -sombre page in our military annals. I cannot say that much -information was gained not already known to the public. The Indians -appeared to believe that from the moment that Custer divided his -forces in presence of such overwhelming odds, the destruction of the -whole or the greater part was a foregone conclusion. A picture of -the battle-field was drawn by one of the Indians present in -hostility, and marked by myself under his direction. In some of the -villages indicated there were portions of several bands. - -This is the exact language of “Horny Horse”: “Some lodges came out -from Standing Rock Agency and told us the troops were coming. The -troops charged on the camp before we knew they were there. The -lodges were strung out about as far as from here to the Red Cloud -Agency slaughter-house (about two and a half miles). I was in the -council-house with a lot of the old men, when we heard shots fired -from up the river. The troops first charged from up the river. We -came out of the council-house and ran to our lodges. - -“All the young bucks got on their horses and charged the troops. All -the old bucks and squaws ran the other way. We ran the troops back. -Then there was another party of troops on the other side of the -river. One half of the Indians pursued the first body of troops (_i. -e._, Reno’s); the other half went after the other body (_i. e._, -Custer’s). I didn’t see exactly all the fight, but by noon, all of -one party (_i. e._, Custer’s) were killed, and the others driven -back into a bad place. We took no prisoners. I did not go out to see -the bodies, because there were two young bucks of my band killed in -the fight and we had to look after them. - -“We made the other party of soldiers (_i. e._, Reno’s) cross the -creek and run back to where they had their pack-train. The reason we -didn’t kill all this (Reno’s) party was because while we were -fighting his party, we heard that more soldiers were coming up the -river, so we had to pack up and leave. We left some good young men -killed in that fight. We had a great many killed in the fight, and -some others died of their wounds. I know that there were between -fifty and sixty Indians killed in the fight. After the fight we went -to Wolf Mountain, near the head of Goose Creek. Then we followed -Rosebud down, and then went over to Bluestone Creek. We had the -fight on Rosebud first, and seven days after, this fight. When we -got down to Bluestone, the band broke up.” - -[Illustration: - - Lt. Faison. Geronimo. Capt. Maus. Capt. Bourke. Mayor. - Strauss. - Capt. Roberts. Lt. Shipp. Gen. Crook. Charles - Roberts. - Antonio Besias. - CONFERENCE BETWEEN GENERAL CROOK AND GERONIMO -] - -From the bands surrendering at Red Cloud and Spotted Tail agencies, -many relics of the Custer tragedy were obtained. Among other things -secured was a heavy gold ring, surmounted with a bloodstone seal, -engraved with a griffin, which had formerly belonged to Lieutenant -Reilly of the Seventh Cavalry, who perished on that day. This -interesting relic was returned to his mother in Washington. - -The total number of Indians surrendering at these agencies (Red -Cloud and Spotted Tail) was not quite four thousand five hundred, -who made no secret of the fact that they had yielded because they -saw that it was impossible to stand out against the coalition made -by General Crook between the white soldiers and their own people; -the terrible disaster happening to the Cheyenne village had opened -their ears to the counsels of their brethren still in those -agencies, and the alliance between the Cheyennes and the whites -proved to them that further resistance would be useless. They -surrendered, and they surrendered for good; there has never been -another battle with the tribes of the northern plains as such; work -of a most arduous and perilous character has been from time to time -performed, in which many officers and brave soldiers have laid down -their lives at the behest of duty, but the statement here made -cannot be gainsaid, and will never be questioned by the honest and -truthful investigator, that the destruction of the village of “Dull -Knife,” and the subsequent enlistment of the whole of the northern -Cheyennes as scouts in the military service, sounded the death-knell -of Indian supremacy for Nebraska, Wyoming, both the Dakotas, and -Montana. - -Crook took up the tangled threads of Indian affairs at the agencies -with his accustomed energy, intelligence, coolness, patience, and -foresight gained in an experience of almost twenty-five years. The -new surrenders were ignorant, timid, sullen, distrustful, -suspicious, revengeful, and with the departure of the Cheyennes for -the Indian Territory, which took place almost immediately after, -began to reflect more upon the glories of the fight with Custer than -upon the disaster of November. This was the normal state of affairs, -but it was intensified by the rumors, which proved to be only too -well founded, that Congress was legislating to transfer the Sioux to -another locality—either to the Missouri River or the Indian -Territory. A delegation was sent down to the Indian Territory to -look at the land, but upon its return it reported unfavorably. - -“Crazy Horse” began to cherish hopes of being able to slip out of -the agency and get back into some section farther to the north, -where he would have little to fear, and where he could resume the -old wild life with its pleasant incidents of hunting the buffalo, -the elk, and the moose, and its raids upon the horses of Montana. He -found his purposes detected and baffled at every turn: his camp was -filled with soldiers, in uniform or without, but each and all -reporting to the military officials each and every act taking place -under their observation. Even his council-lodge was no longer safe: -all that was said therein was repeated by some one, and his most -trusted subordinates, who had formerly been proud to obey -unquestioningly every suggestion, were now cooling rapidly in their -rancor towards the whites and beginning to doubt the wisdom of a -resumption of the bloody path of war. The Spotted Tail Agency, to -which “Crazy Horse” wished to belong, was under the supervision of -an army officer—Major Jesse M. Lee, of the Ninth Infantry—whose word -was iron, who never swerved from the duty he owed to these poor, -misguided wretches, and who manifested the deepest and most -intelligent interest in their welfare. I will not bother the reader -with details as to the amount of food allowed to the Indians, but I -will say that every ounce of it got to the Indian’s stomach, and the -Indians were sensible enough to see that justice, truth, and common -honesty were not insignificant diplomatic agencies in breaking down -and eradicating the race-antipathies which had been no small barrier -to progress hitherto. General Crook had been specially fortunate in -the selection of the officers to take charge of Indian matters, and -in such men as Major Daniel W. Burke and Captain Kennington, of the -Fourteenth Infantry, and Mills, of the Third Cavalry, had deputies -who would carry out the new policy, which had as one of its -fundamentals that the Indians must not be stolen blind. The Sioux -were quick to perceive the change: less than twelve months before, -they had been robbed in the most bold-faced manner, the sacks which -were accepted as containing one hundred pounds of flour containing -only eighty-eight. When delivery was made, the mark of the -inspecting and receiving officer would be stamped upon the outer -sack, and the moment his back was turned, that sack would be pulled -off, and the under and unmarked one submitted for additional -counting. - -Those two agencies were a stench in the nostrils of decent people; -the attention of honest tax-payers was first called to their -disgraceful management, by Mr. Welsh, of Philadelphia, and Professor -Marsh, of New Haven. After a sufficiently dignified delay, suited to -the gravity of the case, a congressional committee recommended the -removal of the agents, and that the contractor be proceeded against, -which was done, and the contractor sentenced to two years in the -penitentiary. - -Two other officers of the army did good work in the first and most -trying days at these agencies, and their services should not be -forgotten. They were Lieutenant Morris Foote, of the Ninth, and -Lieutenant A. C. Johnson, of the Fourteenth Infantry. Lieutenant -William P. Clarke, who had remained in charge of the Indian scouts, -kept General Crook fully posted upon all that “Crazy Horse” had in -contemplation; but nothing serious occurred until the fall of the -year 1877, when the Nez Percé war was at its height, and it became -necessary to put every available man of the Department of the Platte -at Camp Brown to intercept Chief “Joseph” in his supposed purpose of -coming down from the Gray Bull Pass into the Shoshone and Bannock -country, in the hope of getting aid and comfort. “Crazy Horse” had -lost so many of his best arms at the surrender, and he felt that he -was so closely watched, and surrounded by so many lukewarm -adherents, that it would be impossible to leave the agency openly; -and accordingly he asked permission to go out into the Big Horn on a -hunt for buffalo, which permission was declined. He then determined -to break away in the night, and by making a forced march, put a good -stretch of territory between himself and troops sent in pursuit. - -Including the band of “Touch the Clouds,” which had surrendered at -Spotted Tail Agency some time before the arrival of “Crazy Horse” at -Red Cloud, and the stragglers who had preceded him into the latter -agency, “Crazy Horse” reckoned on having about two thousand people -to follow his fortunes to British America, or whithersoever he might -conclude to go. When his purposes became known his arrest was made -necessary. General Crook hurried to Red Cloud Agency, and from there -started over towards Spotted Tail Agency, intending to have a talk -with “Crazy Horse” and the other chiefs; but when about half-way our -conveyance was stopped by a Sioux runner—“Woman’s Dress”—who said -that he had been sent by “Spotted Tail” and the other Indians to -warn General Crook that “Crazy Horse” had unequivocally asserted -that he would kill General Crook in the coming council, if Crook’s -words did not suit him. Crook returned to Red Cloud Agency and -summoned all the chiefs, including “Crazy Horse,” to a conference; -“Crazy Horse” paid no attention to the message. - -General Crook informed the Indians that they were being led astray -by “Crazy Horse’s” folly, and that they must preserve order in their -own ranks and arrest “Crazy Horse.” The chiefs deliberated and said -that “Crazy Horse” was such a desperate man, it would be necessary -to kill him; General Crook replied that that would be murder, and -could not be sanctioned; that there was force enough at or near the -two agencies (“Crazy Horse” had removed from Red Cloud to Spotted -Tail) to round up not only “Crazy Horse,” but his whole band, and -that more troops would be sent, if necessary; he counted upon the -loyal Indians effecting this arrest themselves, as it would prove to -the nation that they were not in sympathy with the non-progressive -element of their tribe. - -General Crook had started for Camp Brown to superintend in person -the massing of the troops who were to head off Chief “Joseph,” but -when Sheridan heard of the threatening look of things at the -Nebraska agencies, he telegraphed to Crook under date of September -1, 1877: “I think your presence more necessary at Red Cloud Agency -than at Camp Brown, and wish you to get off (the Union Pacific -Railroad train) at Sidney, and go there.” Again, under date of -September 3, 1877: “I do not like the attitude of affairs at Red -Cloud Agency, and very much doubt the propriety of your going to -Camp Brown. The surrender or capture of ‘Joseph’ in that direction -is but a small matter compared with what might happen to the -frontier from a disturbance at Red Cloud.” ... Agent Irwin, who had -assumed charge of affairs at Red Cloud Agency, was a faithful and -conscientious representative of the Indian bureau; he did all in his -power to assist in breaking down the threatened uprising, and showed -a very competent understanding of the gravity of the situation. - -“Crazy Horse” broke away during the night of the 3d of September, -but was unable to get away from the column in pursuit, whose work -may perhaps be best described in the language of General L. P. -Bradley, Ninth Infantry, commanding the district of the Black Hills, -which embraced the posts of Laramie, Fetterman, Robinson, and -Sheridan. - -“General Crook left here on the morning of the 4th, and, under his -instructions, I sent out a strong force about 9 o’clock of that date -to surround ‘Crazy Horse’s’ village, about six miles below the post. -The column consisted of eight companies of the Third Cavalry, and -about four hundred friendly Indians. The Indian scouts were under -Lieutenant Clarke; the other Indians under chiefs ‘Red Cloud,’ -‘Little Wound,’ ‘American Horse,’ ‘Young Man Afraid of His Horses,’ -‘Yellow Bear,’ ‘Black Coal,’ ‘Big Road,’ ‘Jumping Shield,’ and -‘Sharp Nose.’ The cavalry were under the command of Colonel Mason, -Third Cavalry. When the command reached the site of the village, -they found it had broken up in the night, and most of it had -disappeared. A part of the lodges returned to the agency of their -own accord and joined the friendly bands, a large number were -overtaken by the friendly Indians and brought back, and a few went -to the Spotted Tail Agency. ‘Crazy Horse’ escaped alone and went to -the Spotted Tail Agency, where he was arrested the same day by -friendly Indians and was brought here under guard of Indians on the -5th instant. My orders from General Crook were to capture this -chief, confine him, and send him under guard to Omaha. When he was -put in the guardhouse he suddenly drew a knife, struck at the guard, -and made for the door. ‘Little Big Man,’ one of his own chiefs, -grappled with him, and was cut in the arm by ‘Crazy Horse’ during -the struggle. The two chiefs were surrounded by the guard, and about -this time ‘Crazy Horse’ received a severe wound in the lower part of -the abdomen, either from a knife or bayonet, the surgeons are in -doubt which. He was immediately removed, and placed in charge of the -surgeons, and died about midnight. His father and ‘Touch the -Clouds,’ chief of the Sans Arcs, remained with him till he died, and -when his breath ceased, the chief laid his hand on ‘Crazy Horse’s’ -breast and said: ‘It is good; he has looked for death, and it has -come.’ The body was delivered to his friends the morning after his -death. ‘Crazy Horse’ and his friends were assured that no harm was -intended him, and the chiefs who were with him are satisfied that -none was intended; his death resulted from his own violence. The -leading men of his band, ‘Big Road,’ ‘Jumping Shield,’ and ‘Little -Big Man,’ are satisfied that his death is the result of his own -folly, and they are on friendly terms with us.” - -The chiefs spoken of in General Bradley’s telegram an accompanying -“Crazy Horse” were: “Touch the Clouds,” “Swift Bear,” and “High -Bear.” All accounts agree in stating that “Crazy Horse” suddenly -drew two knives, and with one in each hand started to run amuck -among the officers and soldiers. “Little Big Man,” seeing what he -had done, jumped upon “Crazy Horse’s” back and seized his arms at -the elbows, receiving two slight cuts in the wrists while holding -his hands down. Here, there is a discrepancy: some say that the -death wound of “Crazy Horse” was given by the sentinel at the door -of the guard-house, who prodded him in the abdomen with his bayonet -in return for the thrust with a knife made by “Crazy Horse”; others -affirm that “Little Big Man,” while holding down “Crazy Horse’s” -hands, deflected the latter’s own poniard and inflicted the gash -which resulted in death. Billy Hunter, whose statement was written -out for me by Lieutenant George A. Dodd, Third Cavalry, is one of -the strongest witnesses on the first side, but “Little Big Man” -himself assured me at the Sun Dance in 1881 that he had -unintentionally killed “Crazy Horse” with the latter’s own weapon, -which was shaped at the end like a bayonet (stiletto), and made the -very same kind of a wound. He described how he jumped on “Crazy -Horse’s” back and seized his arms at the elbow, and showed how he -himself had received two wounds in the left wrist; after that, in -the struggle, the stiletto of the captive was inclined in such a -manner that when he still struggled he cut himself in the abdomen -instead of harming the one who held him in his grasp. “Little Big -Man” further assured me that at first it was thought best to let the -idea prevail that a soldier had done the killing, and thus reduce -the probability of any one of the dead man’s relatives revenging his -taking off after the manner of the aborigines. The bayonet-thrust -made by the soldier was received by the door of the guard-house, -where “Little Big Man” said it could still be seen. I give both -stories, although I incline strongly to believe “Little Big Man.” - -“Crazy Horse” was one of the great soldiers of his day and -generation; he never could be the friend of the whites, because he -was too bold and warlike in his nature; he had a great admiration -for Crook, which was reciprocated; once he said of Crook that he was -more to be feared by the Sioux than all other white men. As the -grave of Custer marked high-water mark of Sioux supremacy in the -trans-Missouri region, so the grave of “Crazy Horse,” a plain fence -of pine slabs, marked the ebb. - - - - - CHAPTER XXV. - -THE MANAGEMENT OF THE INDIAN AGENCIES—AGENT MACGILLICUDDY’S - WONDERFUL WORK—CROOK’S REMAINING DAYS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF THE - PLATTE—THE BANNOCK, UTE, NEZ PERCÉ, AND CHEYENNE OUTBREAKS—THE - KILLING OF MAJOR THORNBURGH AND CAPTAIN WEIR—MERRRITT’S FAMOUS - MARCH AGAINST TIME—HOW THE DEAD CAME TO LIFE AND WALKED—THE - CASE OF THE PONCAS—CROOK’S HUNTS AND EXPLORATIONS; NEARLY - FROZEN TO DEATH IN A BLIZZARD—A NARROW ESCAPE FROM AN ANGRY - SHE-BEAR—CATCHING NEBRASKA HORSE-THIEVES—“DOC” MIDDLETON’S - GANG - - -After Doctor Irwin the Indians at Red Cloud had as agent Doctor V. -T. MacGillicuddy, whose peculiar fitness for the onerous and -underpaid responsibilities of the position brought him deserved -recognition all over the western country, as one of the most -competent representatives the Indian Bureau had ever sent beyond the -Missouri. Two or three times I looked into affairs at his agency -very closely, and was surprised both at the immense amount of -supplies on hand—running above a million pounds of flour and other -parts of the ration in proportion—and the perfect system with which -they were distributed and accounted for. There were then eight -thousand Indians of both sexes at the agency or on the reserve, and -the basis of supplies was either Pierre, in Dakota, on the Missouri, -or Sidney, Nebraska, on the Union Pacific; the former two hundred -and the latter one hundred and twenty-five miles distant. -MacGillicuddy was kept on the go all the time from morning till -night, and managed to do the work of twenty men. His salary was the -munificent sum of twenty-two hundred and fifty dollars per annum. I -could not help saying to myself that this man was carrying upon his -shoulders the weight of a force equal to one-third the United States -Army; were he in the army, MacGillicuddy would have been a -major-general, surrounded by a high-priced staff, dividing the work -and relieving him of nearly all care; he would have had three -aides-de-camp, too frequently his own relations, each getting from -the Government a better salary than the agent of this great -concourse of savages was receiving. MacGillicuddy was expected and -required to keep his wards at peace, feed and clothe them in health, -see that they received proper medical attendance while sick, -encourage them in habits of industry, especially farming and -cattle-raising, prepare all kinds of accounts for the information of -his bureau, and in his moments of leisure instruct the aborigines in -the Catechism and Testament. In this matter of Indian agents, as in -all that pertains to Indian affairs, the great trouble is that the -American people have so little common sense. Let the salaries paid -to agents be raised to such a standard that the position will be an -inducement for first-class men to consider, and there will not be so -much trouble in getting an honest administration, if there should be -coupled a good-conduct tenure, subject to the approval of some such -organization as the Indian Rights Association. Civil Service Reform -may well be introduced in the Indian service. - -Of the other services rendered by General Crook while in command of -the Department of the Platte there is no room to speak. Much of the -highest importance and greatest interest happened under his -administration, and it is needless to say that all which devolved -upon him to do was done well, done quietly, done without flourish of -trumpets, and without the outside world learning much about it. In -the line of military operations, there was the trouble with the -Cheyennes who broke out from the Indian Territory during the summer -of 1878, and fought their way across three military departments to -the Tongue River, where they surrendered to their old commanding -officer, Lieutenant William P. Clarke, Second Cavalry. There was the -nipping in the bud of the outbreak among the Shoshones and Bannocks, -principally the latter, led by “Tindoy” and “Buffalo Horn,” both of -whom were personally well known to Crook, who used his influence -with them to such advantage that they remained at peace until the -aggressions of the whites became too great and drove them out upon -the war-path. These Indians did not, properly speaking, belong to -General Crook’s department, but lived on the extreme northwestern -corner of it in a chain of almost inaccessible mountains in central -Idaho. There was the Ute outbreak, dating back to inadequate rations -and failure to keep pledges. The Utes were not of Crook’s -department, but it was a battalion of the Third and Fifth Cavalry -and Fourth Infantry, which moved out from Rawlins, Wyoming, under -Major Thornburgh, Fourth Infantry, to save the agency and the lives -of the employees; and, after poor Thornburgh had been sacrificed, it -was Merritt’s column which made the wonderful march of one hundred -and sixty miles in two and a half days to rescue the survivors in -the “rat-hole” on Milk River. - -Merritt had been preceded by a company of the Ninth Cavalry, -commanded by Captain Dodge and Lieutenant M. B. Hughes, who had -aided the beleaguered garrison to withstand the attack of the Utes -till the arrival of re-enforcements. The concentration of cars and -the clearing of obstacles from the track of the Union Pacific -Railroad imposed a great tax upon the shoulders of its principal -officials, Mr. S. H. Clark and Mr. T. L. Kimball, but they were -found equal to every demand made upon them and turned over their -track to General Williams and Colonel Ludington, the two staff -officers charged with aiding the Merritt expedition. In the -campaign, we lost Thornburgh and Weir, killed—two noble soldiers -whom the country could ill afford to lose; and had a number of men -killed and wounded and several officers badly hurt—Grimes, Paddock, -Payne, and Cherry. - -A very singular thing occurred during the time that the troops were -besieged behind their feeble rifle-pits down in the hollow. One of -the first to be struck was the blacksmith of the citizen train which -had moved out from Fort Fred Steele under Lieutenant Butler D. -Price, Fourth Infantry; his corpse, without wasting ceremony, was -rolled up in place and made to do its part in supplying protection -to the soldiers; a piece of canvas was thrown over it, and in the -excitement and danger the dead man was forgotten. When Merritt’s -column arrived on the ground, the trumpeter alongside of him was -ordered to sound “Officers’ Call,” upon hearing which the invested -troops sprang upon the earthworks and gave cheer after cheer. It may -have been the noise—it may have been something else—but at any rate -there was a movement at one end of the rifle-pits, and slowly and -feebly from under the overlying clay and canvas, the dead man arose, -shook himself, put his hand wearily to his head, and asked: “My God, -what’s the matter, boys?” Then he staggered about, many of the men -afraid to touch him, or even go near him, and in a few moments was -dead in good earnest. The explanation made by Doctor Grimes was -that, in the first place, the man had been shot through the head at -the intersection or junction of the jaws just under the brain; the -shock had knocked him senseless, and the blood spurting from the -ghastly wound had led the soldiers to conclude somewhat hastily that -he was dead; the slip of canvas carelessly thrown over the body had -preserved it from being suffocated by the earth scraped against it; -the wound was so near the brain that it would have been impossible -to avoid inflammation of the latter organ, and when this set in, the -victim fell dead. - -The case of the Poncas was, beyond question, the most important one -occurring within General Crook’s jurisdiction after the pacification -of the Sioux. I do not purpose entering into all its ramifications, -which would be entirely too tedious for the reader, but it may be -summed up in a nutshell. The Poncas were a small band of Siouan -stock, closely affiliated to the Omahas, who lived at the mouth of -the Niobrara, on the Missouri River. They had a reservation which, -unluckily for them, was arable and consequently coveted by the white -invader. From this they were bulldozed by officials of the -Government and transported to the Indian Territory, where malaria -and other disorders, complicated with homesickness, depleted their -numbers, and made them all anxious to return to the old land. -Application for permission to do this was refused, and thereupon a -portion of the band tried the experiment of going at their own -expense across country, walking every foot of the way, molesting -nobody, and subsisting upon charity. Not a shot was fired at any -one; not so much as a dog was stolen. The western country was at -that time filled with white tramps by thousands, whose presence -excited no comment; but the spectacle of nearly two hundred Indians -going along peaceably back to their old habitat to seek work and -earn their own bread, was too much for the equilibrium of the -authorities in Washington. One of the Indians was carrying a sack -tied by a string to his neck; it contained the bones of a beloved -grandchild—not a very heinous offence in itself, but having been -committed by a man whose skin was wrinkled and red, and whose people -had for generations been the consistent friends of the white race, -it was tantamount to felony. - -To make a long story short, some people in Omaha began talking about -the peculiarities presented in this case of the Omahas, and -wondering why they had been arrested by the military authorities. -Lieutenant W. L. Carpenter, Ninth Infantry, had them under his -charge at Fort Omaha, and gave them an excellent character for -sobriety and good behavior of every kind. Public sympathy became -aroused; meetings were held, one of the first, if not the first, -being that in the Presbyterian Church, conducted by the Rev. Mr. -Harsha and Rev. Mr. Sherrill, and it was determined to bring the -matter before the United States court upon a writ of habeas corpus -to ascertain by what right these people were restrained of their -liberty. Competent lawyers were enlisted, and the case was taken up -by the Hon. A. J. Poppleton and Hon. J. L. Webster, two of the most -prominent members of the bar in Nebraska. Dr. George L. Miller, in -the _Herald_, and Mr. Edward Rosewater, in the _Bee_, and such -citizens as the late Judge Savage, Bishop O’Connor, Rev. John -Williams, and Bishop Clarkson brought much influence to bear; and by -the time that Judge Dundy’s court had convened the attention of the -people of the United States was to some extent converged upon the -trial, which was simply to determine the momentous question whether -or not an American Indian who had never been upon the war-path could -sever his tribal relations and go to work for his own living. Judge -Dundy’s decision was to the effect that he could; and the path of -citizenship was opened for the Indian. - -Mrs. “Bright Eyes” Tibbles, an Omaha Indian lady of excellent -attainments and bright intellect, and her husband, Mr. J. H. -Tibbles, editor of the Omaha _Republican_, took up the cudgels, and -travelled through the Eastern and Middle States, addressing large -concourses in all the principal towns and cities, and awakening an -intelligent and potent interest in the advancement of the native -tribes which has not yet abated. President Hayes appointed a -commission, to consist of General George Crook, General Nelson A. -Miles, Messrs. Stickney and Walter Allen, and the Rev. J. Owen -Dorsey, to look into the general subject of the condition and -prospects of the Poncas; and as the result of this the members of -the band who had returned to the mouth of the Niobrara were -permitted to remain there unmolested. - -To incorporate herein an account of the explorations and hunts upon -which General Crook engaged while in command of the Department of -the Platte, after the Indians had been reduced to submission, would -be tantamount to a description of the topography of the country west -of the Missouri up to and including the head-waters of the Columbia, -and north and south from the Yellowstone Park to the Grand Cañon of -the Colorado, and would swell in volume until it would include a -description of the methods of catching or killing every fish that -swam in the streams, every bird that floated in the air, and every -wild animal that made its lair or burrow within those limits. Ducks, -geese, turkeys, sage hens, prairie chickens; pike, pickerel, -catfish, trout, salmon-trout, and whitefish; elk, deer, moose, -antelope, mountain sheep; bears, wolverines, badgers, coyotes, -mountain wolves—all yielded tribute to his rod or rifle. He kept -adding to his collection of stuffed birds and eggs until there was -no man in the country who possessed a more intimate practical -knowledge of the habits of the fauna and flora of the vast region -beyond the Missouri. As he made these journeys on horse or mule -back, there was no man who could pretend to compare with him in an -acquaintance with the trails and topography of the country off from -the lines of railroad, and only one—General Sherman—who could -compare in a general knowledge of the area of the United States. -Sherman, while General of the army, was a great traveller, -constantly on the go, but nearly all of his trips were made by rail -or in stage-coach, and but few by other methods. - -In company with General Sheridan, General Sackett, and General -Forsyth, General Crook travelled across the then unknown territory -between the Wind River and the Big Horn to the Tongue River, then -down to the Custer battle-field, and by steamer from the mouth of -the Little Horn to the Yellowstone, and down the Missouri to -Bismarck. In company with the Hon. Carl Schurz, then Secretary of -the Interior, he explored all the Yellowstone Park, and viewed its -wonders—the exquisite lake, the lofty precipices of the cañon, the -placid flow of the beautiful river, and its sudden plunge over the -falls into the depths below, the eruptions of the geysers, the -immense mass of waters contained in the springs, the pits of boiling -sulphur, the solid wall of forest of so many varieties of timber, -the dainty flowers, the schools of trout, the shady nooks in the -hill-sides resounding to the footfall of black-tail, elk, or bear, -the lofty cones, snow-crusted, reflecting back the rays of the -summer sun—all the beauties, oddities, and marvels which combine to -make the National Park a fairyland to dwell forever in the dreams of -those who have the good fortune to enter its precincts. With all the -cañons, passes, peaks, and trails of the Wahsatch, Uintah, Medicine -Bow, Laramie, and other ranges he was as familiar as with his -alphabet. - -He was not always so prudent as he should have been while out on -these trips, and several times had very close calls for death. Once, -while shooting wild geese on one of the little tributaries of the -Platte, he was caught in a blizzard, and while trying to make his -way back to his comrades, stepped into an air-hole, and would have -been drowned had it not been for the heroic exertions of Mr. John -Collins and the late Mr. A. E. Touzalin. He had more adventures than -I can count, with bears of all kinds and with maddened, wounded -stags. Once, while hunting in the range known as the Three Tetons, -he stationed his party so as to cut off the retreat of a very large -bear which had taken refuge in a tule thicket or swamp; the enraged -animal rushed out on the side where Crook was, and made straight -towards him, mouth wide open and eyes blazing fire; Crook allowed -Bruin to come within ten feet, and then, without the quiver of a -muscle or the tremor of a nerve, fired and lodged a rifle-ball in -the back of the throat, not breaking out through the skull, but -shattering its base and severing the spinal cord. It was a beautiful -animal, and Crook was always justifiably proud of the rug. - -For eight or nine years, Mr. Webb C. Hayes, of Cleveland, Ohio, -hunted with Crook, and probably knows more of his encounters with -ursine monsters than any living man, not excepting Tom Moore. Mr. -Hayes became a renowned bear-hunter himself, and is well known in -all the mountains close to the Three Tetons. In addition to being an -excellent shot, he is a graceful runner; I remember seeing him make -a half-mile dash down the side of a mountain with a bear cub at his -heels, and the concurrence of opinion of all in camp was that the -physical culture of Cornell University was a great thing. General -Crook became prominently identified with the Omaha Gun Club, which -included in its membership such crack shots as the late Major T. T. -Thornburgh (afterwards killed by the Utes), Messrs. Barriger, -Collins, Coffman, Parmlee, Patrick, Petty, and others. In all their -hunts General Crook participated, as well as in the fishing -expeditions organized by such inveterate anglers as T. L. Kimball, -Frank Moores and the late Judge Carter, of Wyoming, whose home at -Fort Bridger offered every comfort to his friends that could be -found in a great city. - -Carter was a man of means and the most hospitable, generous -instincts. He was never content unless his house was filled with -guests, for whom nothing was too good, provided they humored his -whimsical notion that a certain patent medicine, called “The Balm of -Life,” was a panacea for every ill. Judge Carter had entered the far -western country near Fort Bridger with the expedition sent out to -Utah under General Albert Sydney Johnston, although I am not -absolutely sure as to the exact time, and had remained and -accumulated means, principally from the increase of his herds, which -might truly have been styled the cattle upon a thousand hills. The -last time I saw this grand-looking old patriarch was at a very -substantial breakfast, served in his own princely style, where the -venison, mountain mutton, and broiled trout would have evoked praise -from Lucullus, but after which—much as the Egyptians introduced -images of mummies at their banquets—Ludington, Bisbee, Stanton, -McEldree, and I had to face the ordeal of being dosed with the “Balm -of Life,” which came near being the Balm of Death for some of us. - -In the great riots of 1877, and again in 1882, Crook’s energies -were severely taxed for the protection of the Government property -along the line of the Union Pacific Railroad, but he performed the -duty to the satisfaction of all classes. The handsome, stately, -soldierly figure of the late General John H. King, Colonel of the -Ninth Infantry, rises up in my memory in this connection. He -rendered most valuable and efficient service during the periods in -question. Similarly, in running down and scattering the robber -bands of Doctor Middleton, and other horse-thieves in the Loup -country, in northwestern Nebraska, the intelligent work performed -by General Crook, Captain Munson, and Lieutenant Capron was well -understood and gratefully recognized by all who were acquainted -with it. Nebraska had reason to feel indebted for the destruction -of one of the most desperate gangs, led by a leader of unusual -nerve and intelligence—the celebrated “Doc.” Middleton, who was -wounded and captured by Deputy United States Marshal Llewellyn. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVI. - -CROOK RE-ASSIGNED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ARIZONA—ALL THE APACHES ON - THE WAR-PATH—LIEUTENANTS MORGAN AND CONVERSE WOUNDED—CAPTAIN - HENTIG KILLED—CROOK GOES ALONE TO SEE THE HOSTILES—CONFERENCES - WITH THE APACHES—WHAT THE ARIZONA GRAND JURY SAID OF AN INDIAN - AGENT—CONDITION OF AFFAIRS AT THE SAN CARLOS AGENCY—WHISKEY SOLD - TO THE CHIRICAHUA APACHES—APACHE TRIALS BY JURY—ARIZONA IN - 1882—PHŒNIX, PRESCOTT, AND TUCSON—INDIAN SCHOOLS. - - -Before the summer of 1882 had fairly begun, Indian affairs in -Arizona had relapsed into such a deplorable condition that the -President felt obliged to re-assign General Crook to the command. To -the occurrences of the next four years I will devote very few -paragraphs, because, although they formed an epoch of great -importance in our Indo-military history and in General Crook’s -career, they have previously received a fair share of my attention -in the volume, “An Apache Campaign,” to which there is little to -add. But for the sake of rounding out this narrative and supplying -data to those who may not have seen the book in question, it may be -stated that affairs had steadily degenerated from bad to worse, and -that upon Crook’s return to Prescott no military department could -well have been in a more desperate plight. In one word, all the -Apaches were again on the war-path or in such a sullen, distrustful -state of mind that it would have been better in some sense had they -all left the reservation and taken to the forests and mountains. - -Crook was in the saddle in a day, and without even stopping to -inquire into the details of the new command—with which, however, he -was to a great extent familiar from his former experience—he left -the arrangement of such matters to his Adjutant-General, Colonel -James P. Martin, and started across the mountains to Camp Apache. -Not many of the Apaches were to be seen, and practically none except -the very old, the very feeble, or the very young. All the young men -who could shoot were hiding in the mountains, and several sharp -actions had already been had with the troops: the Third and Sixth -Cavalry had had a fight with the renegades from the reservation, and -had had two officers—Morgan and Converse, of the Third—severely -wounded; Captain Hentig, of the Sixth, had been killed on the Cibicu -some months before; and the prospects of peace, upon a permanent and -satisfactory basis, were extremely vague and unpromising. But there -was a coincidence of sentiment among all people whose opinion was -worthy of consultation, that the blame did not rest with the -Indians; curious tales were flying about from mouth to mouth, of the -gross outrages perpetrated upon the men and women who were trying -faithfully to abide in peace with the whites. It was openly asserted -that the Apaches were to be driven from the reservation marked out -for them by Vincent Collyer and General O. O. Howard, upon which -they had been living for more than eleven years. No one had ever -heard the Apaches’ story, and no one seemed to care whether they had -a story or not. - -Crook made every preparation for a resumption of hostilities, but -he sent out word to the men skulking in the hills that he was -going out alone to see them and hear what they had to say, and -that if no killing of white people occurred in the meantime, not a -shot should be fired by the troops. In acting as he did at this -time, Crook lost a grand opportunity for gaining what is known as -military glory: he could have called for additional troops and -obtained them; the papers of the country would have devoted solid -columns to descriptions of skirmishes and marches and conferences, -what the military commander thought and said, with perhaps a -slight infiltration of what he did not think and did not say; but, -in any event, Crook would have been kept prominently before the -people. His was not, however, a nature which delighted in the -brass-band-and-bugle school of military renown: he was modest and -retiring, shy almost as a girl, and conscientious to a peculiar -degree. He had every confidence in his own purposes and in his own -powers, and felt that if not interfered with he could settle the -Apache problem at a minimum of cost. Therefore he set out to meet -the Apaches in their own haunts and learn all they had to say, and -he learned much. He took with him Mr. C. E. Cooley, formerly one -of his principal scouts, who was to act as interpreter; Al Seiber, -who had seen such wonderful service in that country; Surgeon J. O. -Skinner; and myself. Captain Wallace, with his company of the -Sixth Cavalry, remained in charge of the pack-train. - -Upon the elevated plateau of broken basalt which separates the -current of the White River from that of the Black there is a long -line of forest, principally cedar, with no small amount of pine, and -much yucca, soapweed, Spanish bayonet, and mescal. The knot-holes in -the cedars seemed to turn into gleaming black eyes; the floating -black tresses of dead yucca became the snaky locks of fierce -outlaws, whose lances glistened behind the shoots of mescal and -amole. Twenty-six of these warriors followed us down to our bivouac -in the cañon of the “Prieto,” or Black River, and there held a -conference with General Crook, to whom they related their -grievances. - -Before starting out from Camp Apache General Crook had held a -conference with such of the warriors as were still there, among whom -I may mention “Pedro,” “Cut-Mouth Moses,” “Alchise,” “Uklenni,” -“Eskitisesla,” “Noqui-noquis,” “Peltie,” “Notsin,” “Mosby,” “Chile,” -“Eskiltie,” and some forty others of both sexes. “Pedro,” who had -always been a firm friend of the whites, was now old and decrepit, -and so deaf that he had to employ an ear-trumpet. This use of an -ear-trumpet by a so-called savage Apache struck me as very -ludicrous, but a week after I saw at San Carlos a young baby sucking -vigorously from a rubber tube attached to a glass nursing-bottle. -The world does move. - -From the journal of this conference, I will make one or two extracts -as illustrative of General Crook’s ideas on certain seemingly -unimportant points, and as giving the way of thinking and the manner -of expression of the Apaches. - -GENERAL CROOK: “I want to have all that you say here go down on -paper, because what goes down on paper never lies. A man’s memory -may fail him, but what the paper holds will be fresh and true long -after we are all dead and forgotten. This will not bring back the -dead, but what is put down on this paper today may help the living. -What I want to get at is all that has happened since I left here to -bring about this trouble, this present condition of affairs. I want -you to tell the truth without fear, and to tell it in as few words -as possible, so that everybody can read it without trouble.” - -ALCHISE: “When you left, there were no bad Indians out. We were all -content; everything was peace. The officers you had here were all -taken away, and new ones came in—a different kind. The good ones -must all have been taken away and the bad ones sent in their places. -We couldn’t make out what they wanted; one day they seemed to want -one thing, the next day something else. Perhaps we were to blame, -perhaps they were; but, anyhow, we hadn’t any confidence in them. We -were planting our own corn and melons and making our own living. The -agent at the San Carlos never gave us any rations, but we didn’t -mind that, as we were taking care of ourselves. One day the agent at -the San Carlos sent up and said that we must give up our own country -and our corn-patches and go down there to live, and he sent Indian -soldiers to seize our women and children and drive us all down to -that hot land. ‘Uclenni’ and I were doing all we could to help the -whites, when we were both put in the guard-house. All that I have -ever done has been honest; I have always been true and obeyed -orders. I made campaigns against Apache-Yumas, Apache-Tontos, -Pinalenos, and all kinds of people, and even went against my own -people. When the Indians broke out at the San Carlos, when Major -Randall was here, I helped him to go fight them; I have been in all -the campaigns. When Major Randall was here we were all happy; when -he promised a thing he did it; when he said a word he meant it; but -all that he did was for our own good and we believed in him and we -think of him yet. Where has he gone? Why don’t he come back? Others -have come to see us since he left, but they talk to us in one way -and act in another, and we can’t believe what they say. They say: -‘That man is bad, and _that_ man is bad.’ I think that the trouble -is, they themselves are bad. Oh, where is my friend Randall—the -captain with the big mustache which he always pulled? Why don’t he -come back? He was my brother, and I think of him all the time.” - -Old “Pedro” talked in much the same vein: “When you (General Crook) -were here, whenever you said a thing we knew that it was true, and -we kept it in our minds. When Colonel Green was here, our women and -children were happy and our young people grew up contented. And I -remember Brown, Randall, and the other officers who treated us -kindly and were our friends. I used to be happy; now, I am all the -time thinking and crying, and I say, ‘Where is old Colonel John -Green, and Randall, and those other good officers, and what has -become of them? Where have they gone? Why don’t they come back?’ And -the young men all say the same thing.” - -“Pedro” spoke of the absurdity of arresting Indians for dancing, as -had been done in the case of the “medicine man,” “Bobby-doklinny”—of -which he had much to say, but at this moment only his concluding -remarks need be preserved: “Often when I have wanted to have a -little fun, I have sent word to all the women and children and young -men to come up and have a dance; other people have done the same -thing; I have never heard that there was any harm in that; but that -campaign was made just because the Indians over on the Cibicu were -dancing. When you (General Crook) were here we were all content; but -we can’t understand why you went away. Why did you leave us? -Everything was all right while you were here.” - -A matter of great grievance with the Apaches, which they could not -understand, being nothing but ignorant savages and not up to -civilized ways, was why their little farms, of which I will speak -before ending this volume, should be destroyed—as they were—and why -their cattle and horses should be driven off by soldiers and -citizens. “Severiano,” the interpreter, who was a Mexican by birth, -taken captive in early youth, and living among the Apaches all his -life, now said: “A lot of my own cattle were taken away by soldiers -and citizens.” Had the Apaches had a little more sense they would -have perceived that the whole scheme of Caucasian contact with the -American aborigines—at least the Anglo-Saxon part of it—has been -based upon that fundamental maxim of politics so beautifully and so -tersely enunciated by the New York alderman—“The ‘boys’ are in it -for the stuff.” The “Tucson ring” was determined that no Apache -should be put to the embarrassment of working for his own living; -once let the Apaches become self-supporting, and what would become -of “the boys”? Therefore, they must all be herded down on the -malaria-reeking flats of the San Carlos, where the water is salt and -the air poison, and one breathes a mixture of sand-blizzards and -more flies than were ever supposed to be under the care of the great -fly-god Beelzebub. The conventions entered into with General Howard -and Vincent Collyer, which these Apaches had respected to the -letter—nay, more, the personal assurances given by the President of -the United States to old “Pedro” during a visit made by the latter -to Washington—were all swept away like cobwebs, while the -conspirators laughed in their sleeves, because they knew a trick or -two worth all of that. They had only to report by telegraph that the -Apaches were “uneasy,” “refused to obey the orders of the agent,” -and a lot more stuff of the same kind, and the Great Father would -send in ten regiments to carry out the schemes of the ring, but he -would never send one honest, truthful man to inquire whether the -Apaches had a story or not. - -It is within the limits of possibility, that as the American Indians -become better and better acquainted with the English language, and -abler to lay their own side of a dispute before the American people, -there may be a diminution in the number of outbreaks, scares, and -misunderstandings, which have cost the taxpayers such fabulous sums, -and which I trust may continue to cost just as much until the -tax-payer shall take a deeper and more intelligent interest in this -great question. Another fact brought out in this conference was the -readiness with which agents and others incarcerated Indians in -guard-houses upon charges which were baseless, or at least trivial. -At other times, if the charges were grave, nothing was done to press -the cases to trial, and the innocent as well as the guilty suffered -by the long imprisonment, which deprived the alleged criminals of -the opportunity to work for the support of their families. The -report of the Federal Grand Jury of Arizona—taken from the _Star_, -of Tucson, Arizona, October 24, 1882—shows up this matter far more -eloquently than I am able to do, and I need not say that a frontier -jury never yet has said a word in favor of a red man unless the -reasons were fully patent to the ordinary comprehension. - - TO THE HONORABLE WILSON HOOVER, District Judge: - - The greatest interest was felt in the examination into the cases - of the eleven Indian prisoners brought here for trial from San - Carlos. The United States District Attorney had spent much time in - preparing this investigation. The Department of Justice had - peremptorily ordered that these cases should be disposed of at - this term of court. Agent Wilcox had notified the district - attorney that he should release these Indians by October 1st if - they were not brought away for trial. The official correspondence - from the various departments with the district attorney included a - letter from Agent Tiffany to the Interior Department, asking that - these Indians be at once tried, and yet Agent Tiffany released all - the guilty Indians without punishment and held in confinement - these eleven men for a period of fourteen months without ever - presenting a charge against them, giving them insufficient food - and clothing, and permitting those whose guilt was admitted by - themselves and susceptible of overwhelming proof, to stalk about - unblushingly and in defiance of law. This, too, under the very - shadow of his authority, and in laughing mockery of every - principle of common decency, to say nothing of justice. - - How any official possessing the slightest manhood could keep - eleven men in confinement for fourteen months without charges or - any attempt to accuse them, knowing them to be innocent, is a - mystery which can only be solved by an Indian agent of the Tiffany - stamp. The investigations of the Grand Jury have brought to light - a course of procedure at the San Carlos Reservation, under the - government of Agent Tiffany, which is a disgrace to the - civilization of the age and a foul blot upon the national - escutcheon. While many of the details connected with these matters - are outside of our jurisdiction, we nevertheless feel it our duty, - as honest American citizens, to express our utter abhorrence of - the conduct of Agent Tiffany and that class of reverend peculators - who have cursed Arizona as Indian officials, and who have caused - more misery and loss of life than all other causes combined. We - feel assured, however, that under the judicious and just - management of General Crook, these evils will be abated, and we - sincerely trust that he may be permitted to render the official - existence of such men as Agent Tiffany, in the future, - unnecessary. - - The investigations of the Grand Jury also establish the fact that - General Crook has the unbounded confidence of all the Indians. The - Indian prisoners acknowledged this before the Grand Jury, and they - expressed themselves as perfectly satisfied that he would deal - justly with them all. We have made diligent inquiry into the - various charges presented in regard to Indian goods and the - traffic at San Carlos and elsewhere, and have acquired a vast - amount of information which we think will be of benefit. For - several years the people of this Territory have been gradually - arriving at the conclusion that the management of the Indian - reservations in Arizona was a fraud upon the Government; that the - constantly recurring outbreaks of the Indians and their consequent - devastations were due to the criminal neglect or apathy of the - Indian agent at San Carlos; but never until the present - investigations of the Grand Jury have laid bare the infamy of - Agent Tiffany could a proper idea be formed of the fraud and - villany which are constantly practised in open violation of law - and in defiance of public justice. Fraud, peculation, conspiracy, - larceny, plots and counterplots, seem to be the rule of action - upon this reservation. The Grand Jury little thought when they - began this investigation that they were about to open a Pandora’s - box of iniquities seldom surpassed in the annals of crime. - - With the immense power wielded by the Indian agent almost any - crime is possible. There seems to be no check upon his conduct. In - collusion with the chief clerk and storekeeper, rations can be - issued _ad libitum_ for which the Government must pay, while the - proceeds pass into the capacious pockets of the agent. Indians are - sent to work on the coal-fields, superintended by white men; all - the workmen and superintendents are fed and frequently paid from - the agency stores, and no return of the same is made. Government - tools and wagons are used in transporting goods and working the - coal-mines, in the interest of this close corporation and with the - same result. All surplus supplies are used in the interest of the - agent, and no return made thereof. Government contractors, in - collusion with Agent Tiffany, get receipts for large amounts of - supplies never furnished, and the profit is divided mutually, and - a general spoliation of the United States Treasury is thus - effected. While six hundred Indians are off on passes, their - rations are counted and turned in to the mutual aid association, - consisting of Tiffany and his associates. Every Indian child born - receives rations from the moment of its advent into this vale of - tears, and thus adds its mite to the Tiffany pile. In the - meantime, the Indians are neglected, half-fed, discontented, and - turbulent, until at last, with the vigilant eye peculiar to the - savage, the Indians observe the manner in which the Government, - through its agent, complies with its sacred obligations. - - This was the united testimony of the Grand Jury, corroborated by - white witnesses, and to these and kindred causes may be attributed - the desolation and bloodshed which have dotted our plains with the - graves of murdered victims. - - FOREMAN OF THE GRAND JURY. - -The above official report of a United States Grand Jury is about as -strong a document as is usually to be found in the dusty archives of -courts; to its contents it is not necessary for me to add a single -syllable. I prefer to let the intelligent reader form his own -conclusions, while I resume the thread of my narrative where I left -off in General Crook’s bivouac on the Black River. - -The cañon of the Black River is deep and dark, walled in by towering -precipices of basalt and lava, the latter lying in loose blocks -along the trail down which the foot-sore traveller must descend, -leading behind him his equally foot-sore mule. The river was deep -and strong, and in the eddies and swirls amid the projecting rocks -were hiding some of the rare trout of the Territory, so coy that the -patience of the fisherman was exhausted before they could be induced -to jump at his bait. The forbidding ruggedness of the mountain -flanks was concealed by forests of pine and juniper, which extended -for miles along the course of the stream. The music of our -pack-train bells was answered by the silvery laughter of squaws and -children, as we had with us in this place over one hundred Apaches, -many of them following out from Camp Apache to hear the results of -the conference. - -The Apaches with whom General Crook talked at this place were, in -addition to “Alchise” and several others who had been sent out from -Camp Apache to notify the members of the tribe hiding in the -mountains, “Nagataha,” “A-ha-ni,” “Comanchi,” “Charlie,” “Nawdina,” -“Lonni,” “Neta,” “Kulo,” “Kan-tzi-chi,” “Tzi-di-ku,” “Klishe.” The -whole subject of their relations with the whites was traversed, and -much information elicited. The only facts of importance to a volume -of this kind were: the general worthlessness and rascality of the -agents who had been placed in charge of them; the constant robbery -going on without an attempt at concealment; the selling of supplies -and clothing intended for the Indians, to traders in the little -towns of Globe, Maxey, and Solomonville; the destruction of the corn -and melon fields of the Apaches, who had been making their own -living, and the compelling of all who could be forced to do so to -depend upon the agent for meagre supplies; the arbitrary punishments -inflicted without trial, or without testimony of any kind; the -cutting down of the reservation limits without reference to the -Apaches. Five times had this been done, and much of the most -valuable portion had been sequestered; the copper lands on the -eastern side were now occupied by the flourishing town of Clifton, -while on the western limit Globe and MacMillin had sprung into -being. - -Coal had been discovered at the head of Deer Creek on the southern -extremity, and every influence possible was at work to secure the -sequestration of that part of the reservation for speculators, who -hoped to be able to sell out at a big profit to the Southern Pacific -Railroad Company. The Mormons had trespassed upon the fields already -cultivated by the Apaches at Forestdale, and the agent had -approached a circle of twenty of the chiefs and head men assembled -at the San Carlos, and offered each of them a small bag, containing -one hundred dollars—Mexican—and told them that they must agree to -sign a paper, giving up all the southern part of the reservation, or -troops would be sent to kill them. A silver mine had been -discovered, or was alleged to have been discovered, and the agent -and some of his pals proposed to form a stock company, and work it -off on confiding brethren in the East. In none of the curtailments, -as consummated or contemplated, had the interests or feelings of the -Indians been consulted. - -The rations doled out had shrunk to a surprising degree: one of the -shoulders of the small cattle of that region was made to do twenty -people for a week; one cup of flour was issued every seven days to -each adult. As the Indians themselves said, they were compelled to -eat every part of the animal, intestines, hoofs, and horns. Spies -were set upon the agency, who followed the wagons laden with the -Indian supplies to Globe and the other towns just named, to which -they travelled by night, there to unload and transfer to the men who -had purchased from the agent or his underlings. One of the Apaches -who understood English and Spanish was deputed to speak to the agent -upon the matter. It was the experience of Oliver Twist over again -when he asked for more. The messenger was put in the guardhouse, -where he remained for six months, and was then released without -trial or knowing for what he had been imprisoned. In regard to the -civilian agents, the Apaches said they ran from bad to worse, being -dishonest, indifferent, tyrannical, and generally incompetent. Of -Captain Chaffee, of the Sixth Cavalry, who had been for a while in -charge at San Carlos, the Apaches spoke in terms of respect, saying -that he was very severe in his notions, but a just and honest man, -and disposed to be harsh only with those who persisted in making, -selling, or drinking the native intoxicant, “tizwin.” The rottenness -of the San Carlos Agency extended all the way to Washington, and -infolded in its meshes officials of high rank. It is to the lasting -credit of Hon. Carl Schurz, then Secretary of the Interior, that -when he learned of the delinquencies of certain of his subordinates, -he swung his axe without fear or favor, and the heads of the -Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the Inspector-General of the Indian -Bureau, and the agent at San Carlos fell into the basket. - -At the San Carlos Agency itself, Crook met such men as “Cha-lipun,” -“Chimahuevi-sal,” “Navatane,” “Nodikun,” “Santos,” “Skinospozi,” -“Pedilkun,” “Binilke,” “Captain Chiquito,” “Eskiminzin,” -“Huan-klishe,” and numbers of others; those who had always lived in -the hills near the San Carlos were content to live in the country, -but such of the number as had been pulled away from the cool climate -and pure water of the Cibicu, Carrizo, and other cañons in the -vicinity of Camp Apache, and had seen their fields of corn tramped -down at the orders of the agent, were full of grievous complaint. -The Apache-Yumas and the Apaches are an entirely different people, -speaking different languages and resembling each other only in the -bitter hostility with which they had waged war against the whites. -The young men of the Apache-Yuma bands who attended the conferences, -were in full toilet—that is, they were naked from shoulders to -waist, had their faces painted with deer’s blood or mescal, their -heads done up in a plaster of mud three inches thick, and pendent -from the cartilage of the nose wore a ring with a fragment of -nacreous shell. General Crook’s own estimate of the results of these -conferences, which are entirely too long to be inserted here, is -expressed in the following General Orders (Number 43), issued from -his headquarters at Fort Whipple on the 5th of October, 1882. - - “The commanding general, after making a thorough and exhaustive - examination among the Indians of the eastern and southern part of - this Territory, regrets to say that he finds among them a general - feeling of distrust and want of confidence in the whites, - especially the soldiery; and also that much dissatisfaction, - dangerous to the peace of the country, exists among them. Officers - and soldiers serving in this department are reminded that one of - the fundamental principles of the military character is justice to - all—Indians as well as white men—and that a disregard of this - principle is likely to bring about hostilities, and cause the - death of the very persons they are sent here to protect. In all - their dealings with the Indians, officers must be careful not only - to observe the strictest fidelity, but to make no promises not in - their power to carry out; all grievances arising within their - jurisdiction should be redressed, so that an accumulation of them - may not cause an outbreak. - - “Grievances, however petty, if permitted to accumulate, will be - like embers that smoulder and eventually break into flame. When - officers are applied to for the employment of force against - Indians, they should thoroughly satisfy themselves of the - necessity for the application, and of the legality of compliance - therewith, in order that they may not, through the inexperience of - others, or through their own hastiness, allow the troops under - them to become the instruments of oppression. There must be no - division of responsibility in this matter; each officer will be - held to a strict accountability that his actions have been fully - authorized by law and justice, and that Indians evincing a desire - to enter upon a career of peace shall have no cause for complaint - through hasty or injudicious acts of the military.” - -Crook’s management of the Department of Arizona was conducted on the -same lines as during his previous administration: he rode on -mule-back all over it, and met and understood each and every Indian -with whom he might have to deal as friend or enemy; he reorganized -his pack-trains and the Indian scouts, put the control of military -affairs at the San Carlos under charge of Captain Emmet Crawford, -Third Cavalry, a most intelligent and conscientious officer, -encouraged the Indians to prepare for planting good crops the next -spring, and made ready to meet the Chiricahuas. These Indians, for -whom a reservation had been laid out with its southern line the -boundary between the United States and the Mexican Republic, had -been dealing heavily at the ranch of Rogers and Spence, at Sulphur -Springs, where they were able to buy all the vile whiskey they -needed. In a row over the sale of liquor both Rogers and Spence were -killed, and the Apaches, fearing punishment, fled to the mountains -of Mexico—the Sierra Madre. From that on, for six long years, the -history of the Chiricahuas was one of blood: a repetition of the -long series of massacres which, under “Cocheis,” they had -perpetrated in the old days. - -On several occasions a number of them returned to the San Carlos, or -pretended to do so, but the recesses of the Sierra Madre always -afforded shelter to small bands of renegades of the type of -“Ka-e-tan-ne,” who despised the white man as a liar and scorned him -as a foe. The unfortunate policy adopted by the Government towards -the “Warm Springs” Apaches of New Mexico, who were closely related -to the Chiricahuas, had an unhealthy effect upon the latter and upon -all the other bands. The “Warm Springs” Apaches were peremptorily -deprived of their little fields and driven away from their crops, -half-ripened, and ordered to tramp to the San Carlos; when the band -reached there the fighting men had disappeared, and only decrepit -warriors, little boys and girls, and old women remained. “Victorio” -went on the war-path with every effective man, and fairly deluged -New Mexico and Chihuahua with blood. - -General Crook felt that the Chiricahua Apache problem was a burning -shame and disgrace, inasmuch as the property and lives not only of -our own citizens but of those of a friendly nation, were constantly -menaced. He had not been at San Carlos twenty-four hours before he -had a party of Apaches out in the ranges to the south looking for -trails or signs; this little party penetrated down into the northern -end of the Sierra Madre below Camp Price, and saw some of the -Mexican irregular troops, but found no fresh traces of the enemy. -Crook insisted upon the expulsion from the reservation of all -unauthorized squatters and miners, whether appearing under the guise -of Mormons or as friends of the late agents, and opposed resolutely -the further curtailment of the reservation or the proposition to -transfer the Apaches to the Indian Territory, having in mind the -contemptible failure of the attempt to evict the Cherokees from the -mountains of North Carolina, where some twenty-two hundred of them -still cling to the homes of their forefathers. He also insisted upon -giving to the Apaches all work which could be provided for them, and -in paying for the same in currency to the individual Indians without -the interposition of any middlemen or contractors in any guise. - -This will explain in a word why Crook was suddenly abused so roundly -in the very Territory for which he had done so much. People who were -not influenced by the disappointed elements enumerated, saw that -General Crook’s views were eminently fair and sound, based upon the -most extended experience, and not the hap-hazard ideas of a -theoretical soldier. To quote from the Annual Message of Governor -Tritle: “The Indians know General Crook and his methods, and respect -both.” Had the notion ever taken root among the Apaches that they -were all to be transplanted to unknown regions, the country would -have had to face the most terrible and costly war in its history. -Crook did not want wars—he wanted to avert them. In a letter to -United States District Attorney Zabriskie, he used the following -language: “I believe that it is of far greater importance to prevent -outbreaks than to attempt the difficult and sometimes hopeless task -of quelling them after they do occur; this policy can only be -successful when the officers of justice fearlessly perform their -duty in proceeding against the villains who fatten on the supplies -intended for the use of Indians willing to lead peaceful and orderly -lives. Bad as Indians often are, I have never yet seen one so -demoralized that he was not an example in honor and nobility to the -wretches who enrich themselves by plundering him of the little our -Government appropriates for him.” - -To prevent any of the Indians from slipping off from the agency, -they were all enrolled, made to wear tags as of yore, and compelled -to submit to periodical counts occurring every few days. It was -found that there were then at the San Carlos Agency eleven hundred -and twenty-eight males capable of bearing arms; this did not include -the bands at or near Camp Apache or the Chiricahuas. The Apaches -manifested the liveliest interest in the system of trial by jury, -and it was apparent that criminals stood but a small chance of -escaping punishment when arraigned before their own people. While we -were at San Carlos on this occasion Captain Crawford had arrested -two Apaches on the charge of making “tizwin,” getting drunk, and -arousing camp by firing off guns late at night. The jury was -impanelled, the trial began, and the room soon filled with -spectators. The prisoners attempted to prove an “alibi,” and -introduced witnesses to swear to the shooting having been done by -other parties. - -“Eskiminzin” impatiently arose to his feet and interrupted the -proceedings: “That man is not telling the truth.” - -“Tell ‘Eskiminzin’ to sit down and keep quiet,” ordered Captain -Crawford; “he must not interrupt the proceedings of the court.” - -A few moments after, in looking down the long list of witnesses, it -was discovered that “Eskiminzin” was present as a witness, and he -was called upon to testify. - -“Tell the Captain,” said the indignant chief, “that I have nothing -to say. I do not understand these white men; they let all kinds of -people talk at a trial, and would just as soon listen to the words -of a liar as those of a man telling the truth. Why, when I began to -tell him that So-and-so was lying, he made me sit down and keep my -mouth shut, but So-and-so went on talking, and every word he said -was put down on paper.” - -It took some time to explain to “Eskiminzin” the intricacies of our -laws of evidence, and to pacify him enough to induce him to give his -version of the facts. - -Our quarters while at San Carlos were the adobe building erected as -a “school-house,” at a cost to the Government of forty thousand -dollars, but occupied by the late agent as a residence. It had been -erected at a net cost of something between eight and nine thousand -dollars, or at least I would contract to duplicate it for that and -expect to make some money in the transaction besides. The walls were -covered over with charcoal scrawls of Apache gods, drawn by -irreverent youngsters, and the appearance of the place did not in -the remotest sense suggest the habitation of the Muses. - -General Crook returned late in the fall of 1882 to his headquarters -at Fort Whipple, and awaited the inevitable irruption of the -Chiricahua Apaches from their stronghold in the Sierra Madre in -Mexico. Large detachments of Indian scouts, under competent -officers, were kept patrolling the boundary in the vicinity of -Cloverdale and other exposed points, and small garrisons were in -readiness to take the field from Fort Bowie and other stations. The -completion of the Southern Pacific and the Atchison, Topeka, and -Santa Fé systems, and the partial completion of the Atlantic and -Pacific Railroad, had wrought certain changes in the condition of -affairs, to which reference may be made. In a military sense they -had all been a great benefit by rendering the transportation of -troops and supplies a matter of most agreeable surprise to those who -still remembered the creaking ox-teams and prairie schooners, which -formerly hauled all stores from the banks of the distant Missouri; -in a social sense they had been the means of introducing -immigration, some of which was none too good, as is always the case -with the earlier days of railroad construction on the frontier. - -The mining towns like Tombstone, then experiencing a “boom,” had -been increased by more than a fair quota of gamblers, roughs, and -desperate adventurers of all classes. Cowboys and horse thieves -flooded the southeastern corner of the Territory and the -southwestern corner of the next Territory—New Mexico; with -Cloverdale, in southwestern New Mexico, as a headquarters, they bade -defiance to the law and ran things with a high hand, and made many -people sigh for the better days when only red-skinned savages -intimidated the settlements. The town of Phoenix had arisen in the -valley of the Salt River, along the lines of prehistoric irrigating -ditches, marking the presence of considerable population, and -suggesting to Judge Hayden and others who first laid it out the -propriety of bestowing the name it now bears. The new population -were both intelligent and enterprising: under the superintendence of -the Hon. Clark Churchill they had excavated great irrigating canals, -and begun the planting of semi-tropical fruits, which has proved -unusually remunerative, and built up the community so that it has -for years been able to care for itself against any hostile attacks -that might be threatened. Prescott, being off the direct line of -railroad (with which, however, it has since been connected by a -branch), had not responded so promptly to the new condition of -affairs, but its growth had been steady, and its population had not -been burdened with the same class of loafers who for so long a time -held high carnival in Tombstone, Deming, and elsewhere. Prescott had -always boasted of its intelligent, bright family society—thoroughly -American in the best sense—and the boast was still true. - -There is no point in the southwestern country so well adapted, none -that can compare with Prescott as the site of a large Indian school; -and when the time comes, as I am certain it is to come, when we -shall recognize the absurdity of educating a few Indian boys and -then returning them back to their tribes, in which they can exert no -influence, but can excite only jealousy on account of their superior -attainments—when by a slight increase of appropriations, the whole -race of Indian boys and girls could be lifted from savagery into the -path to a better life—Prescott will become the site of such a -school. It is education which is to be the main lever in this -elevation, but it is wholesale education, not retail. This phase of -the case impressed itself upon the early settlers in Canada, who -provided most liberally for the training of, comparatively speaking, -great numbers of the Algonquin youth of both sexes. In Mexico was -erected the first school for the education of the native -American—the college at Patzcuaro—built before foot of Puritan had -touched the rock of Plymouth. - -Prescott possesses the advantages of being the centre of a district -inhabited by numbers of tribes whose children could be educated so -near their own homes that parents would feel easier in regard to -them, and yet the youngsters would be far removed from tribal -influences and in the midst of a thoroughly progressive American -community. The climate cannot be excelled anywhere; the water is as -good as can be found; and the scenery—of granite peaks, grassy -meads, balmy pine forests, and placid streamlets—cannot well be -surpassed. The post of Fort Whipple could be transferred to the -Interior Department, and there would be found ready to hand the -houses for teachers, the school-rooms, dormitories, refectories, -blacksmith-shops, wagoners’ shops, saddlers’ shops, stables, -granaries, and other buildings readily adaptable to the purposes of -instruction in various handicrafts. Five hundred children, equally -divided as to sex, could be selected from the great tribes of the -Navajos, Apaches, Hualpais, Mojaves, Yumas, Pimas, and Maricopas. -The cost of living is very moderate, and all supplies could be -brought in on the branch railroad, while the absence of excitement -incident to communities established at railroad centres or on -through lines will be manifest upon a moment’s reflection. It would -require careful, intelligent, absolutely honest administration, to -make it a success; it should be some such school as I have seen -conducted by the Congregationalists and Presbyterians among the -Santee Sioux, under the superintendence of Rev. Alfred Riggs, or by -the Friends among the Cherokees in North Carolina, under Mr. Spray, -where the children are instructed in the rudiments of Christian -morality, made to understand that labor is most honorable, that the -saddler, the carpenter, or blacksmith must be a gentleman and come -to the supper-table with clean face and combed hair, and that the -new life is in every respect the better life. - -But if it is to be the fraud upon the confiding tax-payers that the -schools at Fort Defiance (Navajo Agency), Zuni, San Carlos, and -other places that I personally examined have been, money would be -saved by not establishing it at all. The agent of the Navajos -reported in 1880 that his “school” would accommodate eighty -children. I should dislike to imprison eight dogs that I loved in -the dingy hole that he called a “school”—but then the agent had a -pull at Washington, being the brother-in-law of a “statesman,” and I -had better not say too much; and the school-master, although an -epileptic idiot, had been sent out as the representative of the -family influence of another “statesman,” so I will not say more -about him. The Indians to be instructed in the school whose -establishment is proposed at Prescott, Arizona, should be trained in -the line of their “atavism,” if I may borrow a word from the medical -dictionary—that is, they should be trained in the line of their -inherited proclivities and tendencies. Their forefathers for -generations—ever since the time of the work among them of the -Franciscan missionaries—have been a pastoral people, raising great -flocks of sheep, clipping, carding, and spinning the wool, weaving -the most beautiful of rugs and blankets and sashes, and selling them -at a profit to admiring American travellers. They have been -saddle-makers, basket-makers, silver-smiths, and—as in the case of -the Mojaves, Pimas, and Maricopas—potters and mat-makers. In such -trades, preferentially, they should be instructed, and by the -introduction of a few Lamb knitting machines, they could be taught -to make stockings for the Southwestern market out of the wool raised -by their own families, and thus help support the institution and -open a better market for the products of their own tribe. They could -be taught to tan the skins of their own flocks and herds, and to -make shoes and saddles of the result. But all this must be put down -as “whimsical,” because there is no money in it “for the boys.” The -great principle of American politics, regardless of party lines, is -that “the boys” must be taken care of at all times and in all -places. - -Tucson had changed the most appreciably of any town in the -Southwest; American energy and American capital had effected a -wonderful transformation: the old garrison was gone; the railroad -had arrived; where Jack Long and his pack-train in the old times had -merrily meandered, now puffed the locomotive; Muñoz’s corral had -been displaced by a round-house, and Muñoz himself by a one-lunged -invalid from Boston; the Yankees had almost transformed the face of -nature; the exquisite architectural gem of San Xavier del Bac still -remained, but the “Shoo Fly” restaurant had disappeared, and in its -place the town boasted with very good reason of the “San Xavier” -Hotel, one of the best coming within my experience as a traveller. -American enterprise had moved to the front, and the Castilian with -his “marromas” and “bailes” and saints’ days and “funcciones” had -fallen to the rear; telephones and electric lights and Pullman cars -had scared away the plodding burro and the creaking “carreta”; it -was even impossible to get a meal cooked in the Mexican style of -Mexican viands; our dreams had faded; the chariot of Cinderella had -changed back into a pumpkin, and Sancho was no longer governor. - -“I tell you, Cap,” said my old friend, Charlie Hopkins, “them -railroads’s playin’ hob with th’ country, ’n a feller’s got to -hustle hisself now in Tucson to get a meal of frijoles or -enchiladas; this yere new-fangled grub doan’ suit me ’n I reckon -I’ll pack mee grip ’n lite out fur Sonora.” - -Saddest of all, the old-timers were thinning out, or if not dead -were living under a Pharaoh who knew not Joseph; the Postons, Ourys, -Bradys, Mansfields, Veils, Rosses, Montgomerys, Duncans, Drachmans, -Handys, and others were unappreciated by the incoming tide of -“tenderfeet,” who knew nothing of the perils and tribulations of -life in Arizona and New Mexico before Crook’s genius and valor had -redeemed them from the clutch of the savage. On the Colorado River -Captain Jack Mellon still plied the good ship “Cocopah,” and Dan -O’Leary still dealt out to expectant listeners tales of the terrible -days when he “fit” with Crook; within sight of the “Wickytywiz,” -Charlie Spencer still lived among his Hualpai kinsmen, not much the -worse for the severe wounds received while a scout; the old Hellings -mill on the Salt River, once the scene of open-handed hospitality to -all travellers, still existed under changed ownership, and the -Arnolds, Ehls, Bowers, Bangharts, and other ranchmen of northern -Arizona were still in place; but the mill of Don José Peirson no -longer ground its toll by the current of the San Ignacio; the -Samaniegos, Suasteguis, Borquis, Ferreras, and other Spanish -families had withdrawn to Sonora; and, oldest survival of all, -“Uncle Lew Johnson” was living in seclusion with the family of -Charlie Hopkins on the Salumay on the slopes of the Sierra Ancha. It -would pay some enterprising man to go to Arizona to interview this -old veteran, who first entered Arizona with the earliest band of -trappers; who was one of the party led by Pauline Weaver; who knew -Kit Carson intimately; who could recall the days when Taos, New -Mexico, was the metropolis of fashion and commerce for the whole -Southwest, and the man who had gone as far east as St. Louis was -looked upon as a traveller whose recitals merited the closest -attention of the whole camp. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVII. - -THE SIERRA MADRE CAMPAIGN AND THE CHIRICAHUAS—“CHATO’S” RAID—CROOK’S - EXPEDITION OF FORTY-SIX WHITE MEN AND ONE HUNDRED AND - NINETY-THREE INDIAN SCOUTS—THE SURPRISE OF THE APACHE - STRONGHOLD—THE “TOMBSTONE TOUGHS”—THE MANAGEMENT OF THE - CHIRICAHUAS—HOW INDIANS WILL WORK IF ENCOURAGED—GIVING THE - FRANCHISE TO INDIANS; CROOK’S VIEWS—THE CRAWFORD COURT OF - INQUIRY—“KA-E-TEN-NA’S” ARREST ORDERED BY MAJOR BARBER—TROUBLE - ARISES BETWEEN THE WAR AND INTERIOR DEPARTMENTS—CROOK ASKS TO BE - RELIEVED FROM THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR INDIAN AFFAIRS—SOME OF THE - CHIRICAHUAS RETURN TO THE WAR-PATH. - - -When the Chiricahuas did break through into Arizona in the early -days of March, 1883, they numbered twenty-six, and were under the -command of “Chato,” a young chief of great intelligence and especial -daring. They committed great outrages and marked their line of -travel with fire and blood by stealing horses from every ranch they -were enabled to cover not less than seventy-five miles a day, and by -their complete familiarity with the country were able to dodge the -troops and citizens sent in pursuit. One of their number was killed -in a fight at the “Charcoal Camp,” in the Whetstone Mountains, and -another—“Panayotishn,” called “Peaches” by the soldiers—surrendered -at San Carlos and offered his services to the military to lead them -against the Chiricahuas. He was not a Chiricahua himself, but a -member of the White Mountain Apaches and married to a Chiricahua -squaw, and obliged to accompany the Chiricahuas when they last left -the agency. - -Crook determined to take up the trail left by the Chiricahuas and -follow it back to their stronghold in the Sierra Madre, and surprise -them or their families when least expected. “Peaches” assured him -that the plan was perfectly feasible, and asked permission to go -with the column. By the terms of the convention then existing -between Mexico and the United States, the armed forces of either -country could, when in pursuit of hostile Indians, cross the -frontier and continue pursuit until met by troops of the country -into whose territory the trail led, though this convention applied -only to desert portions of territory. Crook visited Guaymas, -Hermosillo (in Sonora), and Chihuahua, the capital of the Mexican -State of the same name, where he conferred with Generals Topete, -Bernardo Reyes, and Carbo, of the Mexican Army, Governor Torres, of -Sonora, and Mayor Zubiran, of Chihuahua, by all of whom he was -received most hospitably and encouraged in his purposes. - -He organized a small force of one hundred and ninety-three Apache -scouts and one small company of the Sixth Cavalry, commanded by -Major Chaffee and Lieutenant Frank West. The scouts were commanded -by Captain Emmet Crawford, Third Cavalry; Lieutenant Gatewood, Sixth -Cavalry; Lieutenant W. W. Forsyth, Sixth Cavalry; Lieutenant Mackay, -Third Cavalry, with Surgeon Andrews as medical officer. Crook took -command in person, having with him Captain John G. Bourke, Third -Cavalry, and Lieutenant G. J. Febiger, Engineer Corps, as -aides-de-camp; Archie Macintosh and Al Seiber as chiefs of scouts; -Mickey Free, Severiano, and Sam Bowman as interpreters. The -expedition was remarkably successful: under the guidance of -“Peaches,” “To-klanni,” “Alchise,” and other natives, it made its -way down to the head waters of the Yaqui River, more than two -hundred miles south of the international boundary, into the unknown -recesses of the Sierra Madre, and there surprised and captured, -after a brief but decisive fight, the stronghold of the Chiricahuas, -who were almost all absent raiding upon the hapless Mexican hamlets -exposed to their fury. As fast as the warriors and squaws came home, -they were apprehended and put under charge of the scouts. - -This was one of the boldest and most successful strokes ever -achieved by an officer of the United States Army: every man, woman, -and child of the Chiricahuas was returned to the San Carlos Agency -and put to work. They had the usual story to tell of ill-treatment, -broken pledges, starvation, and other incidentals, but the reader -has perhaps had enough of that kind of narrative. The last straw -which drove them out from the agency was the attempt to arrest one -of their young men for some trivial offence. The Chiricahuas found -no fault with the arrest in itself, but were incensed at the -high-handed manner in which the chief of police had attempted to -carry it out: the young buck started to run away and did not halt -when summoned to do so by the chief of police, but kept on in his -retreat among a crowd of children and squaws. The chief of police -then fired, and, his aim not being good, killed one of the squaws; -for this he apologized, but the Chiricahuas got it into their heads -that he ought not to have fired in the first place; they dissembled -their resentment for a few days until they had caught the chief of -police, killed him, cut off his head, played a game of football with -it, and started for the Mexican boundary in high glee. - -Crook’s expedition passed down through the hamlets of Huachinera, -Basaraca, and Bavispe, Sonora, where occurred the terrible -earthquake of the next year. Mexican eye-witnesses asserted that the -two or three ranges of mountains which at that point form the Sierra -Madre played hide-and-seek with each other, one range rising and the -others falling. The description, which had all the stamp of truth, -recalled the words of the Old Testament: “What ailed thee, O sea, -that thou didst flee? And thou, O Jordan, that thou wast turned -back? Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye hills, like -the lambs of the flock?” - -General Crook was about this time made the target of every sort of -malignant and mendacious assault by the interests which he had -antagonized. The telegraph wires were loaded with false reports of -outrages, attacks, and massacres which had never occurred; these -reports were scattered broadcast with the intention and in the hope -that they might do him injury. Crook made no reply to these -scurrilous attempts at defamation, knowing that duty well performed -will in the end secure the recognition and approval of all -fair-minded people, the only ones whose recognition and approval are -worth having. But he did order the most complete investigation to be -made of each and every report, and in each and every case the utter -recklessness of the authors of these lies was made manifest. Only -one example need be given—the so-called “Buckhorn Basin Massacre,” -in which was presented a most circumstantial and detailed narrative -of the surrounding and killing by a raiding party of Apaches of a -small band of miners, who were forced to seek safety in a cave from -which they fought to the death. This story was investigated by Major -William C. Rafferty, Sixth Cavalry, who found no massacre, no -Indians, no miners, no cave, nothing but a Buckhorn basin. - -There was a small set of persons who took pleasure in disseminating -such rumors, the motive of some being sensationalism merely, that of -others malice or a desire to induce the bringing in of more troops -from whose movements and needs they might make money. Such people -did not reflect, or did not care, that the last result of this -conduct, if persisted in, would be to deter capital from seeking -investment in a region which did not require the gilding of refined -gold or the painting of the lily to make it appear the Temple of -Horrors; surely, enough blood had been shed in Arizona to make the -pages of her history red for years to come, without inventing -additional enormities to scare away the immigration which her mines -and forests, her cattle pasturage and her fruit-bearing oases, might -well attract. - -It was reported that the Chiricahua prisoners had been allowed to -drive across the boundary herds of cattle captured from the -Mexicans; for this there was not the slightest foundation. When the -last of the Chiricahuas, the remnant of “Ju’s” band, which had been -living nearly two hundred miles south of “Geronimo’s” people in the -Sierra Madre, arrived at the international boundary, a swarm of -claimants made demand for all the cattle with them. Each cow had, it -would seem, not less than ten owners, and as in the Southwest the -custom was to put on the brand of the purchaser as well as the vent -brand of the seller, each animal down there was covered from brisket -to rump with more or less plainly discernible marks of ownership. -General Crook knew that there must be a considerable percentage of -perjury in all this mass of affidavits, and wisely decided that the -cattle should be driven up to the San Carlos Agency, and there -herded under guard in the best obtainable pasturage until fat enough -to be sold to the best advantage. The brand of each of the cattle, -probable age, name of purchaser, amount realized, and other items of -value, were preserved, and copies of them are to be seen in my -note-books of that date. The moneys realized from the sale were -forwarded through the official military channels to Washington, -thence to be sent through the ordinary course of diplomatic -correspondence to the Government of Mexico, which would naturally be -more competent to determine the validity of claims and make the most -sensible distribution. - -There were other parties in Arizona who disgraced the Territory by -proposing to murder the Apaches on the San Carlos, who had sent -their sons to the front to aid the whites in the search for the -hostiles and their capture or destruction. These men organized -themselves into a company of military, remembered in the Territory -as the “Tombstone Toughs,” and marched upon the San Carlos with the -loudly-heralded determination to “clean out” all in sight. They -represented all the rum-poisoned bummers of the San Pedro Valley, -and no community was more earnest in its appeals to them to stay in -the field until the last armed foe expired than was Tombstone, the -town from which they had started; never before had Tombstone enjoyed -such an era of peace and quiet, and her citizens appreciated the -importance of keeping the “Toughs” in the field as long as possible. -The commanding officer, of the “Toughs” was a much better man than -the gang who staggered along on the trail behind him: he kept the -best saloon in Tombstone, and was a candidate for political honors. -When last I heard of him, some six years since, he was keeping a -saloon in San Francisco. - -All that the “Tombstone Toughs” did in the way of war was to fire -upon one old Indian, a decrepit member of “Eskiminzin’s” band, which -had been living at peace on the lower San Pedro ever since -permission had been granted them to do so by General Howard; they -were supporting themselves by farming and stock-raising, and were -never accused of doing harm to any one all the time they remained in -that place. White settlers lived all around them with whom their -relations were most friendly. The “Toughs” fired at this old man and -then ran away, leaving the white women of the settlements, whose -husbands were nearly all absent from home, to bear the brunt of -vengeance. I have before me the extract from the _Citizen_ of -Tucson, which describes this flight of the valiant “Toughs”: -“leaving the settlers to fight it out with the Indians and suffer -for the rash acts of these senseless cowards, who sought to kill a -few peaceable Indians, and thereby gain a little cheap notoriety, -which cannot result otherwise than disastrously to the settlers in -that vicinity.” “The attack of the Rangers was shameful, cowardly, -and foolish. They should be taken care of at once, and punished -according to the crime they have committed.” It is only just that -the above should be inserted as a proof that there are many -intelligent, fair-minded people on the frontier, who deprecate and -discountenance anything like treachery towards Indians who are -peaceably disposed. - -By the terms of the conference entered into between the Secretary of -the Interior, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the Secretary of -War, and Brigadier-General Crook, on the 7th of July, 1883, it was -stipulated that “the Apache Indians recently captured, and all such -as may hereafter be captured or may surrender, shall be kept under -the control of the War Department at such points on the San Carlos -Reservation as may be determined by the War Department, but not at -the agency without the consent of the Indian agent—to be fed and -cared for by the War Department until further orders.... The War -Department shall be intrusted with the entire police control of all -the Indians on the San Carlos Reservation. The War Department shall -protect the Indian agent in the discharge of his duties as agent, -which shall include the ordinary duties of an Indian agent and -remain as heretofore except as to keeping peace, administering -justice, and punishing refractory Indians, all of which shall be -done by the War Department.” - -In accordance with the terms of the above conference, five hundred -and twelve of the Chiricahua Apaches—being the last man, woman, and -child of the entire band—were taken to the country close to Camp -Apache, near the head-waters of the Turkey Creek, where, as well as -on a part of the White River, they were set to work upon small -farms. Peace reigned in Arizona, and for two years her record of -deaths by violence, at the hands of red men at least, would compare -with the best record to be shown by any State in the East; in other -words, there were no such deaths and no assaults. That Apaches will -work may be shown by the subjoined extracts from the official -reports, beginning with that of 1883, just one year after the -re-assignment of General Crook to the command: “The increase of -cultivation this year over last I believe has been tenfold. The -Indians during the past year have raised a large amount of barley, -which they have disposed of, the largest part of it being sold to -the Government for the use of the animals in the public service -here. Some has been sold to the Indian trader, and quite an amount -to freighters passing through between Wilcox and Globe. Their corn -crop is large; I think, after reserving what will be needed for -their own consumption and seed for next year, they will have some -for sale. The only market they have for their produce is from -freighters, the trader, and the Q. M. Department here. They are -being encouraged to store their corn away and use it for meal; for -this purpose there should be a grist-mill here and one at Fort -Apache. They have cut and turned in during the year to the Q. M. -Department and at the agency about four hundred tons of hay cut with -knives and three hundred cords of wood, for which they have been -paid a liberal price.” Attached to the same report was the -following: “Statement showing the amount of produce raised by the -Apache Indians on the White Mountain Indian Reservation during the -year 1883: 2,625,000 lbs. of corn, 180,000 lbs. of beans, 135,000 -lbs. of potatoes, 12,600 lbs. of wheat, 200,000 lbs. of barley, -100,000 pumpkins, 20,000 watermelons, 10,000 muskmelons, 10,000 -cantelopes. Small patches of cabbage, onions, cucumbers, and lettuce -have been raised. (Signed) EMMET CRAWFORD, _Captain Third Cavalry_, -Commanding.” - -I have seen Indian bucks carrying on their backs great bundles of -hay cut with knives, which they sold in the town of Globe to the -stable owners and keepers of horses. - -During that winter General Crook wrote the following letter, which -expresses his views on the subject of giving the franchise to -Indians; it was dated January 5, 1885, and was addressed to Mr. -Herbert Welsh, Secretary of the Indian Rights Association, -Philadelphia: - - “MY DEAR MR. WELSH: - - “The law prohibiting the sale of liquor to Indians is practically - a dead letter. Indians who so desire can to-day obtain from - unprincipled whites and others all the vile whiskey for which they - can pay cash, which is no more and no less than the Indian as a - citizen could purchase. The proposition I make on behalf of the - Indian is, that he is at this moment capable, with very little - instruction, of exercising every manly right; he doesn’t need to - have so much guardianship as so many people would have us believe; - what he does need is protection under the law; the privilege of - suing in the courts, which privilege must be founded upon the - franchise to be of the slightest value. - - “If with the new prerogatives, individual Indians continue to use - alcoholic stimulants, we must expect to see them rise or fall - socially as do white men under similar circumstances. For my own - part, I question very much whether we should not find the Indians - who would then be drunkards to be the very same ones who under - present surroundings experience no difficulty whatever in - gratifying this cursed appetite. The great majority of Indians are - wise enough to recognize the fact that liquor is the worst foe to - their advancement. Complaints have frequently been made by them to - me that well-known parties had maintained this illicit traffic - with members of their tribe, but no check could be imposed or - punishment secured for the very good reason that Indian testimony - carries no weight whatever with a white jury. Now by arming the - red men with the franchise, we remove this impediment, and provide - a cure for the very evil which seems to excite so much - apprehension; besides this, we would open a greater field of - industrial development. The majority of the Indians whom I have - met are perfectly willing to work for their white neighbors, to - whom they can make themselves serviceable in many offices, such as - teaming, herding, chopping wood, cutting hay, and harvesting; and - for such labor there is at nearly all times a corresponding demand - at reasonable wages. Unfortunately, there are many unscrupulous - characters to be found near all reservations who don’t hesitate - after employing Indians to defraud them of the full amount agreed - upon. Several such instances have been brought to my notice during - the present year, but there was no help for the Indian, who could - not bring suit in the courts. Every such swindle is a - discouragement both to the Indian most directly concerned and to a - large circle of interested friends, who naturally prefer the - relations of idleness to work which brings no remuneration. - - “Our object should be to get as much voluntary labor from the - Indian as possible. Every dollar honestly gained by hard work is - so much subtracted from the hostile element and added to that - which is laboring for peace and civilization. In conclusion, I - wish to say that the American Indian is the intellectual peer of - most, if not all, the various nationalities we have assimilated to - our laws, customs, and language. He is fully able to protect - himself if the ballot be given, and the courts of law not closed - against him. If our aim be to remove the aborigine from a state of - servile dependence, we cannot begin in a better or more practical - way than by making him think well of himself, to force upon him - the knowledge that he is part and parcel of the nation, clothed - with all its political privileges, entitled to share in all its - benefits. Our present treatment degrades him in his own eyes, by - making evident the difference between his own condition and that - of those about him. To sum up, my panacea for the Indian trouble - is to make the Indian self-supporting, a condition which can never - be attained, in my opinion, so long as the privileges which have - made labor honorable, respectable, and able to defend itself, be - withheld from him.” - -Chancellor Kent has well said that unity increases the efficiency, -by increasing the responsibility, of the executive. This rule -applies to every department of life. The dual administration of -the Apache reservation, by the Departments of War and the -Interior, did not succeed so well as was at first expected: there -were constant misunderstandings, much friction, with complaints -and recriminations. Captain Crawford had won in a remarkable -degree the esteem and confidence of the Indians upon the -reservation, who looked up to him as a faithful mentor and friend. -They complained that certain cows which had been promised them -were inferior in quality, old and past the age for breeding, and -not equal to the number promised. This complaint was forwarded -through the routine channels to Washington, and the Interior -Department ordered out an inspector who reported every thing -serene at the agency and on the reservation. The report did not -satisfy either Indians or whites, but upon receiving the report of -its inspecting officer the Interior Department requested that -Captain Crawford be relieved, coupling the request with remarks -which Crawford took to be a reflection upon his character; he -thereupon demanded and was accorded by his military superiors a -court of inquiry, which was composed of Major Biddle, Sixth -Cavalry, Major Purington, Third Cavalry, Captain Dougherty, First -Infantry, as members, and First Lieutenant George S. Anderson, -Sixth Cavalry, as Recorder. This court, all of whose members were -officers of considerable experience in the Indian country, and one -of whom (Dougherty) had been in charge of one of the largest Sioux -reservations in Dakota, set about its work with thoroughness, -examined all witnesses and amassed a quantity of testimony in -which it was shown that the Apaches had good ground of complaint -both in the character and in the number of cows supplied them: -they were in many cases old and unserviceable, and instead of -there being one thousand, there were scarcely six hundred, the -missing cattle being covered by what was termed a “due bill,” made -out by the contractor, agreeing to drive in the missing ones upon -demand. - -There was only one serious case of disturbance among the Chiricahua -Apaches: the young chief “Ka-e-ten-na” became restless under the -restraints of the reservation, and sighed to return to the wild -freedom of the Sierra Madre. He was closely watched, and all that he -did was reported to headquarters by the Indian scouts. General Crook -was absent at the time, by direction of the Secretary of War, -delivering the address to the graduating class at the Military -Academy at West Point; but Major Barber, Adjutant-General, carried -out Crook’s methods, and the surly young man was arrested by his own -people, tried by his own people, and sentenced to be confined in -some place until he learned sense. He was sent to Alcatraz Island, -in San Francisco Harbor, where he remained twelve months, the -greater part of the time being allowed to see the sights of the city -and to become saturated with an idea of the white man’s power in -numbers, wealth, machinery, and other resources. He became a great -friend, and rendered great help, to General Crook later on. - -Under date of January 20, 1885, General Crook wrote as follows to -his military superiors: - - “In the event that the views of the Indian agent are approved, I - respectfully request that matters referred to in the agreement be - relegated to the control of the Interior Department, and that I be - relieved from all the responsibilities therein imposed.” - -In forwarding the above communication to Washington, General John -Pope, commanding the Military Division of the Pacific, indorsed the -following views: - - “Respectfully forwarded to the adjutant-general of the army. It is - needless to reiterate what the authorities in Washington and - everybody in this region know perfectly well now. General Crook’s - management of these Indians has been marked by unusual and - surprising success, and if matters are left in his charge a very - few years longer all fears of Indian trouble in Arizona may be - dismissed. - - “One of the difficulties (and the principal one) he has met with - is the constant discord between the civilian Indian agents and the - military. It is not even hoped that a stop may be put to such - controversies so long as there is a joint jurisdiction over the - Arizona Indians. It is not human nature that such an anomalous - relation should escape such troubles, but in view of General - Crook’s superior ability and experience, and the great success he - has met with, I must emphatically recommend that, instead of - relieving him as he suggests, the entire control of the Indians be - turned over to him. - - “(Signed) JOHN POPE, _Major-General_.” - -For people interested in the question of Indian management and of -Indian pacification, no more important document can be presented -than General Crook’s Annual Report for the year 1885. As this -document will not be accessible to every reader, I will take the -liberty of making a number of extracts from it, at the same time -warning the student that nothing will compensate him for a failure -to peruse the complete report. - -In answer to the letter forwarded with an indorsement by -Major-General Pope, given above, General Crook received a telegram -dated Washington, February 14, 1885, which directed him, pending -conferences between the Interior and War Departments with a view of -harmonizing matters, “not to interfere with farming operations of -Indians who are not considered as prisoners.” - -General Crook replied in these terms: - - “I have the honor to say that the agreement of July 7, 1883, by - which ‘the War Department was intrusted with the entire police - control of all the Indians on the San Carlos reservation,’ was - entered into upon my own expressed willingness to be personally - responsible for the good conduct of all the Indians there - congregated. My understanding then was, and still is, that I - should put them to work and set them to raising corn instead of - scalps. This right I have exercised for two years without a word - of complaint from any source. During all this time not a single - depredation of any kind has been committed. The whole country has - looked to me individually for the preservation of order among the - Apaches, and the prevention of the outrages from which the - southwest frontier has suffered for so many years. - - “In pursuance of this understanding, the Chiricahuas, although - nominally prisoners, have been to a great extent scattered over - the reservation and placed upon farms, the object being to quietly - and gradually effect a tribal disintegration and lead them out - from a life of vagabondage to one of peace and self-maintenance. - They have ramified among the other Apaches to such an extent that - it is impossible to exercise jurisdiction over them without - exercising it over the others as well. At the same time trusted - Indians of the peaceful bands are better enabled to keep the - scattered Chiricahuas under constant surveillance, while the - incentive to industry and good conduct which the material - prosperity of the settled Apaches brings to the notice of the - Chiricahuas is so palpable that it is hardly worth while to allude - to it. As this right of control has now been withdrawn from me, I - must respectfully decline to be any longer held responsible for - the behavior of any of the Indians on that reservation. Further, I - regret being compelled to say that in refusing to relieve me from - this responsibility (as requested in my letter of January 20th), - and at the same time taking from me the power by which these - dangerous Indians have been controlled and managed and compelled - to engage in industrial pursuits, the War Department destroys my - influence and does an injustice to me and the service which I - represent.” - -The indorsement of Major-General John Pope, the commander of the -military division, was even more emphatic than the preceding one had -been, but for reasons of brevity it is omitted excepting these -words. - - “If General Crook’s authority over the Indians at San Carlos be - curtailed or modified in any way, there are certain to follow very - serious results, if not a renewal of Indian wars and depredations - in Arizona.” - -These papers in due course of time were referred by the War to the -Interior Department, in a communication the terminal paragraph of -which reads as follows, under date of March 28, 1885: - - “I submit for your consideration whether it is not desirable and - advisable in the public interests, that the entire control of - these Indians be placed under the charge of General Crook, with - full authority to prescribe and enforce such regulations for their - management as in his judgment may be proper, independently of the - duties of the civil agents, and upon this question this Department - will appreciate an early expression of your views. - - “(Signed) WILLIAM C. ENDICOTT, _Secretary of War_.” - -One of the principal causes of trouble was the disinclination of the -agent to permit the Apaches to excavate and blast an irrigating -ditch, which had been levelled and staked out for them by Lieutenant -Thomas Dugan, Third Cavalry, one of Captain Crawford’s assistants, -the others being Parker, West, and Britton Davis of the Third -Cavalry, Elliott of the Fourth Cavalry, and Strother of the First -Infantry. Captain Crawford, feeling that his usefulness had gone, -applied to be relieved from his duties at the San Carlos and allowed -to rejoin his regiment, which application was granted, and his place -was taken by Captain Pierce, of the First Infantry, who was also -clothed with the powers of the civil agent. - -It was too late. The Chiricahuas had perceived that harmony did not -exist between the officials of the Government, and they had become -restless, suspicious, and desirous of resuming their old career. A -small number of them determined to get back to the Sierra Madre at -all hazards, but more than three-fourths concluded to remain. On the -17th of May, 1885, one hundred and twenty-four Chiricahuas, of all -ages and both sexes, under the command of “Geronimo” and “Nachez,” -the two chiefs who had been most energetic in their farm work, broke -out from the reservation, but the other three-fourths listened to -the counsels of “Chato,” who was unfriendly to “Geronimo” and -adhered to the cause of the white man. It has never been ascertained -for what special reason, real or assigned, the exodus was made. It -is known that for several days and nights before leaving, “Geronimo” -and “Nachez,” with some of their immediate followers, had been -indulging in a prolonged debauch upon the “tizwin” of the tribe, and -it is supposed that fearing the punishment which was always meted -out to those caught perpetuating the use of this debasing -intoxicant, they in a drunken frenzy sallied out for the Sierra -Madre. Lieutenant Britton Davis, Third Cavalry, under whose control -the Chiricahuas were, telegraphed at once to General Crook, but the -wires were working badly and the message was never delivered. Had -the message reached Crook it is not likely that any trouble would -have occurred, as he would have arranged the whole business in a -moment. To quote his own words as given in the very report under -discussion: - - “It should not be expected that an Indian who has lived as a - barbarian all his life will become an angel the moment he comes on - a reservation and promises to behave himself, or that he has that - strict sense of honor which a person should have who has had the - advantage of civilization all his life, and the benefit of a moral - training and character which has been transmitted to him through a - long line of ancestors. It requires constant watching and - knowledge of their character to keep them from going wrong. They - are children in ignorance, not in innocence. I do not wish to be - understood as in the least palliating their crimes, but I wish to - say a word to stem the torrent of invective and abuse which has - almost universally been indulged in against the whole Apache race. - This is not strange on the frontier from a certain class of - vampires who prey on the misfortunes of their fellow-men, and who - live best and easiest in time of Indian troubles. With them peace - kills the goose that lays the golden egg. Greed and avarice on the - part of the whites—in other words, the almighty dollar—is at the - bottom of nine-tenths of all our Indian trouble.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXVIII. - -THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST “GERONIMO”—THE CROPS RAISED BY THE APACHES—THE - PURSUIT OF THE HOSTILES—THE HARD WORK OF THE TROOPS—EFFICIENT - AND FAITHFUL SERVICE OF THE CHIRICAHUA SCOUTS—WAR DANCES AND - SPIRIT DANCES—CAPTAIN CRAWFORD KILLED—A VISIT TO THE HOSTILE - STRONGHOLD—A “NERVY” PHOTOGRAPHER—A WHITE BOY CAPTIVE AMONG THE - APACHES—“ALCHISE’S” AND “KA-E-TEN-NA’S” GOOD WORK—“GERONIMO” - SURRENDERS TO CROOK. - - -To show that Apaches will work under anything like proper -encouragement, the reader has only to peruse these extracts from the -annual report of Captain F. E. Pierce, who succeeded Captain Emmet -Crawford: - - “They have about eleven hundred acres under cultivation, and have - raised about 700,000 lbs. of barley and an equal amount of corn. - They have delivered to the Post Quartermaster here 60,000 lbs. of - barley and 60,000 lbs. to the agency, have hauled 66,000 lbs. to - Thomas and about 180,000 lbs. to Globe, and still have about - 330,000 lbs. on hand. Since they have been hauling barley to - Thomas and Globe, however, where they receive fair prices, they - feel much better. It gives them an opportunity to get out and - mingle with people of the world, and get an idea of the manner of - transacting business and a chance to make purchases at - considerably less rates than if they bought of the Indian traders - at San Carlos. The people at Globe are particularly kind to them, - and, so far as I can learn, deal justly with them, and the more - respectable ones will not permit the unprincipled to impose upon - them or maltreat them in any way. The Indians also conduct - themselves properly, and all citizens with whom I have conversed - speak very highly of their conduct while in Globe. About a dozen - are now regularly employed there at various kinds of work; and - they are encouraged as much as possible to seek work with - citizens, as they thereby learn much that will be of benefit to - them in the future. Shortly after the Chiricahua outbreak, word - was sent to the head of each band that General Crook wanted two - hundred more scouts to take the field, and all who wished to go - were invited to appear here next morning. It is difficult to say - how many reported, but almost every able-bodied man came. It was - difficult to tell which ones to take when all were so eager to go. - But a body of as fine men was selected as could well be secured in - any country. They repeatedly told me they meant fight; that they - intended to do the best they could, and reports from the field - show that they have made good their promises. Sixteen hundred - White Mountain Indians have been entirely self-sustaining for - nearly three years.” - -The Indians at the White Mountains, according to the official -reports, were doing remarkably well. - - “At this date there have been 700,000 pounds of hay and 65,000 - pounds of barley purchased by the Quartermaster. Of course, the - amount of hay which will yet be furnished by them will be - regulated by the amount required, which will be in all about - 1,800,000 pounds. As near as I can judge, the total yield of - barley will be about 80,000 pounds, or about double the quantity - produced last year. If no misfortune happens the crops, the yield - of corn for this year should fully reach 3,500,000 pounds, - including that retained by the Indians for their own consumption - and for seed. - - “Cantelopes, watermelons, muskmelons, beans, and pumpkins are - raised by them to a considerable extent, but only for their own - consumption, there being no market for this class of produce. - - “A few of the Indians—principally Chiricahuas—are delivering wood - on the contract at the post of Fort Apache. I have no doubt that - more would engage in it if it were not for the fact that the White - Mountain Apaches have no wagons for hauling it.” - -It would take many more pages than I care to devote to the subject -to properly describe the awful consequences of the official blunder, -which in this case was certainly worse than a crime, shown in the -bickerings and jealousies between the representatives of the War and -Interior Departments, which culminated in the “Geronimo” outbreak of -May, 1885. Those of my readers who have followed this recital need -no assurances that the country was as rough as rocks and ravines, -deep cañons and mountain streams, could make it; neither do they -need to be assured that the trail of the retreating Chiricahuas was -reddened with the blood of the innocent and unsuspecting settlers, -or that the pursuit made by the troops was energetic, untiring, and, -although often baffled, finally successful. No more arduous and -faithful work was ever done by any military commands than was -performed by those of Emmet Crawford, Lieutenant Britton Davis, -Frank L. Bennett, Lieutenant M. W. Day, Surgeon Bermingham, and -Major Wirt Davis in tracking the scattered fragments of the -“Geronimo” party over rocks and across country soaked with the heavy -rains of summer which obliterated trails as fast as made. The work -done by “Chato” and the Chiricahuas who had remained on the -reservation was of an inestimable value, and was fittingly -recognized by General Crook, Captain Crawford, and the other -officers in command of them. - -Thirty-nine white people were killed in New Mexico and thirty four -in Arizona, as established in official reports; in addition to these -there were numbers of friendly Apaches killed by the renegades, -notably in the raid made by the latter during the month of November, -1885, to the villages near Camp Apache, when they killed twelve of -the friendlies and carried off six women and children captive. The -White Mountain Apaches killed one of the hostile Chiricahuas and cut -off his head. On the 23d of June, 1885, one of the hostile -Chiricahua women was killed and fifteen women and children captured -in an engagement in the Bavispe Mountains, northeast of Opata -(Sonora, Mexico), by Chiricahua Apache scouts under command of -Captain Crawford; these prisoners reported that one of their -warriors had been shot through the knee-joint in this affair, but -was carried off before the troops could seize him. July 29, 1885, -two of the hostile Chiricahua bucks were ambushed and killed in the -Hoya Mountains, Sonora, by the detachment of Apache scouts with -Major Wirt Davis’s command. August 7, 1885, five of the hostile -Chiricahuas were killed (three bucks, one squaw, and one boy fifteen -years old) by the Apache scouts of Wirt Davis’s command, who -likewise captured fifteen women and children in the same engagement -(northeast of the little town of Nacori, Sonora, Mexico). On the 22d -of September, 1885, the same scouts killed another Chiricahua in the -mountains near Bavispe. - -An ex-army-officer, writing on this subject of scouting in the -southwestern country, to the _Republican_, of St. Louis, Mo., -expressed his opinion in these words: - - “It is laid down in our army tactics (Upton’s ‘Cavalry Tactics,’ - p. 477), that twenty-five miles a day is the maximum that cavalry - can stand. Bear this in mind, and also that here is an enemy with - a thousand miles of hilly and sandy country to run over, and each - brave provided with from three to five ponies trained like dogs. - They carry almost nothing but arms and ammunition; they can live - on the cactus; they can go more than forty-eight hours without - water; they know every water-hole and every foot of ground in this - vast extent of country; they have incredible powers of endurance; - they run in small bands, scattering at the first indications of - pursuit. What can the United States soldier, mounted on his heavy - American horse, with the necessary forage, rations, and camp - equipage, do as against this supple, untiring foe? Nothing, - absolutely nothing. It is no exaggeration to say that these fiends - can travel, week in and week out, at the rate of seventy miles a - day, and this over the most barren and desolate country - imaginable. One week of such work will kill the average soldier - and his horse; the Apache thrives on it. The frontiersman, as he - now exists, is simply a fraud as an Indian-fighter. He may be good - for a dash, but he lacks endurance. General Crook has pursued the - only possible method of solving this problem. He has, to the - extent of his forces, guarded all available passes with regulars, - and he has sent Indian scouts on the trail after Indians. He has - fought the devil with fire. Never in the history of this country - has there been more gallant, more uncomplaining, and more - efficient service than that done by our little army in the attempt - to suppress this Geronimo outbreak.”... - -In the month of November additional scouts were enlisted to take the -place of those whose term of six months was about to expire. It was -a great time at San Carlos, and the “medicine men” were in all their -glory; of course, it would never do for the scouts to start out -without the customary war dance, but besides that the “medicine men” -held one of their “spirit” dances to consult with the powers of the -other world and learn what success was to be expected. I have -several times had the good luck to be present at these “spirit -dances,” as well as to be with the “medicine men” while they were -delivering their predictions received from the spirits, but on the -present occasion there was an unusual vehemence in the singing, and -an unusual vim and energy in the dancing, which would betray the -interest felt in the outcome of the necromancy. A war dance, -attended by more than two hundred men and women, was in full swing -close to the agency buildings in the changing lights and shadows of -a great fire. This enabled the “medicine men” to secure all the more -privacy for their own peculiar work, of which I was an absorbed -spectator. There were about an even hundred of warriors and young -boys not yet full grown, who stood in a circle surrounding a huge -bonfire, kept constantly replenished with fresh fagots by assiduous -attendants. At one point of the circumference were planted four -bunches of green willow branches, square to the cardinal points. -Seated within this sacred grove, as I may venture to call it, as it -represented about all the trees they could get at the San Carlos, -were the members of an orchestra, the leader of which with a small -curved stick beat upon the drum improvised out of an iron -camp-kettle, covered with soaped calico, and partially filled with -water. The beat of this rounded stick was a peculiar rubbing thump, -the blows being sliding. Near this principal drummer was planted a -sprig of cedar. The other musicians beat with long switches upon a -thin raw-hide, lying on the ground, just as the Sioux did at their -sun dance. There were no women present at this time. I did see three -old hags on the ground, watching the whole proceedings with curious -eyes, but they kept at a respectful distance, and were Apache-Yumas -and not Apaches. - -The orchestra thumped and drummed furiously, and the leader began to -intone, in a gradually increasing loudness of voice and with much -vehemence, a “medicine” song, of which I could distinguish enough to -satisfy me that part of it was words, which at times seemed to -rudely rhyme, and the rest of it the gibberish of “medicine” -incantation which I had heard so often while on the Sierra Madre -campaign in 1883. The chorus seconded this song with all their -powers, and whenever the refrain was chanted sang their parts with -violent gesticulations. Three dancers, in full disguise, jumped into -the centre of the great circle, running around the fire, shrieking -and muttering, encouraged by the shouts and singing of the -on-lookers, and by the drumming and incantation of the chorus which -now swelled forth at full lung-power. Each of these dancers was -beautifully decorated; they were naked to the waist, wore kilts of -fringed buckskin, bound on with sashes, and moccasins reaching to -the knees. Their identity was concealed by head-dresses, part of -which was a mask of buckskin, which enveloped the head as well as -the face, and was secured around the neck by a “draw-string” to -prevent its slipping out of place. Above this extended to a height -of two feet a framework of slats of the amole stalk, each differing -slightly from that of the others, but giving to the wearer an -imposing, although somewhat grotesque appearance. Each “medicine -man’s” back, arms, and shoulders were painted with emblems of the -lightning, arrow, snake, or other powers appealed to by the Apaches. -I succeeded in obtaining drawings of all these, and also secured one -of these head-dresses of the “Cha-ja-la,” as they are called, but a -more detailed description does not seem to be called for just now. -Each of the dancers was provided with two long wands or sticks, one -in each hand, with which they would point in every direction, -principally towards the cardinal points. When they danced, they -jumped, pranced, pirouetted, and at last circled rapidly, revolving -much as the dervishes are described as doing. This must have been -hard work, because their bodies were soon moist with perspiration, -which made them look as if they had been coated with oil. - -“Klashidn,” the young man who had led me down, said that the -orchestra was now singing to the trees which had been planted in the -ground, and I then saw that a fourth “medicine man,” who acted with -the air of one in authority, had taken his station within. When the -dancers had become thoroughly exhausted, they would dart out of the -ring and disappear in the gloom to consult with the spirits; three -several times they appeared and disappeared, at each return dancing, -running, and whirling about with increased energy. Having attained -the degree of mental or spiritual exaltation necessary for -satisfactory communion with the denizens of the other world, they -remained absent for at least half an hour, the orchestra rendering a -monotonous refrain, mournful as a funeral dirge. At last a thrill of -expectancy ran through the throng, and I saw that they were looking -anxiously for the incoming of the “medicine men.” When they arrived -all the orchestra stood up, their leader slightly in advance, -holding a bunch of cedar in his left hand. The “medicine men” -advanced in single file, the leader bending low his head, and -placing both his arms about the neck of the chief in such a manner -that his wands crossed, he murmured some words in his ear which -seemed to be of pleasing import. Each of the others did the same -thing to the chief, who took his stand first on the east, then on -the south, then on the west, and lastly on the north of the little -grove through which the three pranced, muttering a jumble of sounds -which I cannot reproduce, but which sounded for all the world like -the chant of the “Hooter” of the Zunis at their Feast of Fire. This -terminated the great “medicine” ceremony of the night, and the glad -shouts of the Apaches testified that the incantations of their -spiritual advisers or their necromancy, whichever it was, promised a -successful campaign. - -Captain Crawford, whose services, both in pursuit of hostile Apaches -and in efforts to benefit and civilize those who had submitted, had -won for him the respect and esteem of every manly man in the army or -out of it who had the honor of knowing him, met his death at or near -Nacori, Sonora, Mexico, January 11, 1886, under peculiarly sad and -distressing circumstances. These are narrated by General Crook in -the orders announcing Crawford’s death, of which the following is an -extract: - - “Captain Crawford, with the zeal and gallantry which had always - distinguished him, volunteered for the arduous and thankless task - of pursuing the renegade Chiricahua Apaches to their stronghold in - the Sierra Madre, Mexico, and was assigned to the command of one - of the most important of the expeditions organized for this - purpose. In the face of the most discouraging obstacles, he had - bravely and patiently followed in the track of the renegades, - being constantly in the field from the date of the outbreak in May - last to the day of his death. - - “After a march of eighteen hours without halt in the roughest - conceivable country, he had succeeded in discovering and - surprising their rancheria in the lofty ranges near the Jarras - River, Sonora. Everything belonging to the enemy fell into our - hands, and the Chiricahuas, during the fight, sent in a squaw to - beg for peace. All arrangements had been made for a conference - next morning. Unfortunately, a body of Mexican irregular troops - attacked Captain Crawford’s camp at daybreak, and it was while - endeavoring to save the lives of others that Crawford fell. - - “His loss is irreparable. It is unnecessary to explain the - important nature of the services performed by this distinguished - soldier. His name has been prominently identified with most of the - severest campaigns, and with many of the severest engagements with - hostile Indians, since the close of the War of the Rebellion, in - which also, as a mere youth, he bore a gallant part.” - -The irregular troops of the Mexicans were Tarahumari Indians, almost -as wild as the Apaches themselves, knowing as little of morality and -etiquette, the mortal enemies of the Apaches for two hundred years. -While it is probable that their statement may be true, and that the -killing of Crawford was unpremeditated, the indignities afterwards -heaped upon Lieutenant Maus, who succeeded Crawford in command, and -who went over to visit the Mexican commander, did not manifest a -very friendly spirit. The Government of Mexico was in as desperate -straits as our own in regard to the subjugation of the Chiricahua -Apaches, which could never have been effected without the employment -of just such wild forces as the Tarahumaris, who alone would stand -up and fight with the fierce Chiricahuas, or could trail them -through the mountains. - -“Geronimo” sent word that he would come in and surrender at a spot -he would designate. This was the “Cañon de los Embudos,” in the -northeast corner of Sonora, on the Arizona line. From Fort Bowie, -Arizona, to the “Contrabandista” (Smuggler) Springs, in Sonora, is -eighty-four miles, following roads and trails; the lofty mountain -ranges are very much broken, and the country is decidedly rough -except along the road. There are a number of excellent ranchos—that -of the Chiricahua Cattle Company, twenty-five miles out from Bowie; -that of the same company on Whitewood Creek, where we saw droves of -fat beeves lazily browsing under the shady foliage of oak trees; and -Joyce’s, or Frank Leslie’s, where we found Lieutenant Taylor and a -small detachment of Indian scouts. - -The next morning at an early hour we started and drove first to -the camp of Captain Allan Smith, Fourth Cavalry, with whom were -Lieutenant Erwin and Surgeon Fisher. Captain Smith was living in -an adobe hut, upon whose fireplace he had drawn and painted, with -no unskilled hand, pictures, grave and comic, which imparted an -air of civilization to his otherwise uncouth surrounding. Mr. -Thomas Moore had preceded General Crook with a pack-train, and -with him were “Alchise,” “Ka-e-ten-na,” a couple of old Chiricahua -squaws sent down with all the latest gossip from the women -prisoners at Bowie, Antonio Besias and Montoya (the interpreters), -and Mr. Strauss, Mayor of Tucson. All these moved forward towards -the “Contrabandista” Springs. At the last moment of our stay a -photographer, named Fly, from Tombstone, asked permission for -himself and his assistant—Mr. Chase—to follow along in the wake of -the column; and still another addition, and a very welcome one, -was made in the person of José Maria, another Spanish-Apache -interpreter, for whom General Crook had sent on account of his -perfect familiarity with the language of the Chiricahuas. - -San Bernardino Springs lie twelve miles from Silver Springs, and had -been occupied by a cattleman named Slaughter, since General Crook -had made his expedition into the Sierra Madre. Here I saw a dozen or -more quite large mortars of granite, of aboriginal manufacture, used -for mashing acorns and other edible nuts; the same kind of household -implements are or were to be found in the Green Valley in the -northern part of Arizona, and were also used for this same purpose. -We left the wheeled conveyances and mounted mules saddled and in -waiting, and rode over to the “Contrabandista,” three miles across -the boundary. Before going to bed that night, General Crook showed -“Ka-e-ten-na” a letter which he had received from Lorenzo Bonito, an -Apache pupil in the Carlisle School. “Ka-e-ten-na” had received one -himself, and held it out in the light of the fire, mumbling -something which the other Apaches fancied was reading, and at which -they marvelled greatly; but not content with this proof of travelled -culture, “Ka-e-ten-na” took a piece of paper from me, wrote upon it -in carefully constructed school-boy capitals, and then handed it -back to me to read aloud. I repressed my hilarity and read slowly -and solemnly: “MY WIFE HIM NAME KOWTENNAYS WIFE.” “ONE YEAR HAB TREE -HUNNERD SIXY-FIBE DAY.” “Ka-e-ten-na” bore himself with the dignity -and complacency of a Boston Brahmin; the envy of his comrades was -ill-concealed and their surprise undisguised. It wasn’t in writing -alone that “Ka-e-ten-na” was changed, but in everything: he had -become a white man, and was an apostle of peace, and an imitation of -the methods which had made the whites own such a “rancheria” as San -Francisco. - -The next morning we struck out southeast across a country full of -little hills of drift and conglomerate, passing the cañons of the -Guadalupe and the Bonito, the former dry, the latter flowing water. -A drove of the wild hogs (peccaries or musk hogs, called “jabali” by -the Mexicans) ran across our path; instantly the scouts took after -them at a full run, “Ka-e-ten-na” shooting one through the head -while his horse was going at full speed, and the others securing -four or five more; they were not eaten. Approaching the Cañon de los -Embudos, our scouts sent up a signal smoke to warn their comrades -that they were coming. The eyes of the Apaches are extremely sharp, -and “Alchise,” “Mike,” “Ka-e-ten-na,” and others had seen and -recognized a party of horsemen advancing towards us for a mile at -least before Strauss or I could detect anything coming out of the -hills: they were four of our people on horseback riding to meet us. -They conducted us to Maus’s camp in the Cañon de los Embudos, in a -strong position, on a low mesa overlooking the water, and with -plenty of fine grass and fuel at hand. The surrounding country was -volcanic, covered with boulders of basalt, and the vegetation was -the Spanish bayonet, yucca, and other thorny plants. - -The rancheria of the hostile Chiricahuas was in a lava bed, on top -of a small conical hill surrounded by steep ravines, not five -hundred yards in direct line from Maus, but having between the two -positions two or three steep and rugged gulches which served as -scarps and counter-scarps. The whole ravine was romantically -beautiful: shading the rippling water were smooth, white-trunked, -long, and slender sycamores, dark gnarly ash, rough-barked -cottonwoods, pliant willows, briery buckthorn, and much of the more -tropical vegetation already enumerated. After General Crook had -lunched, “Geronimo” and most of the Chiricahua warriors approached -our camp; not all came in at once; only a few, and these not all -armed. The others were here, there, and everywhere, but all on the -_qui vive_, apprehensive of treachery, and ready to meet it. Not -more than half a dozen would enter camp at the same time. “Geronimo” -said that he was anxious for a talk, which soon took place in the -shade of large cottonwood and sycamore trees. Those present were -General Crook, Dr. Davis, Mr. Moore, Mr. Strauss, Lieutenants Maus, -Shipp, and Faison; Captain Roberts and his young son Charlie, a -bright lad of ten; Mr. Daily and Mr. Carlisle, of the pack-trains; -Mr. Fly, the photographer, and his assistant, Mr. Chase; packers -Shaw and Foster; a little boy, named Howell, who had followed us -over from the San Bernardino ranch, thirty miles; and “Antonio -Besias,” “Montoya,” “Concepcion,” “José Maria,” “Alchise,” -“Ka-e-ten-na,” “Mike,” and others as interpreters. - -I made a verbatim record of the conference, but will condense it as -much as possible, there being the usual amount of repetition, -compliment, and talking at cross-purposes incident to all similar -meetings. “Geronimo” began a long disquisition upon the causes which -induced the outbreak from Camp Apache: he blamed “Chato,” “Mickey -Free,” and Lieutenant Britton Davis, who, he charged, were -unfriendly to him; he was told by an Indian named “Nodiskay” and by -the wife of “Mangas” that the white people were going to send for -him, arrest and kill him; he had been praying to the Dawn (Tapida) -and the Darkness, to the Sun (Chigo-na-ay) and the Sky (Yandestan), -and to Assunutlije to help him and put a stop to those bad stories -that people were telling about him and which they had put in the -papers. (The old chief was here apparently alluding to the demand -made by certain of the southwestern journals, at the time of his -surrender to Crook in 1883, that he should be hanged.) “I don’t want -that any more; when a man tries to do right, such stories ought not -to be put in the newspapers. What is the matter that you [General -Crook] don’t speak to me? It would be better if you would speak to -me and look with a pleasant face; it would make better feeling; I -would be glad if you did. I’d be better satisfied if you would talk -to me once in a while. Why don’t you look at me and smile at me? I -am the same man; I have the same feet, legs, and hands, and the Sun -looks down on me a complete man; I wish you would look and smile at -me. The Sun, the Darkness, the Winds, are all listening to what we -now say. To prove to you that I am now telling you the truth, -remember I sent you word that I would come from a place far away to -speak to you here, and you see me now. Some have come on horseback -and some on foot; if I were thinking bad or if I had done bad, I -would never have come here. If it had been my fault would I have -come so far to talk with you?” He then expressed his delight at -seeing “Ka-e-ten-na” once more: he had lost all hope of ever having -that pleasure; that was one reason why he had left Camp Apache. - -GENERAL CROOK: “I have heard what you have said. It seems very -strange that more than forty men should be afraid of three; but if -you left the reservation for that reason, why did you kill innocent -people, sneaking all over the country to do it? What did those -innocent people do to you that you should kill them, steal their -horses, and slip around in the rocks like coyotes? What had that to -do with killing innocent people? There is not a week passes that you -don’t hear foolish stories in your own camp; but you are no -child—you don’t have to believe them. You promised me in the Sierra -Madre that _that_ peace should last, but you have lied about it. -When a man has lied to me once, I want some better proof than his -own word before I can believe him again. Your story about being -afraid of arrest is all bosh; there were no orders to arrest you. -You sent up some of your people to kill ‘Chato’ and Lieutenant -Davis, and then you started the story that they had killed them, and -thus you got a great many of your people to go out. Everything that -you did on the reservation is known; there is no use for you to try -to talk nonsense. I am no child. You must make up your minds whether -you will stay out on the war-path or surrender unconditionally. If -you stay out I’ll keep after you and kill the last one if it takes -fifty years. You are making a great fuss about seeing ‘Ka-e-ten-na’; -over a year ago, I asked you if you wanted me to bring ‘Ka-e-ten-na’ -back, but you said ‘no.’ It’s a good thing for you, ‘Geronimo,’ that -we didn’t bring ‘Ka-e-ten-na’ back, because ‘Ka-e-ten-na’ has more -sense now than all the rest of the Chiricahuas put together. You -told me the same sort of a story in the Sierra Madre, but you lied. -What evidence have I of your sincerity? How do I know whether or not -you are lying to me? Have I ever lied to you? I have said all I have -to say; you had better think it over to-night and let me know in the -morning.” - -During this conference “Geronimo” appeared nervous and agitated; -perspiration, in great beads, rolled down his temples and over his -hands; and he clutched from time to time at a buckskin thong which -he held tightly in one hand. Mr. Fly, the photographer, saw his -opportunity, and improved it fully: he took “shots” at “Geronimo” -and the rest of the group, and with a “nerve” that would have -reflected undying glory on a Chicago drummer, coolly asked -“Geronimo” and the warriors with him to change positions, and turn -their heads or faces, to improve the negative. None of them seemed -to mind him in the least except “Chihuahua,” who kept dodging behind -a tree, but was at last caught by the dropping of the slide. -Twenty-four warriors listened to the conference or loitered within -ear-shot; they were loaded down with metallic ammunition, some of it -reloading and some not. Every man and boy in the band wore two -cartridge-belts. The youngsters had on brand-new shirts, such as are -made and sold in Mexico, of German cotton, and nearly all—young or -old—wore new parti-colored blankets, of same manufacture, showing -that since the destruction of the village by Crawford, in January, -they had refitted themselves either by plunder or purchase. - -Mr. Strauss, Mr. Carlisle, “José Maria,” and I were awakened at an -early hour in the morning (March 26, 1886), and walked over to the -rancheria of the Chiricahuas. “Geronimo” was already up and engaged -in an earnest conversation with “Ka-e-ten-na” and nearly all his -warriors. We moved from one “jacal” to another, all being -constructed alike of the stalks of the Spanish bayonet and mescal -and amole, covered with shreds of blanket, canvas, and other -textiles. The “daggers” of the Spanish bayonet and mescal were -arranged around each “jacal” to form an impregnable little citadel. -There were not more than twelve or fifteen of these in the -“rancheria,” which was situated upon the apex of an extinct crater, -the lava blocks being utilized as breastworks, while the deep seams -in the contour of the hill were so many fosses, to be crossed only -after rueful slaughter of assailants. A full brigade could not drive -out that little garrison, provided its ammunition and repeating -rifles held out. They were finely armed with Winchesters and -Springfield breech-loading carbines, with any quantity of metallic -cartridges. - -Physically, the Chiricahuas were in magnificent condition: every -muscle was perfect in development and hard as adamant, and one of -the young men in a party playing monte was as finely muscled as a -Greek statue. A group of little boys were romping freely and -carelessly together; one of them seemed to be of Irish and Mexican -lineage. After some persuasion he told Strauss and myself that his -name was Santiago Mackin, captured at Mimbres, New Mexico; he seemed -to be kindly treated by his young companions, and there was no -interference with our talk, but he was disinclined to say much and -was no doubt thoroughly scared. Beyond showing by the intelligent -glance of his eyes that he fully comprehended all that was said to -him in both Spanish and English, he took no further notice of us. He -was about ten years old, slim, straight, and sinewy, blue-gray eyes, -badly freckled, light eyebrows and lashes, much tanned and blistered -by the sun, and wore an old and once-white handkerchief on his head -which covered it so tightly that the hair could not be seen. He was -afterwards returned to his relations in New Mexico. - -One of the Chiricahuas had a silver watch which he called -“Chi-go-na-ay” (Sun), an evidence that he had a good idea of its -purpose. Nearly every one wore “medicine” of some kind: either -little buckskin bags of the Hoddentin of the Tule, the feathers -of the red-bird or of the woodpecker, the head of a quail, the -claws of a prairie dog, or silver crescents; “medicine” -cords—“Izze-kloth”—were also worn. I stopped alongside of a -young Tubal Cain and watched him hammering a Mexican dollar -between two stones, and when he had reduced it to the proper -fineness he began to stamp and incise ornamentation upon it with -a sharp-pointed knife and a stone for a hammer. Nearly all the -little girls advanced to the edge of our camp and gazed in mute -admiration upon Charlie Roberts, evincing their good opinion in -such an unmistakable manner that the young gentleman at once -became the guy of the packers. “Geronimo” and his warriors -remained up in their village all day, debating the idea of an -unconditional surrender. - -The next morning (March 27th) “Chihuahua” sent a secret message to -General Crook, to say that he was certain all the Chiricahuas would -soon come in and surrender; but whether they did or not, he would -surrender his own band at noon and come down into our camp. -“Ka-e-ten-na” and “Alchise” had been busy at work among the -hostiles, dividing their councils, exciting their hopes, and -enhancing their fears; could General Crook have promised them -immunity for the past, they would have come down the previous -evening, when “Chihuahua” had first sent word of his intention to -give up without condition, but General Crook did not care to have -“Chihuahua” leave the hostiles at once; he thought he could be more -useful by remaining in the village for a day or two as a leaven to -foment distrust of “Geronimo” and start a disintegration and -demoralization of the band. “Ka-e-ten-na” told General Crook that -all the previous night “Geronimo” kept his warriors ready for any -act of treachery on our part, and that during the talk of the 25th -they were prepared to shoot the moment an attempt should be made to -seize their leaders. It was scarcely noon when “Geronimo,” -“Chihuahua,” “Nachita,” “Kutli,” and one other buck came in and said -they wanted to talk. “Nané” toddled after them, but he was so old -and feeble that we did not count him. Our people gathered under the -sycamores in the ravine, while “Geronimo” seated himself under a -mulberry, both he and “Kutli” having their faces blackened with -pounded galena. “Chihuahua” spoke as follows: “I am very glad to see -you, General Crook, and have this talk with you. It is as you say: -we are always in danger out here. I hope that from this on we may -live better with our families, and not do any more harm to anybody. -I am anxious to behave. I think that the Sun is looking down upon -me, and the Earth is listening. I am thinking better. It seems to me -that I have seen the one who makes the rain and sends the winds, or -he must have sent you to this place. I surrender myself to you, -because I believe in you and you do not deceive us. You must be our -God; I am satisfied with all that you do. You must be the one who -makes the green pastures, who sends the rain, who commands the -winds. You must be the one who sends the fresh fruits that come on -the trees every year. There are many men in the world who are big -chiefs and command many people, but you, I think, are the greatest -of them all. I want you to be a father to me and treat me as your -son. I want you to have pity on me. There is no doubt that all you -do is right, because all you say is true. I trust in all you say; -you do not deceive; all the things you tell us are facts. I am now -in your hands. I place myself at your disposition to dispose of as -you please. I shake your hand. I want to come right into your camp -with my family and stay with you. I don’t want to stay away at a -distance. I want to be right where you are. I have roamed these -mountains from water to water. Never have I found the place where I -could see my father or mother until to-day. I see you, my father. I -surrender to you now, and I don’t want any more bad feeling or bad -talk. I am going over to stay with you in your camp. - -“Whenever a man raises anything, even a dog, he thinks well of it, -and tries to raise it up, and treats it well. So I want you to feel -towards me, and be good to me, and don’t let people say bad things -about me. Now I surrender to you and go with you. When we are -travelling together on the road or anywhere else, I hope you’ll talk -to me once in a while. I think a great deal of ‘Alchise’ and -‘Ka-e-ten-na’; they think a great deal of me. I hope some day to be -all the same as their brother. [Shakes hands.] How long will it be -before I can live with these friends?” - -Despatches were sent ahead to Bowie to inform General Sheridan of -the conference and its results; the Chiricahuas had considered three -propositions: one, their own, that they be allowed to return to the -reservation unharmed; the second, from General Crook, that they be -placed in confinement for a term of years at a distance from the -Agency, and that, if their families so desired, they be permitted to -accompany them, leaving “Nané,” who was old and superannuated, at -Camp Apache; or, that they return to the war-path and fight it out. -“Mangas,” with thirteen of the Chiricahuas, six of them warriors, -was not with “Geronimo,” having left him some months previously and -never reunited with him. He (General Crook) asked that instructions -be sent him with as little delay as possible. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIX. - -THE EFFECTS OF BAD WHISKEY UPON SAVAGE INDIANS—THE WRETCH - TRIBOLLET—SOME OF THE CHIRICAHUAS SLIP AWAY FROM MAUS DURING A - RAINY NIGHT—THE BURIAL OF CAPTAIN CRAWFORD—CROOK’S TERMS - DISAPPROVED IN WASHINGTON—CROOK ASKS TO BE RELIEVED FROM COMMAND - IN ARIZONA—“GERONIMO” INDUCED TO COME IN BY THE CHIRICAHUA - AMBASSADORS, “KI-E-TA” AND “MARTINEZ”—TREACHERY SHOWN IN THE - TREATMENT OF THE WELL-BEHAVED MEMBERS OF THE CHIRICAHUA APACHE - BAND. - - -“Alchise” and “Ka-e-ten-na” came and awakened General Crook before -it was yet daylight of March 28th and informed him that “Nachita,” -one of the Chiricahua chiefs, was so drunk he couldn’t stand up and -was lying prone on the ground; other Chiricahuas were also drunk, -but none so drunk as “Nachita.” Whiskey had been sold them by a -rascal named Tribollet who lived on the San Bernardino ranch on the -Mexican side of the line, about four hundred yards from the -boundary. These Indians asked permission to take a squad of their -soldiers and guard Tribollet and his men to keep them from selling -any more of the soul-destroying stuff to the Chiricahuas. A -beautiful commentary upon the civilization of the white man! When we -reached Cajon Bonito, the woods and grass were on fire; four or five -Chiricahua mules, already saddled, were wandering about without -riders. Pretty soon we came upon “Geronimo,” “Kuthli,” and three -other Chiricahua warriors riding on two mules, all drunk as lords. -It seemed to me a great shame that armies could not carry with them -an atmosphere of military law which would have justified the hanging -of the wretch Tribollet as a foe to human society. Upon arriving at -San Bernardino Springs, Mr. Frank Leslie informed me that he had -seen this man Tribollet sell thirty dollars’ worth of mescal in less -than one hour—all to Chiricahuas—and upon being remonstrated with, -the wretch boasted that he could have sold one hundred dollars’ -worth that day at ten dollars a gallon in silver. That night, during -a drizzling rain, a part of the Chiricahuas—those who had been -drinking Tribollet’s whiskey—stole out from Maus’s camp and betook -themselves again to the mountains, frightened, as was afterward -learned, by the lies told them by Tribollet and the men at his -ranch. Two of the warriors upon sobering up returned voluntarily, -and there is no doubt at all that, had General Crook not been -relieved from the command of the Department of Arizona, he could -have sent out runners from among their own people and brought back -the last one without a shot being fired. Before being stampeded by -the lies and vile whiskey of wicked men whose only mode of -livelihood was from the vices, weaknesses, or perils of the human -race, all the Chiricahuas—drunk or sober—were in the best of humor -and were quietly herding their ponies just outside of Maus’s camp. - -“Chihuahua,” and the eighty others who remained with Maus, reached -Fort Bowie on the second day of April, 1886, under command of -Lieutenant Faison, Lieutenant Maus having started in pursuit -of “Geronimo,” and followed him for a long distance, but -unsuccessfully. As “Chihuahua” and his people were coming into -Bowie, the remains of the gallant Captain Emmet Crawford were _en -route_ to the railroad station to be transported to Nebraska for -interment. Every honor was shown them which could indicate the -loving tenderness of comrades who had known Crawford in life, and -could not forget his valor, nobleness, and high-minded character. -General Crook, Colonel Beaumont, Lieutenant Neal, and all other -officers present at the post attended in a body. Two companies of -the First Infantry, commanded, respectively, by Captain Markland and -Lieutenant Benjamin, formed the escort for one-half the -distance—seven miles; they then turned over the casket to the care -of two companies of the Eighth Infantry, commanded by Captain Savage -and Lieutenant Smiley. The detachment of Apache scouts, commanded by -Lieutenant Macdonald, Fourth Cavalry, was drawn up in line at the -station to serve as a guard of honor; and standing in a group, with -uncovered heads, were the officers and soldiers of the Eighth -Infantry, Second and Fourth Cavalry, there on duty—Whitney, Porter, -Surgeon R. H. White, Ames, Betts, Worth, Hubert, and many others. - -Having been detailed, in company with Captain Charles Morton, Third -Cavalry, to conduct the remains to the city of Kearney, Nebraska, -and there see to their interment, my official relations with the -Department of Arizona terminated. I will insert, from the published -official correspondence of General Crook, a few extracts to throw a -light upon the history of the Chiricahuas. Lieutenant Macdonald -informed me, while at Bowie, that the “medicine men” present with -his Indian scouts had been dancing and talking with the spirits, who -had responded that “Geronimo” would surely return, as he had been -stampeded while drunk, and by bad white men. Under date of March 30, -1886, General Sheridan telegraphed to Crook: - - “You are confidentially informed that your telegram of March 29th - is received. The President cannot assent to the surrender of the - hostiles on the terms of their imprisonment East for two years, - with the understanding of their return to the reservation. He - instructs you to enter again into negotiations on the terms of - their unconditional surrender, only sparing their lives. In the - meantime, and on the receipt of this order, you are directed to - take every precaution against the escape of the hostiles, which - must not be allowed under any circumstances. You must make at once - such disposition of your troops as will insure against further - hostilities, by completing the destruction of the hostiles, unless - these terms are acceded to.” - -General Crook’s reply to the Lieutenant-General read as follows: - - “There can be no doubt that the scouts were thoroughly loyal, and - would have prevented the hostiles leaving had it been possible. - When they left their camp with our scouts, they scattered over the - country so as to make surprise impossible, and they selected their - camp with this in view, nor would they all remain in camp at one - time. They kept more or less full of mescal. To enable you to - clearly understand the situation, it should be remembered that the - hostiles had an agreement with Lieutenant Maus that they were to - be met by me twenty-five miles below the line, and that no regular - troops were to be present. While I was very averse to such an - arrangement, I had to abide by it as it had already been entered - into. We found them in a camp on a rocky hill about five hundred - yards from Lieutenant Maus, in such a position that a thousand men - could not have surrounded them with any possibility of capturing - them. They were able, upon the approach of any enemy being - signalled, to scatter and escape through dozens of ravines and - cañons which would shelter them from pursuit until they reached - the higher ranges in the vicinity. They were armed to the teeth, - having the most improved arms and all the ammunition they could - carry. Lieutenant Maus with Apache scouts was camped at the - nearest point the hostiles would agree to his approaching. Even - had I been disposed to betray the confidence they placed in me it - would have been simply an impossibility to get white troops to - that point either by day or by night without their knowledge, and - had I attempted to do this the whole band would have stampeded - back to the mountains. So suspicious were they that never more - than from five to eight of the men came into our camp at one time, - and to have attempted the arrest of those would have stampeded the - others to the mountains.” - -General Crook also telegraphed that “to inform the Indians that the -terms on which they surrendered are disapproved would, in my -judgment, not only make it impossible for me to negotiate with them, -but result in their scattering to the mountains, and I can’t at -present see any way to prevent it.” - -Sheridan replied: - - “I do not see what you can now do except to concentrate your - troops at the best points and give protection to the people. - Geronimo will undoubtedly enter upon other raids of murder and - robbery, and as the offensive campaign against him with scouts has - failed, would it not be best to take up the defensive, and give - protection to the business interests of Arizona and New Mexico?” - -Crook’s next despatch to Sheridan said: - - “It has been my aim throughout present operations to afford the - greatest amount of protection to life and property interests, and - troops have been stationed accordingly. Troops cannot protect - property beyond a radius of one half mile from camp. If offensive - operations against the Indians are not resumed, they may remain - quietly in the mountains for an indefinite time without crossing - the line, and yet their very presence there will be a constant - menace, and require the troops in this department to be at all - times in position to repel sudden raids; and so long as any remain - out they will form a nucleus for disaffected Indians from the - different agencies in Arizona and New Mexico to join. That the - operations of the scouts in Mexico have not proved so successful - as was hoped is due to the enormous difficulties they have been - compelled to encounter, from the nature of the Indians they have - been hunting, and the character of the country in which they have - operated, and of which persons not thoroughly conversant with the - character of both can have no conception. I believe that the plan - upon which I have conducted operations is the one most likely to - prove successful in the end. It may be, however, that I am too - much wedded to my own views in this matter, and as I have spent - nearly eight years of the hardest work of my life in this - department, I respectfully request that I may now be relieved from - its command.” - -General Crook had carefully considered the telegrams from his -superiors in Washington, and was unable to see how he could allow -Indians, or anybody else, to enter his camp under assurances of -personal safety, and at the same time “take every precaution against -escape.” Unless he treacherously murdered them in cold blood, he was -unable to see a way out of the dilemma; and Crook was not the man to -lie to any one or deal treacherously by him. If there was one point -in his character which shone more resplendent than any other, it was -his absolute integrity in his dealings with representatives of -inferior races: he was not content with telling the truth, he was -careful to see that the interpretation had been so made that the -Indians understood every word and grasped every idea; and all his -remarks were put down in black and white, which, to quote his own -words, “would not lie, and would last long after the conferees had -been dead and buried.” - -The whole subject of the concluding hours of the campaign against -the Chiricahuas, after Crook had been relieved from command, has -been fully covered by documents accessible to all students, among -which may well be mentioned: Senate Documents, No. 117; General -Crook’s “Resumé of Operations against Apache Indians from 1882 to -1886”; the report made by Mr. Herbert Welsh, Secretary of the Indian -Rights Association, of his visit to the Apache prisoners confined at -Fort Marion, St. Augustine, Florida; the reports made to General -Sheridan by General R. B. Ayres, commanding the military post of St. -Francis Barracks (St. Augustine, Florida); the telegrams between the -War Department and Brigadier-General D. S. Stanley, commanding the -Department of Texas, concerning his interview with “Geronimo” and -other prisoners, etc. - -It may be laid down in one paragraph that the Chiricahua fugitives -were followed into the Sierra Madre by two Chiricahua Apaches, sent -from Fort Apache, named “Ki-e-ta” and “Martinez,” who were assisted -by Lieutenant Gatewood, of the Sixth Cavalry, and Mr. George -Wrattan, as interpreter. Not all the band surrendered; there are -several still in the Sierra Madre who, as late as the past month of -January (1891), have been killing in both Sonora and Arizona. But -those that did listen to the emissaries were led to believe that -they were to see their wives and families within five days; they -were instead hurried off to Florida and immured in the dungeons of -old Fort Pickens, Pensacola, Florida, and never saw their families -until the indignant remonstrances of Mr. Herbert Welsh caused an -investigation to be made of the exact terms upon which they had -surrendered, and to have their wives sent to join them. For -“Geronimo” and those with him any punishment that could be inflicted -without incurring the imputation of treachery would not be too -severe; but the incarceration of “Chato” and the three-fourths of -the band who had remained faithful for three years and had rendered -such signal service in the pursuit of the renegades, can never meet -with the approval of honorable soldiers and gentlemen. - -Not a single Chiricahua had been killed, captured, or wounded -throughout the entire campaign—with two exceptions—unless by -Chiricahua-Apache scouts who, like “Chato,” had kept the pledges -given to General Crook in the Sierra Madre in 1883. The exceptions -were: one killed by the White Mountain Apaches near Fort Apache, and -one killed by a white man in northern Mexico. Yet every one of those -faithful scouts—especially the two, “Ki-e-ta” and “Martinez,” who -had at imminent personal peril gone into the Sierra Madre to hunt up -“Geronimo” and induce him to surrender—were transplanted to Florida -and there subjected to the same punishment as had been meted out to -“Geronimo.” And with them were sent men like “Goth-kli” and -“To-klanni,” who were not Chiricahuas at all, but had only lately -married wives of that band, who had never been on the war-path in -any capacity except as soldiers of the Government, and had devoted -years to its service. There is no more disgraceful page in the -history of our relations with the American Indians than that which -conceals the treachery visited upon the Chiricahuas who remained -faithful in their allegiance to our people. An examination of the -documents cited will show that I have used extremely mild language -in alluding to this affair. - - - - - CHAPTER XXX. - -CROOK’S CLOSING YEARS—HE AVERTS A WAR WITH THE UTES—A MEMBER OF THE - COMMISSION WHICH SECURED A CESSION OF ELEVEN MILLIONS OF ACRES - FROM THE SIOUX—HIS INTEREST IN GAME LAWS—HIS DEATH—WHAT THE - APACHES DID—WHAT “RED CLOUD” SAID—HIS FUNERAL IN CHICAGO—BURIAL - IN OAKLAND, MARYLAND—RE-INTERMENT IN ARLINGTON CEMETERY, - VIRGINIA. - - -The last years of General Crook’s eventful career were spent in -Omaha, Nebraska, as Commanding General of the Department of the -Platte, and, after being promoted to the rank of Major-General by -President Cleveland, in Chicago, Illinois, as Commanding General of -the Military Division of the Missouri. During that time he averted -the hostilities with the Utes of Colorado, for which the cowboys of -the western section of that State were clamoring, and satisfied the -Indians that our people were not all unjust, rapacious, and -mendacious. As a member of the Sioux Commission to negotiate for the -cession of lands occupied by the Sioux in excess of their actual -needs, he—in conjunction with his associates: ex-Governor Charles -Foster, of Ohio, and Hon. William Warner, of Missouri—effected the -relinquishment of eleven millions of acres, an area equal to -one-third of the State of Pennsylvania. - -The failure of Congress to ratify some of the provisions of this -conference and to make the appropriations needed to carry them into -effect, has been alleged among the numerous causes of the recent -Sioux outbreak. In this connection the words of the Sioux chief “Red -Cloud,” as spoken to the Catholic missionary—Father Craft—are worthy -of remembrance: “Then General Crook came; he, at least, had never -lied to us. His words gave the people hope. He died. Their hope died -again. Despair came again.” General Crook also exerted all the -influence he could bring to bear to induce a rectification of the -wrong inflicted upon the faithful Chiricahua Apaches, in confounding -them in the same punishment meted out to those who had followed -“Geronimo” back to the war-path. He manifested all through his life -the liveliest interest in the preservation of the larger game of the -Rocky Mountain country, and, if I mistake not, had some -instrumentality, through his old friend Judge Carey, of Cheyenne, -now United States Senator, in bringing about the game laws adopted -by the present State of Wyoming. - -General Crook’s death occurred at the Grand Pacific Hotel, his -residence in Chicago, on the 21st of March, 1890; the cause of his -death, according to Surgeon McClellan, his attending physician, was -heart failure or some other form of heart disease; the real cause -was the wear and tear of a naturally powerful constitution, brought -on by the severe mental and physical strain of incessant work under -the most trying circumstances. - -It would be unjust to select for insertion here any of the thousands -of telegrams, letters, resolutions of condolence, and other -expressions of profound sympathy received by Mrs. Crook from old -comrades and friends of her illustrious husband in all sections of -our country: besides the official tribute from the War Department, -there were eloquent manifestations from such associations as the -Alumni of the Military Academy, the Military Order of the Loyal -Legion, the Sons of the American Revolution, the Pioneers of -Arizona, the citizens of Omaha, Nebraska, Prescott, Arizona, -Chicago, Illinois, Dayton, Ohio, and other places in which he had -served during the thirty-eight years of his connection with the -regular army, and feeling expressions uttered in the United States -Senate by Manderson and Paddock of Nebraska, Gorman of Maryland, and -Mitchell of Oregon; and a kind tribute from the lips of Governor -James E. Boyd of Nebraska. When the news of Crook’s death reached -the Apache Reservation, the members of the tribe who had been his -scouts during so many years were stupefied: those near Camp Apache -sat down in a great circle, let down their hair, bent their heads -forward on their bosoms, and wept and wailed like children. Probably -no city in the country could better appreciate the importance of -Crook’s military work against the savages than Omaha, which through -the suppression of hostilities by General Crook had bounded from the -dimensions of a straggling town to those of a metropolis of 150,000 -people. The resolutions adopted in convention represent the opinions -of a committee composed of the oldest citizens of that community—men -who knew and respected Crook in life and revered him in death. Among -these were to be seen the names of old settlers of the stamp of the -Wakeleys, Paxtons, Pritchetts, Doanes, Millers, Cowins, Clarkes, -Markels, Wymans, Horbachs, Hanscoms, Collins, Lakes, Millards, -Poppletons, Caldwells, Broatches, Mauls, Murphys, Rustins, Woods, -Davis, Laceys, Turners, Ogdens, Moores, Cushings, Kitchens, -Kimballs, Yates, Wallaces, Richardsons, McShanes, and Kountzes—men -perfectly familiar with all the intricacies of the problem which -Crook had to solve and the masterly manner in which he had solved -it. - -As a mark of respect to the memory of his former friend and -commander, General John R. Brooke, commanding the Department of the -Platte, has protected and fed in honorable retirement the aged mule, -“Apache,” which for so many years had borne General Crook in all his -campaigns, from British America to Mexico. - -Could old “Apache” but talk or write, he might relate adventures and -perils to which the happy and prosperous dwellers in the now -peaceful Great West would listen with joy and delight. - -General Crook had not yet attained great age, being scarcely -sixty-one years old when the final summons came, but he had gained -more than a complement of laurels, and may therefore be said to have -died in the fulness of years. He was born at Dayton, Ohio, on the -23d day of September, 1829; graduated from the United States -Military Academy in the class of 1852; was immediately assigned to -the Fourth Infantry; was engaged without cessation in service -against hostile Indians, in the present States of Oregon and -Washington, until the outbreak of the Rebellion, and was once -wounded by an arrow which was never extracted. His first assignment -during the War of the Rebellion was to the colonelcy of the -Thirty-sixth Ohio, which he drilled to such a condition of -efficiency that the other regiments in the same division nick named -it the “Thirty-sixth Regulars.” Before the war ended he had risen to -the rank of brigadier and of major-general of volunteers, and was -wounded in the battle of Lewisburgh, West Virginia. - -He commanded the Army of West Virginia, and later on was assigned to -the command of cavalry under Lieutenant-General P. H. Sheridan. His -services during the war were of the most gallant and important -nature, not at all inferior to his campaigns against the western -tribes, but it was of the latter only that this treatise was -intended to speak and to these it has been restricted. - -The funeral services were held at the Grand Pacific Hotel, where the -remains had lain in state. The Rev. Dr. MacPherson conducted the -services, assisted by Doctors Clinton Locke, Fallows, Thomas, and -Swing. The honorary pall-bearers were Colonel James F. Wade, Fifth -Cavalry, Colonel Thaddeus H. Stanton, Pay Department, John Collins, -Omaha, General W. Sooy Smith, Potter Palmer, ex-President R. B. -Hayes, Marshall Field, W. C. De Grannis, Wirt Dexter, Colonel J. B. -Sexton, Judge R. S. Tuthill, Mayor D. C. Cregier, John B. Drake, -General M. R. Morgan, General Robert Williams, P. E. Studebaker, J. -Frank Lawrence, George Dunlap, Judge W. Q. Gresham, John B. Carson, -General W. E. Strong, John M. Clark, W. Penn Nixon, H. J. -MacFarland, and C. D. Roys. The casket was escorted to the Baltimore -& Ohio Railroad Depot by a brigade of the Illinois National Guard, -commanded by Brigadier-General Fitzsimmons and by the members of the -Illinois Club in a body. - -The interment, which took place at Oakland, Maryland, March 24, -1891, was at first intended to be strictly private, but thousands of -people had gathered from the surrounding country, and each train -added to the throng which blocked the streets and lanes of the -little town. - -Among those who stood about the bereaved wife, who had so devotedly -followed the fortunes of her illustrious husband, were her sister, -Mrs. Reed, Colonel Corbin, Colonel Heyl, Colonel Stanton, Major -Randall, Major Roberts, Lieutenant Kennon, Mr. John S. Collins, Mr. -and Mrs. W. J. Hancock, Mr. Webb C. Hayes, Andrew Peisen, who had -been the General’s faithful servant for a quarter of a century, and -Dr. E. H. Bartlett, who had been present at the wedding of General -and Mrs. Crook. - -One of the General’s brothers—Walter Crook, of Dayton, Ohio—came on -with the funeral train from Chicago, but another brother was unable -to leave Chicago on account of a sudden fit of illness. - -Three of the soldiers of the Confederacy who had formed part of the -detachment—of which Mrs. Crook’s own brother, James Daily, was -another—that had captured General Crook during the closing years of -the Civil War and sent him down to Libby prison, requested -permission to attend the funeral services as a mark of respect for -their late foe. While the Rev. Dr. Moffatt was reciting prayer, two -of them whispered their names, May and Johnson, but the third I -could not learn at the moment. I have since heard it was Ira Mason. - -Among those who attended from Washington were General Samuel Breck, -Captain George S. Anderson, Captain Schofield, Hon. George W. -Dorsey, M. C. from Nebraska, Hon. Nathan Goff, ex-Secretary of the -Navy, and Hon. William McKinley, M. C. from Ohio, who during the -Civil War had served as one of General Crook’s confidential staff -officers, and who through life had been his earnest admirer and -stanch friend. - -As the earth closed over the remains of a man whom I had known and -loved for many years, and of whose distinguished services I had -intimate personal knowledge, the thought flitted through my mind -that there lay an exemplification of the restless energy of the -American people. Ohio had given him birth, the banks of the Hudson -had heard his recitations as a cadet, Oregon, Washington, -California, and Nevada witnessed his first feats of arms, West -Virginia welcomed him as the intelligent and energetic leader of the -army which bore her name, and Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico, Montana, -both Dakotas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah owed him a debt -of gratitude for his operations against the hostile tribes which -infested their borders and rendered life and property insecure. - -No man could attempt to write a fair description of General Crook’s -great services and his noble traits of character unless he set out -to prepare a sketch of the history of the progress of civilization -west of the Missouri. I have here done nothing but lay before the -reader an outline, and a very meagre outline, of all he had to -oppose, and all he achieved, feeling a natural distrust of my own -powers, and yet knowing of no one whose association with my great -chief had been so intimate during so many years as mine had been. - -Crook’s modesty was so great, and his aversion to pomp and -circumstance so painfully prominent a feature of his character and -disposition, that much which has been here related would never be -known from other sources. - -Shakespeare’s lines have been present in my mind: - - “Men’s evil manners live in brass; their virtues - We write in water.” - - ------------------------------------ - -On the 11th of November, 1890, General Crook’s body was transferred -to Arlington Cemetery, Virginia, opposite Washington, those present -being Major-General Schofield, commanding the army, and his aide, -Lieutenant Andrews, Colonel H. C. Corbin, Lieutenant Kennon, Colonel -T. H. Stanton, Captain John G. Bourke, Mr. Webb C. Hayes, and Mr. -George H. Harries. - -The escort consisted of two companies of cavalry, commanded by Major -Carpenter, Captain George S. Anderson, Captain Parker, and -Lieutenant Baird. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -BRIEF LIST OF BOOKS ON TRAVEL, EXPLORATION AND ADVENTURE, PUBLISHED -BY CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS, 743 & 745 BROADWAY, NEW YORK CITY. - - ---------- - -_Rev. James Bassett._ - - =PERSIA; The Land of the Imams (With Map. 12mo, $1.50).= - - “Scarcely inferior, in general interest, to O’Donovan’s “Merv,” - or Stech’s two volumes on Persia, and superior to either in - interest for a reader concerned in the evangelization of the - country. His pages are crowded with facts and replete with - indications of intelligent observations and natural - interpretations. We have not found a dull page in it. It is a - small book with much in it, and that much and that much - good.”—_New York Independent._ - -_Capt. John G. Bourke._ - - =THE SNAKE DANCE OF THE MOQUIS OF ARIZONA. With a Description - of the Manners and Customs of this Peculiar People (With Colored - Plates. 8vo, $5.00.)= - - “A valuable contribution to the study of native American - ethnology, while its vivid descriptions of weird scenes, - stirring incidents of travel, and characteristic anecdotes, make - it very agreeable reading.”—_London Academy._ - -_William T. Brigham._ - - =GUATEMALA; The Land of the Quetzal (With 26 full-page - Illustrations. 8vo, $5.00.)= - - “Mr. Brigham made a very extensive trip through Guatemala, and - he brought to all that met his eye a trained intelligence which - detected everything, revealed and promised. He discerned and - comprehended much more than any of the natives have divined or - hoped for, and his book is the only one extant in any language - which discloses what the Guatemalan Republic is or might - be.”—_New York Sun._ - -_Henry W. Elliott._ - - =OUR ARCTIC PROVINCE, ALASKA AND THE SEAL ISLANDS (Illust. - 8vo, $4.50.)= - - “Nothing so complete and satisfactory has ever before appeared - in print in this country as this absorbingly interesting and - minutely accurate account of the great Alaskan Seal Islands, and - the book must now be regarded as the standard authority on ‘Our - Arctic Province.’”—_Chicago Herald._ - -_Rev. Henry M. Field, D.D._ - - =FROM THE LAKES OF KILLARNEY TO THE GOLDEN HORN (8vo, $2.00). - FROM EGYPT TO JAPAN (8vo, $2.00). ON THE DESERT (8vo, $2.00). - AMONG THE HOLY HILLS (With a Map. 8vo, $1.50). THE GREEK - ISLANDS, and Turkey after the War (With Illustrations and Maps. - 8vo, $1.50). OLD SPAIN AND NEW SPAIN (With Map. 8vo. $1.50). - BRIGHT SKIES AND DARK SHADOWS (With Maps. 8vo, $1.50). GIBRALTAR - (Illustrated. 4to, $2.00).= - - “Dr. Field has an eye that sees very clearly. He knows also how - to describe just those things in the different places visited by - him which an intelligent man wants to know about. He has, - besides, a singularly clear and pleasing style, so that the - attention of his reader is never for a moment detained over any - obscurity or infelicity of expression, but is at once rewarded - by the clear perception of his meaning.”—_Dr. Wm. M. Taylor._ - -_Henry T. Finck._ - - =THE PACIFIC COAST SCENIC TOUR (With 20 full-page - Illustrations. 8vo, $2.50). SPAIN AND MOROCCO; Studies in Local - Color (12mo, $1.25.)= - - “The writer combines very happily the faculty of close - observation and minute description with real literary skill. - Thus while his book contains details which make it eminently - useful and a source of exact information, it is also a - pleasurable work for the reader.”—_The Christian Union._ - -_James Anthony Froude._ - - =THE ENGLISH IN THE WEST INDIES (Illustrated. 8vo, $1.75). - OCEANA: England and Her Colonies (Illustrated. 8vo, - $1.75.)= - - “Mr. Froude is the master of an exquisite prose style, and if - not a foremost master he is very near to that rank among living - Englishmen. Not since ‘Eothen’ captivated all its readers, not - since Waterton narrated the story of his wanderings, has the - romance of travel been treated with happier, abler, or more - entertaining hands.”—_New York Times._ - -_William H. Gilder._ - - =SCHWATKA’S SEARCH (Illustrated. 8vo, $3.00). ICEPACK AND - TUNDRA (Illustrated. 8vo. $4.00.)= - - “No recent book gives so vivid an idea of the perils and - hardships which necessarily accompany all attempts at arctic - exploration, as this of Mr. Gilder’s. The accounts of the - people of the various places visited, and their peculiar - customs, show keen powers of observation as well as skill of - description.”—_Boston Transcript._ - -_Gen. A. W. Greely._ - - =THREE YEARS OF ARCTIC SERVICE. An Account of the Lady - Franklin Bay Expedition of 1881-1884 (With over 100 - Illustrations, Maps, and Charts. 2 vols., 8vo).= _Sold only - by subscription._ - - “In every respect—the interest of the narrative, the fullness - and accuracy of the departments of ethnology, of natural - history, of meteorology, geology, auroral displays, of all - matters of scientific interest—this work is incomparably the - most valuable one on the subject ever published.”—_Chicago - Interior._ - -_William Elliot Griffis._ - - =COREA; THE HERMIT NATION (With Maps and Illustrations. 8vo, - $2.50.)= - - “The work bears witness to a vast amount of well directed labor; - and while it is clothed with a rare charm for the general - reader, whose curiosity regarding a long isolated nation will - for the first time be satisfied, it is also sure of a respectful - and grateful reception from the student of history, ethnology, - and philology.”—_New York Sun._ - -_William T. Hornaday._ - - =TWO YEARS IN A JUNGLE (New Edition. 8vo, $3.00.) TAXIDERMY - AND ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTING (Illustrated. 8vo, $2.50 net.)= - - “He describes with skill and fidelity. Here we have the hunter’s - sport, the naturalist’s descriptions, and the traveler’s - observations. We need not say that the combination is rare and - very inviting.”—_Chicago Interior._ - -_A. J. Mounteney-Jephson._ - - =EMIN PASHA AND THE REBELLION AT THE EQUATOR (8vo).= - _Sold only by subscription._ - - “You have commenced your story where a great gap occurred in my - own narrative, a gap which you alone could fill up. There is - within the covers of your volume much matter that is quite new - to me, much that is extremely thrilling and exciting, and the - whole is related with very enviable literary tact and skill. - With all my heart I commend to American and English readers this - true tale of work manfully and nobly done and so modestly - told.”—_Henry M. Stanley._ - -_Carl Lumholtz._ - - =AMONG CANNIBALS (Fully Illustrated. 8vo, $5.00.)= - - “We have all read the book with immense interest. It is a work - which will have a _very long_ life, for it is full of wisdom and - useful knowledge; besides, it represents everything so lively - before the reader’s eyes that he forgets he is reading a mere - description, and thinks he is at the author’s side, and shares - with him the hardships, dangers, and joys of a life among - cannibals in the wilderness of Australia. The whole civilized - world must be grateful to you for this really wonderful - work.”—_Dr. Henry Schliemann._ - -_Selah Merrill._ - - =EAST OF THE JORDAN (With Illustrations and Map. New Edition, - 8vo, $2.50.)= - - No other American is so much at home in the East Jordan country - as Mr. Merrill, and there does not exist in any other language - so much fresh and valuable information respecting it. The - illustrations which embellish the book are fresh and original, - and the style of the narrative is graphic and entertaining. The - work is exceedingly interesting as an account of exploration in - this field, rich in historic associations. - -_William Agnew Paton._ - - =DOWN THE ISLANDS (Illustrated. Square 8vo, $2.50.)= - - “An exceedingly entertaining book of travels, containing nearly - seventy illustrations, including sixteen full-page plates. Mr. - Paton relates what he has seen in the Windward Islands, from St. - Kitt’s to Trinidad, and with this he interweaves a vast amount - of official and historical information, yet without making the - book a formal affair. The story is highly romantic and makes - good reading.”—_Boston Beacon._ - -_W. S. Schley and Prof. J. R. Soley._ - - =THE RESCUE OF GREELY (With Maps and Illustrations. 8vo, - $2.00.)= - - “The work has been singularly well done. The whole story is told - in plain facts, plainly and intellectually stated, and the - adjectives are few. Rarely is a great story narrated so simply - and yet so effectively.”—_N. Y. Times._ - -_Dr. Henry Schliemann._ - - =ANCIENT MYCENÆ (Illustrated. 4to, cloth extra, $7.50). TIRYNS - (Illustrated. Royal 8vo, $10.00).= - - “Dr. Schliemann has made the most important contribution of the - present century to Greek archæology.”—_The Nation._ “The - interest of the work is not confined to either England or - America. Every enlightened nation will welcome it, for it opens - up a new world to the modern generation. No work of the time has - attracted wider attention.”—_Boston Post._ - -_Eugene Schuyler._ - - =TURKISTAN (New Edition. 2 vols., 8vo, $5.00.)= - - “One of the most valuable and fascinating of publications. The - author has the eye and pen of a journalist, and sees at once - what is worth seeing, and recites his impressions in the most - graphic manner.”—_N. Y. World._ - -_Herbert H. Smith._ - - =BRAZIL; THE AMAZONS AND THE COAST (Illustrated. 8vo, - $5.00.)= - - “Mr. Smith, an American who has lived and traveled for the - greater part of eight years in Brazil, gives so excellent an - account of that country that we cannot regret this addition to - the already extensive literature of the subject. The book is a - very successful attempt to present a comprehensive picture, - drawn both from the experience of the author and from that of - previous Brazilian and foreign writers, of the present state of - Brazil.”—_London Academy._ - -_Henry M. Stanley._ - - =IN DARKEST AFRICA (With Maps and Illustrations. 2 vols., 8vo, - $7.50.)= _Sold only by subscription._ =HOW I FOUND - LIVINGSTONE. (With Maps and Illustrations. 8vo, $3.50.)= - - “This is the noblest record of the achievements of a man of - action which this generation has known. Mr. Stanley writes his - book very much as he marches through Africa—with the - irresistible energy of an imperious will. These volumes have - descriptive passages of singular excellence; the style is - trenchant, vigorous and clear; and the literary workmanship is - markedly superior to that of any of his previous work.”—_New - York Tribune._ - -_Thomas Stevens._ - - =AROUND THE WORLD ON A BICYCLE (200 Illustrations. 2 vols., - 8vo, $8.00.)= - - “This book will be found very interesting. All wheelmen will - want to have the history of the greatest bicycle journey ever - accomplished; the lover of adventure will find it richly to his - taste; and the general reader will find in the descriptions of - persons, places and customs in far-off lands, much to please and - interest.”—_The Boston Times._ - -_Bayard Taylor._ - - =ILLUSTRATED LIBRARY OF TRAVEL—TRAVELS IN JAPAN, ARABIA, SOUTH - AFRICA, CENTRAL ASIA, CENTRAL AFRICA, SIAM (Six volumes, each - Illustrated. 12mo, $1.25.)= - - “Authenticated accounts of countries, peoples, modes of living - and being, curiosities in natural history, and personal - adventure in travels and explorations, suggest a rich fund of - solid instruction combined with delightful entertainment. The - editorship, by one of the most observant and well-traveled men - of modern times, at once secures the high character of the - ‘Library’ in every particular.”—_The Sunday School Times._ - -_Edward L. Wilson._ - - =IN SCRIPTURE LANDS (With 150 Illustrations from photographs. - Large 8vo, $3.50.)= - - “Here we have a man with the courageous spirit of an explorer, a - good pair of eyes, a good camera, and a good literary style. We - have seen no work of exploration and travel in those lands which - gives so clear an idea of them and of the historic remains and - scenes as this.”—_Chicago Interior._ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - Transcriber’s Note - -The author mentions a band of Utes call the ‘Timpanoags’. The -currently accepted name is ‘Timpanogos’, but we defer to the author -on the point. - -Errors deemed most likely to be the printer’s have been corrected, -and are noted here. The references are to the page and line in the -original. The following issues should be noted, along with the -resolutions. - - ix.16 THE GRAND CA[N/Ñ]ON—THE CATARACT CA[N/Ñ]ON Replaced. - - 43.18 the ranch of Archie Mac[ ]Intosh Removed. - - 121.34 the salient features of a [strategetical] _sic_ - combination - - 165.25 the band of Utes called the [Timpanoags] _sic_ - - 210.1 Crawford,[ford,]> Cushing, Removed. - - 335.24 and like the wind were away[.] Added. - - 441.19 without test[it]imony Removed. - - a1.13 and that much good.[”] Added. - - a1.46 perception of his meaning.[”] Added. - - a2.39 ethnology, and philology.[”] Added. - - a2.45 is rare and very inviting.[”] Added. - - a3.37 [“]The work has been singularly well done. Added. - - a3.47 has attracted wider attention.[”] Added. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ON THE BORDER WITH CROOK *** - -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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. 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