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 permissionto 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 theattempt 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 cavefrom 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 morecompetent 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 theCitizenof 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 punishedaccording 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 passingthrough 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 muchwhether 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.”

“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 muchwhether 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 wereconstant 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. Hewas 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.”

“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 directedhim, 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.”

“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.”

“(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 whichwas 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.”

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