DOCSLIB.ORG

A History of the Mescalero Apache Reservation, 1869-1881

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A History of the Mescalero Apache Reservation, 1869-1881 A history of the Mescalero Apache Reservation, 1869-1881 Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Mehren, Lawrence L. (Lawrence Lindsay), 1944- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 06/10/2021 14:32:58 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/554055 See, >4Z- 2 fr,r- Loiu*ty\t+~ >MeV.r«cr coiU.c> e ■ A HISTORY OF THE MESCALERO APACHE RESERVATION, 1869-1881 by Lawrence Lindsay Mehren A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1 9 6 9 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of re­ quirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from, this thesis are allowable wihout special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR This thesis has been approved on the date shown below: Associate Professor of History COPYRIGHTED BY LAWRENCE LINDSAY MEHREN 1969 iii PREFACE This thesis was conceived of a short two years ago, when I became interested.in the historical problems surrounding the Indian and his attempt to adjust to an Anglo-Saxon culture. Dr. Harwood P. Hinton, Associate Professor of History and editor of Arizona and the West, suggested a study of the Mescaleros in the 1870's. To him I owe the deepest gratitude. He not only, conceived of this thesis but gently and firmly saw it through to completion. The bulk of this thesis was written from primary material con­ tained in the National Archives, Washington, D. C. Although I was not able to research in the Archives, their microfilming program initiated some years ago provided me with easy access to materials needed. Also, I was able to research.in the original Mescalero Agency Records contained.in the Federal Records Center, Denver, Colorado. I am grateful to Miss Jane F. Smith and her staff at the National Archives for inquiries promptly answered. Delbert A. Bishop, the Manager of the Denver Federal Records Center, was kind enough to provide me with access to the Mescalero Agency Records. Mrs. Eve Ball of Hollywood, New Mexico, gave me much en­ couragement and help. Through her I was able to meet Charley Smith, a Mescalero who was deported to Florida with Geronimo in 1886. iv C. L. Sonnichsen and Albert H. Schroeder wrote me encouraging letters, and Colonel Charles Ward and Henry P. Walker showed great interest in my. study. The research of Maurice Garland Fulton, Robert N. Mullin, William A. Keleher, Frederick W. Nolan, and Philip J. Rasch provided me with valuable insights into Lincoln County, New Mexico,, in the 1870's. To Mrs. Martha Dawson for an excellent job of typing the manu­ script, I am indeed grateful. My wife Lynn provided me not only with understanding and sympathy in the inevitable slumps but also furnished the two excellent maps contained herein. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS............ ...................................................... vii ABSTRACT.................................... v iii 1. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................... 1 2. THE FIRST YEARS OF THE MESCALERO AGENCY................ 19 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RESERVATIO N............................... 53 4. A MEASURE OF PROGRESS............................................................. 81 5. FREDERICK GODFROY'S FIRST YEAR AS A G E N T ...................123 6. THE MESCALEROS AND THE LINCOLN COUNTY WAR . .150 7. THE CARETAKER GOVERNMENT....................................................185 8. THE RUSSELL ADMINISTRATION .................................................... 203 9. A BACKWARD G L A N C E ......................................................................... 240 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................245 VI LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. New M exico.in the 1 8 7 0 ' s ................................................................ 21 2. The M escalero Apache R eservation, 1876 ............................... 130 vii ABSTRACT For over 300 years the Mescalero Apaches defied Spanish, Mexican, and American sovereignty in southeastern New Mexico and southwestern Texas. By the 1870's much of the struggle had.ended. The Mescaleros were placed.on a reservation and governed by regular Indian agents. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the administra­ tions of the agents who determined the Mescaleros' destiny from 1869 to 1881. Hopefully, this study will provide insights into the role the Indian agent played in the expansion of Anglo-Saxon institutions:into the Southwest. The first civilian agent, Andrew Curtis, accomplished little from 1871 to 1873. The Mescaleros were not accustomed to regular feeding days, nor did they respond to Americanization. In the short year Samuel Bushnell was agent, the Mescalero Reservation became a reality. From 1874 to 1876 Williamson Crothers made successful advances:in education and agriculture. The disruptive influence of the Lincoln County War made Frederick Godfrey's administration.from 1876 to 1879 difficult, although he did provide some measure of control. Samuel Russell had to contend with the renegade Apache chief Victorio on the reservation, and thus found.few opportunities to help the Mescaleros adjust to the White Man's Way. viii ix Yet with all their failures, these agents provided.the founda­ tions upon which their successors could later build institutions of endur­ ing value in the Southwest. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION When the white man came, the Mescalerd Apaches, a warlike, nomadic tribe, were roaming the mountains and plains of present-day southeastern New Mexico. Here for nearly 300 years they defied Spanish and Mexican sovereignty-and for another twenty years strug­ gled to adjust to American Indian policy. By the 1870's, however, much of the struggle had ended, and the period of accomodation to restricted boundaries, government rations, attempts to cultivate land, and learn the "White Man's Way" had begun. The extent to which the Mescaleros adjusted to these changes can be traced directly to the Indian agents who governed their lives. The purpose of this thesis is to examine in detail the administrations of five agents who controlled the destiny of the Mescaleros.from 1871 to 1881. It is hoped that this study will place in better focus the role the Indian agent played in the spread of American i • institutions into the Far Southwest. The Mescaleros were members of the Athapascan family who had migrated south from the Arctic regions centuries before the arrival 1. C. L. Sonnichsen, The Mescalero Apaches (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1958), pp. 11-172. 1 2 of the Europeans. Together with the Navajos, the Apaches constituted the western group of the southern division of the Athapascans. Although occasionally classified as western Apaches, the Mescaleros were gen­ erally placed with the eastern group, which also included the Jicarillas, Lipans, and Kiowa Apaches. The principal tribes of the Mescaleros included the Nataina, Tuetenini, Tshilinainde, Guhlkainde, andTahuunde •bands who resided mainly between the Rio Grande and Pecos rivers in New Mexico. Eventually, one or two groups which the Spaniards - called 2 Faraones moved into the White Mountains. Under pressure from hostile tribes, the Mescaleros.probably entered western Texas and eastern New Mexico early in the sixteenth century. The hunting-gathering-raiding pattern of their economy led them to seek both the mountains and the desert. They lived in the Sacramento and White mountains, richly timbered and teeming with game, in the summers and when the winters turned cold they retreated to the plains bordering the mountains. As they lived most of the year in near desert country, they developed into extremely hardy individuals, capable of great endurance. According to Charles F. Lummis, the Mescalero had "the eye of the kite, the ear of the cat, the cunning of the fox, the ferocious courage and tirelessness of the gray wolf. " The 2. John R. Swanton, The Indian Tribes of North America (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1952), pp. 327-330; Frederick W. Hodge, Handbook of Indians North of Mexico (2 vols., Washington: Government Printing Office, 1907, 1910), I, p. 846. 3 Mescalero warriors were described as wiry, with good lung capacity and tough muscles. Their physique was seldom large or heavy. They usually let their straight black hair hang loose, with a headband to keep it from covering their broad, round, and rather flat faces. The men dressed in buckskins and breechcloths, with high mocassins which 3 could be pulled up to the kneecap or folded down to the ankle. The Mescaleros hunted buffalo, deer, and elk, and gathered berries, fruits, and nuts. They travelled great distances to get to the mescal plant, from which they derived their name. A species of the aguave, the mescal plant, a large desert growth with thick, fleshy green leaves, grew in the foothills and on the lower mountain slopes. The Mescalero women would gather the mescal and cook it in large pits. What was not eaten could be dried and used at a future date. The mescal plant could also be made into a rather potent liquor, though the Mes- 4 caleros did not often use it for such. These Apaches lived in buffalo-hide tents, wickiups, brush shelters, and tipis. Their loosely knit social organization included independent bands, each under its own leader. In times of danger these 3. T. T. McCord, Jr., "An Economic History of the Mescalero Apache Indians" (M. A. thesis. University of New Mexico, 1946), pp. 11-12; Sonnichsen, Mescalero Apaches, pp. 12-14.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Thomas Catron, Samuel Axtell, and the Lincoln County War
    New Mexico Historical Review Volume 68 Number 2 Article 3 4-1-1993 An Excess of Law in Lincoln County: Thomas Catron, Samuel Axtell, and the Lincoln County War Joel K. Jacobsen Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmhr Recommended Citation Jacobsen, Joel K.. "An Excess of Law in Lincoln County: Thomas Catron, Samuel Axtell, and the Lincoln County War." New Mexico Historical Review 68, 2 (1993). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmhr/vol68/ iss2/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in New Mexico Historical Review by an authorized editor of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. An Excess of Law in Lincoln County: Thomas· Catron, Samuel Axtell, and the Lincoln County War JOEL K. JACOBSEN New Mexico's Lincoln County War of 1877-1878 has spawned endless retellings, from nineteenth-century dime novels to the movie Young Guns and including any number of books and articles, some more faithful to the facts than others. It lives in popular imagination as a series of violent encounters, from the assassination of Sheriff William Brady to the gunfight at Blazer's Mill. Through the dust and gunpowder smoke rides the image of Billy the Kid. But the Lincoln County War was also, to an underappreciated extent, a legal battle involving law­ yers, judges and juries, and the hyper-civilized rituals of the court­ room. Indeed, it might even be said that the cause of the Lincoln County War was not lawlessness but an excess of law, or at least an excess of tricky and occasionally dubious legal maneuvers.
    [Show full text]
  • Texas Big Bend and the Davis Mountains April 22-29, 2017
    Texas Big Bend and the Davis Mountains Participants: Anne, Craig, David, Frank, Hilary, Jan, Joan, Judith, Lori, Linda, Neil, Skip and Stephen April 22-29, 2017 GUIDES Woody Wheeler and Lynn Tennefoss Sunset through "The Window" at Chisos Basin, Big Bend National Park Day One: El Paso to McNary Reservoir, Balmorhea State Park and Fort Davis Appropriately, we started this journey on Earth Day. We departed from El Paso on an unusually cool but sunny day – ideal for travelling. El Paso and its suburbs swiftly gave way to the vast expanses of the Chihuahuan Desert. An hour east, and well into the desert, we exited off the freeway at McNary Reservoir. At the exit underpass, we found a small colony of Cave Swallows searching for nest sites. This was a life bird for many in our group. Nearby, we pulled into the completely unassuming McNary Reservoir. From below it appears to be a scrubby, degraded bank. Upon cresting the bank, however, there is a sizeable reservoir. Here we found Clark’s Grebes performing a small portion of their spectacular mating dance that resembles a synchronized water ballet. Western Grebes were also nearby, as were a variety of wintering waterfowl and an unexpected flock of Willet. Gambel’s Quail perched conspicuously and called loudly from the shore. Just as we were about to depart, Lynn spotted a lone Ruddy Duck bringing our total to 17 species of Gambel's Quail birds at our first stop. We stopped for lunch at a colorful Mexican restaurant in Van Horn that has hosted a number of celebrities over the years.
    [Show full text]
  • THE LIONS of WEST TEXAS Photo by Jeff Parker/Explore in Focus.Com
    STUDYING THE LIONS OF WEST TEXAS Photo by Jeff Parker/Explore in Focus.com Studies show that apex predators, such as mountain lions, play a role in preserving biodiversity through top-down regulation of other species. 8 TEXAS WILDLIFE JULY 2016 STUDYING THE LIONS OF WEST TEXAS Article by MARY O. PARKER umans have long been fascinated by Texas’ largest felines. Ancient rock art in Seminole Canyon State Park provides glimpses into this allure. There, in the park’sH Panther Cave, rock art estimated to have been created in 7,000 B.C. tells of a unique relationship between mountain lions and man. Drawings depict interactions between the felines and medicine men, while other images show humans donning cat- like ears. We don’t know what those ancient artists called the cats, but these days Puma concolor goes by many names—cougar, panther, puma, painter and, especially in Texas, mountain lion. No matter what you call them, we’re still just as interested in them today as were those prehistoric people long ago. Now, however, we use cameras and GPS technology to document both the mountain lions’ world and our own. Two modern-day researchers, TWA members Dr. Patricia Moody Harveson and Dr. Louis Harveson, director of Sul Ross State University’s Borderlands Research Institute, have been fascinated by the felines for years. In 2011, they began what’s casually known as The Davis Mountains Study. The project, generously funded by private donors, focuses on mountain lion ecology and predator-prey dynamics on private lands within the Davis Mountains. WWW.TEXAS-WILDLIFE.ORG 9 STUDYING THE LIONS OF WEST TEXAS Of 27 species captured by Davis Mountains game cameras, feral hogs appeared twice as often as deer which were the second most abundant species photographed.
    [Show full text]
  • Kokoro Kara Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation
    Fall 2016 KOKORO KARA HEART MOUNTAIN WYOMING FOUNDATION •”A Song of America:” 2016 Heart Mountain Pilgrimage •Exhibit Preview: Ansel Adams Meets Yoshio Okumoto The Walk Family: Generous Heart Mountain Champions All cover photographs from HMWF Okumoto Collection • Compassionate Witnesses: Chair Shirley Ann Higuchi “It was a miserably cold day and the documented the Heart Mountain journey, HMWF a Leadership in History Award people looked terribly cold. They got on and our longtime supporter Margot Walk, from the American Association for State the train and went away. My sister and I also provided tremendous emotional and Local History. He also brought in discovered we were crying. It wasn’t the support and compassion. more than $500,000 in grants to facilitate wind that was making us cry. It was such Executive Director Brian Liesinger, new programs, preserve buildings and a sad sight,” recalls 81-year-old LaDonna who came to us with lasting ties to Heart create special exhibitions. He has fostered Zall, one of our treasured board members Mountain, has also become one of those partnerships with the National Park who saw the last train of incarcerees leave individuals we esteem as a compassionate Service, the Japanese American National Heart Mountain in 1945. A pipeliner’s witness. When his World War II veteran Museum, the Wyoming Humanities daughter and our honorary Nisei, she grandparents acquired rights to collect Council and the Wyoming State Historic remembers the camp’s materials from the Preservation Office. Thank you, Brian, for eight-foot fence and camp, they crafted their all you have done to advance our mission guard towers and homestead from one of and your continued commitment to help continues to advocate the hospital buildings.
    [Show full text]
  • Case Studies of the Early Reservation Years 1867-1901
    University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1983 Diversity of assimilation: Case studies of the early reservation years 1867-1901 Ira E. Lax The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Lax, Ira E., "Diversity of assimilation: Case studies of the early reservation years 1867-1901" (1983). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 5390. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/5390 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COPYRIGHT ACT OF 1976 Th is is an unpublished manuscript in which copyright sub­ s i s t s . Any further r e p r in t in g of it s contents must be approved BY THE AUTHOR, Mansfield Library University of Montana Date : __JL 1 8 v «3> THE DIVERSITY OF ASSIMILATION CASE STUDIES OF THE EARLY RESERVATION YEARS, 1867 - 1901 by Ira E. Lax B.A., Oakland University, 1969 Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA 1983 Ap>p|ov&d^ by : f) i (X_x.Aa^ Chairman, Board of Examiners Dean, Graduate Sdnool Date UMI Number: EP40854 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted.
    [Show full text]
  • Billy the Kid: More Than a Legend
    National Park Service White Sands U.S. Department of the Interior White Sands National Monument Billy the Kid: More than a Legend he history of the American Southwest is chock full of legends and stories that truly live up to the epithet of the TWild West. The embellishment of these stories has allowed for the development of numerous movies and books but the true facts of these accounts are more interesting than any tall tale. Yes, the West really was wild! after Tunstall. According to most doubt he and other renowned William Henry McCarthy, accounts, he was shot unarmed characters of the time came across otherwise known as Billy the which was against “the code of the largerst gypsum dunefield in Kid, is a perfect example of how the West.” After Tunstall’s murder, the world as they traveled. Who untamed the now tranquil towns Billy and the Regulators swore knows what evidence of their of New Mexico used to be. It vengeance on Jesse Evans and his passage these ever-shifting dunes was no secret that Billy had a crew. might be hiding. rough past. His mother died of tuberculosis while he was just a As a result of one of the many —Sandra Flickinger, Student-Intern young boy and he had a history of skirmishes, Sheriff William Brady working odd jobs in combination was killed, putting Billy in the hot with a few illegal activities. seat as a murderer and sending him on the run. After many daring The real beginning of Billy’s career escapes, the new sheriff, Pat as an infamous gunman, however, Garrett, was finally successful in began in 1878 after he met a young arresting Billy.
    [Show full text]
  • General Vertical Files Anderson Reading Room Center for Southwest Research Zimmerman Library
    “A” – biographical Abiquiu, NM GUIDE TO THE GENERAL VERTICAL FILES ANDERSON READING ROOM CENTER FOR SOUTHWEST RESEARCH ZIMMERMAN LIBRARY (See UNM Archives Vertical Files http://rmoa.unm.edu/docviewer.php?docId=nmuunmverticalfiles.xml) FOLDER HEADINGS “A” – biographical Alpha folders contain clippings about various misc. individuals, artists, writers, etc, whose names begin with “A.” Alpha folders exist for most letters of the alphabet. Abbey, Edward – author Abeita, Jim – artist – Navajo Abell, Bertha M. – first Anglo born near Albuquerque Abeyta / Abeita – biographical information of people with this surname Abeyta, Tony – painter - Navajo Abiquiu, NM – General – Catholic – Christ in the Desert Monastery – Dam and Reservoir Abo Pass - history. See also Salinas National Monument Abousleman – biographical information of people with this surname Afghanistan War – NM – See also Iraq War Abousleman – biographical information of people with this surname Abrams, Jonathan – art collector Abreu, Margaret Silva – author: Hispanic, folklore, foods Abruzzo, Ben – balloonist. See also Ballooning, Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta Acequias – ditches (canoas, ground wáter, surface wáter, puming, water rights (See also Land Grants; Rio Grande Valley; Water; and Santa Fe - Acequia Madre) Acequias – Albuquerque, map 2005-2006 – ditch system in city Acequias – Colorado (San Luis) Ackerman, Mae N. – Masonic leader Acoma Pueblo - Sky City. See also Indian gaming. See also Pueblos – General; and Onate, Juan de Acuff, Mark – newspaper editor – NM Independent and
    [Show full text]
  • Ranching Catalogue 
    Catalogue Ten –Part Four THE RANCHING CATALOGUE VOLUME TWO D-G Dorothy Sloan – Rare Books box 4825 ◆ austin, texas 78765-4825 Dorothy Sloan-Rare Books, Inc. Box 4825, Austin, Texas 78765-4825 Phone: (512) 477-8442 Fax: (512) 477-8602 Email: [email protected] www.sloanrarebooks.com All items are guaranteed to be in the described condition, authentic, and of clear title, and may be returned within two weeks for any reason. Purchases are shipped at custom- er’s expense. New customers are asked to provide payment with order, or to supply appropriate references. Institutions may receive deferred billing upon request. Residents of Texas will be charged appropriate state sales tax. Texas dealers must have a tax certificate on file. Catalogue edited by Dorothy Sloan and Jasmine Star Catalogue preparation assisted by Christine Gilbert, Manola de la Madrid (of the Autry Museum of Western Heritage), Peter L. Oliver, Aaron Russell, Anthony V. Sloan, Jason Star, Skye Thomsen & many others Typesetting by Aaron Russell Offset lithography by David Holman at Wind River Press Letterpress cover and book design by Bradley Hutchinson at Digital Letterpress Photography by Peter Oliver and Third Eye Photography INTRODUCTION here is a general belief that trail driving of cattle over long distances to market had its Tstart in Texas of post-Civil War days, when Tejanos were long on longhorns and short on cash, except for the worthless Confederate article. Like so many well-entrenched, traditional as- sumptions, this one is unwarranted. J. Evetts Haley, in editing one of the extremely rare accounts of the cattle drives to Califor- nia which preceded the Texas-to-Kansas experiment by a decade and a half, slapped the blame for this misunderstanding squarely on the writings of Emerson Hough.
    [Show full text]
  • Kip Tokuda Civil Liberties Program
    Kip Tokuda Civil Liberties Program 1. Purpose: The Kip Tokuda competitive grant program supports the intent of RCW 28A.300.405 to do one or both of the following: 1) educate the public regarding the history and lessons of the World War II exclusion, removal, and detention of persons of Japanese ancestry through the development, coordination, and distribution of new educational materials and the development of curriculum materials to complement and augment resources currently available on this subject matter; and 2) develop videos, plays, presentations, speaker bureaus, and exhibitions for presentation to elementary schools, secondary schools, community colleges, and other interested parties. 2. Description of services provided: Grants were provided to the following individuals and organizations: Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community (BIJAC): BIJAC offered workshops featuring four oral history documentary films of the Japanese American WWII experience and accompanying curricula aligning with OSPI-developed Assessments for use in distance-learning lessons during the COVID- 19 pandemic, and developed online interactive activities to use with the oral history films in online workshops. Erin Shigaki: In the first phase of the grant Erin used the funds to revise the design of three wall murals about the Japanese American exclusion and detention located in what was the historic Japantown or Nihonmachi in Seattle, WA. The first and second locations are in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District in “Nihonmachi Alley” and the third location is the side of the Densho building located on Jackson Street. Erin spent time working with a fabricator regarding material options and installation. Densho (JALP): From January to June, the content staff completed articles on a range of confinement sites administered by the War Relocation Authority (WRA), the Wartime Civil Control Administration (WCCA), the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), and the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • The Chiricahua Apache from 1886-1914, 35 Am
    American Indian Law Review Volume 35 | Number 1 1-1-2010 Values in Transition: The hirC icahua Apache from 1886-1914 John W. Ragsdale Jr. Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.ou.edu/ailr Part of the Indian and Aboriginal Law Commons, Indigenous Studies Commons, Other History Commons, Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation John W. Ragsdale Jr., Values in Transition: The Chiricahua Apache from 1886-1914, 35 Am. Indian L. Rev. (2010), https://digitalcommons.law.ou.edu/ailr/vol35/iss1/9 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by University of Oklahoma College of Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in American Indian Law Review by an authorized editor of University of Oklahoma College of Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. VALUES IN TRANSITION: THE CHIRICAHUA APACHE FROM 1886-1914 John W Ragsdale, Jr.* Abstract Law confirms but seldom determines the course of a society. Values and beliefs, instead, are the true polestars, incrementally implemented by the laws, customs, and policies. The Chiricahua Apache, a tribal society of hunters, gatherers, and raiders in the mountains and deserts of the Southwest, were squeezed between the growing populations and economies of the United States and Mexico. Raiding brought response, reprisal, and ultimately confinement at the loathsome San Carlos Reservation. Though most Chiricahua submitted to the beginnings of assimilation, a number of the hardiest and least malleable did not. Periodic breakouts, wild raids through New Mexico and Arizona, and a labyrinthian, nearly impenetrable sanctuary in the Sierra Madre led the United States to an extraordinary and unprincipled overreaction.
    [Show full text]
  • EXPERIENCES of an INDIAN SCOUT PART TWO (As Told To
    Experiences Of An Indian Scout, Part Two Item Type text; Article Authors Goodwin, Grenville Publisher The University of Arizona with the cooperation of Arizona Pioneers Historical Society (Tucson, AZ) Journal Arizona Historical Review Rights This content is in the public domain. Download date 26/09/2021 05:05:44 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/623772 EXPERIENCES OF AN INDIAN SCOUT PART TWO EXCERPTS FROM THE LIFE OF JOHN ROPE, AN OLD-TIMER OF THE WHITE MOUNTAIN APACHES (as told to Grenville Goodwin) After we had stayed ‘quite a while at Fort Thomas, I asked for leave to go and see my people with my sergeant at Fort Apache. They granted it to us and let us have a mule to ride. Early in the morning I started out on foot, not bothering to eat anything but just putting on my best clothes and taking my rifle. When I got to Navajo Point, the sergeant caught up to me, riding the mule. He said, "You travel fast. I have been trying to catch up and have had a hard time." I got on the mule, and we rode double. At the subagency we stopped at the camp of an old man to try and get something to eat. The old man said, "You scouts have lots of food, I have nothing here to give you." He did not want us to stop there so we kept on, crossing the Gila River opposite Dewey Flat to a big wash where we camped for the night. We had no food with us at all.
    [Show full text]
  • United States Army Scouts: the Southwestern
    3-/71 UNITED STATES ARMY SCOUTS: THE SOUTHWESTERN EXPERIENCE, 1866-1890 THESIS Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS By Carol Conley Nance, B. A. Denton, Texas May, 1975 Nance, Carol Conley, United States Army Scouts: The Southwestern Experience, 1866-1890. Master of Arts (History), May, 1975, 156 pp., 4 maps, bibliography, 107 titles. In the post-Civil War Southwest, the United States Army utilized civilians and Indians as scouts. As the mainstay of the reconnaissance force, enlisted Indians excelled as trackers, guides, and fighters. General George Crook became the foremost advocate of this service. A little-known aspect of the era was the international controversy created by the activities of native trackers under the 1882 recipro- cal hot pursuit agreement between Mexico and the United States. Providing valuable information on Army scouts are numerous government records which include the Annual Report of the Secretary of War from 1866 to 1896 and Foreign Relations of the United States for 1883 and 1886. Memoirs, biographies, and articles in regional and national histori- cal journals supplement government documents. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF MAPS . iv Chapter I. THE SOUTHWEST: CONVENTIONAL ARMY, UNCONVENTIONAL ENEMY 17 II. ARMY SCOUTS: CIVILIANS ON THE TRAIL . 2.17 III. ARMY SCOUTS: SET AN INDIAN TO CATCH AN INDIAN ..................... - - - - 28 IV. GENERAL GEORGE CROOK: UNCONVENTIONAL SOLDIER ........................ - -0 -0 -0 .0 68 V. INDIAN SCOUTS: AN INTERNATIONAL CONTROVERSY .......... *........ .100 VI. ARMY SCOUTS: SOME OBSERVATIONS .. o. 142 BIBLIOGRAPHY, . ...........-.-.-. .148 iii LIST OF MAPS Map Following Page 1.
    [Show full text]