"We Were Recruited From the Warriors of Many Famous Nations," Cultural Preservation: U.S. Army Western Scouts, 1871-1947

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Authors Barbone, Paul Joseph

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“WE WERE RECRUITED FROM THE WARRIORS OF MANY FAMOUS NATIONS,” CULTURAL PRESERVATION: U. S. ARMY WESTERN , 1871-1947

by

Paul J. Barbone

______

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the

GRADUATE INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAM IN AMERICAN INDIAN STUDIES

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

In the Graduate College

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

2010

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STATEMENT BY AUTHOR

This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements 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 without 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 head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author.

SIGNED: Paul Joseph Barbone

APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR This thesis has been approved on the date shown below:

Roger L. Nichols May 10, 2010 Roger L. Nichols Date Professor of History and American Indian Studies

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

While this thesis began because of my interest in Apache history and culture, its completion came about because of the help and support of numerous people. First, I would like to thank my committee members. Dr. Benedict Colombi thanks for your support and encouragement. Dr. Nancy Parezo thanks for all your help during my time at AIS. Dr. Tsianina Lomawaima your insights and guidance have been greatly appreciated. Dr. Roger Nichols, you deserve special thanks for all your patience and understanding. Your advice, both scholarly and professionally, has been of great help. I hope I didn’t push you towards retirement any sooner. Behind the scenes, but not forgotten, have been Sara Heitshu from the UA library and the staff of AIS. Thank you all for your help. I must also thank my friends at Nohwike' Bagowa, the White Mountain Apache Cultural Center and at Fort Apache, Arizona. Dr. Karl Hoerig thanks for your introductions, suggestions, hospitality, and the interesting conversations on the road. Beverly Malone and J.T. thank you for sharing you stories and time with me. I hope to continue telling the scout’s story to others on your behalf. From the Ft. Huachuca Museum at Ft. Huachuca, Arizona, a special thanks to Steve Gregory. Finally, I owe a very special thanks to my fellow AIS graduate students. You have helped make learning fun, especially with our discussions on Fridays. To a very special few, AR, MG, CW, and MB, thanks for being there. I hope our friendship continues long beyond graduate school.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS...... 6

ABSTRACT...... 7

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION...... 8 Research...... 10 Thesis Organization...... 19

CHAPTER 2: APACHEANS IN THE GREATER SOUTHWEST...... 24 Ways of Life...... 27 Raiding and Warfare...... 31

CHAPTER 3: COLONIZATION...... 36 Spanish Colonization...... 36 Slave Trade...... 38 Mexican Colonization...... 40 Bounties...... 41

CHAPTER 4: AMERICAN MILITARIZATION...... 43 Federal Indian Policy...... 48 Indians and the Army...... 51 Indians as Scouts...... 54

CHAPTER 5: FT. APACHE...... 59 Camp Grant Massacre...... 62 General and the Apache Scouts...... 64

CHAPTER 6: SAN CARLOS ...... 75 Indian Police...... 79 Battle of Cibecue Creek...... 83 Campaign of 1880s...... 86

CHAPTER 7: THE END OF AN ERA...... 93 Official Uniform...... 95 General Order No. 28...... 99 The Wage Economy...... 103

CHAPTER 8: TWENTIETH CENTURY...... 112 Punitive Expedition...... 112 The Final Years at Ft. Apache...... 117 Ft. Huachuca...... 123

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TABLE OF CONTENTS – Continued

CHAPTER 9: CONCLUSION...... 137

APPENDIX A: ARIZONA MILITARY POSTS...... 143

APPENDIX B: SCOUTS ASSIGNED TO FT. APACHE & SAN CARLOS, 1873-1916...... 145

APPENDIX C: APACHE SCOUT PAYROLL ROSTER, 1917...... 146

APPENDIX D: IRB APPROVAL...... 147

APPENDIX E: IRB EXTENSION...... 148

APPENDIX F: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS...... 149

REFERENCES...... 151

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

MAPS: Map 1 Western Apache subtribal groups...... 25 Map 2 Western Apache subtribal and constituent bands...... 26 Map 3 Apacheria...... 29 Map 4 U.S. Army Posts: ...... 45 Map 5 Crook’s Mexican Campaigns...... 90

FIGURES: Fig. 1 Indian Scout Hat Cords...... 95 Fig. 2 Indian Scout Insignia, 1891...... 95 Fig. 3 Scout Flag (Revised scout insignia)...... 96 Fig. 4 General Order No. 28 Scout numbers...... 100 Fig. 5 1935 Indian Scout roster...... 130

PHOTOGRAPHS: Photo 1 General Crook and Alchesay...... 70 Photo 2 San Carlos Guardhouse, 1880...... 80 Photo 3 Clum’s San Carlos Police...... 81 Photo 4 Apache scout dressed for war...... 97 Photo 5 San Carlos Scouts, 1882...... 98 Photo 6 Apache scouts, 1890s...... 99 Photo 7 Sinew Luke Rile in 1916 scout uniform...... 110 Photo 8 Apache scout at Ft. Huachuca in costume, 1930...... 128 Photo 9 Tombstone Helldorado Parade, 1930...... 128 Photo 10 Ft. Huachuca scout camp, 1930...... 129 Photo 11 Ft. Huachuca adobe scout quarters...... 130 Photo 12 Apache scout’s retirement at Ft. Huachuca, 1947...... 135

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ABSTRACT

The Western Apache Scouts of the 1870s who assisted the Army in tracking down the that had escaped from the federal reservations in the Arizona Territory laid the foundation for what became seventy-six years of military service in the U.S. Army. Consolidated and reassigned to Ft. Huachuca, Arizona in 1922, these scouts continued to serve with distinction long after the Army needed their skills as trackers. In 1947, the final four scouts retired from United States military service, each having served for over twenty-five years. This thesis explores how these men used their military service in order to survive, serving with honor while maintaining their cultural traditions within a changing world.

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

The Western and Chiricahua Apache, historically remembered through their iconic leaders , , Alchesay, and of course Geronimo, emerged as one of the last and toughest American Indian groups to be contained by the federal government.

Faced with the consequences of American Manifest Destiny, like their Native brethren before them, these Western and Chiricahua Apache warriors became immortalized in movies, newspapers, and dime novels as bloodthirsty savages and ruthless killers. Forced onto reservations like so many other Native tribes, these warriors faded from view in the

American eye after the surrender of Geronimo. A portal into southwestern history, however, reveals a small group of men who carved their legend into the annals of

American military history. These are the Western Apache Scouts. For nearly eighty years these warriors served two unique roles: as members of an unequaled enlisted force of military scouts within the U.S. Army and as significant members of their Apache bands who helped ensure both the physical and cultural survival of their people. They served as a bridge between white society and their Apache relatives.1

1 Journalist John O’Sullivan first used the phrase “manifest destiny” supporting the annexation of in July 1845. “Annexation” The United States Democratic Review 17, Issue 085-086, (July-August 1945); 5, http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/moa-cgi?notisid=AGD1642-0017-4. (Accessed on September 17, 2008). Various media sources exploited the conflicts between the Apache and the Anglo intruders, with newspapers headlines exclaiming, “Fighting With the Apaches” New York Times, September 7, 1881; The Apaches! A Sweeping and Bloody Return Raid” Nogales Frontier, May 1, 1886, for instance. The media frenzy also included Beadle’s Dime Novels (“Buffalo Bill Stories No. 243) Buffalo Bill rescuing a friend from “evil” Apache, and publications by the local territorial legislature, “Apaches have been so constant in their depredations and destruction of life, that nearly all of the early pioneers have already fallen by their hands, and every industry and enterprise has been paralyzed.” Memorial and Affidavits Showing Outrages Perpetrated by the Apache Indians in the Territory of Arizona During the Years 1869 and 1870. Published by authority of the Legislature of the Territory of Arizona (San Francisco: Francis & Valentine, 1871), 3. The media rarely, if ever, printed the events that led to retaliation by the Apache. 9

Faced with what seemed like genocide or forced acculturation, all of the

Apachean people found themselves confined to reservations and forced to adapt their cultural ways of life. For the Western Apache men, this proved far more difficult than for the women, since colonization affected male gender roles to a greater extent. Accustomed to free reign over their vast territory, reservation life denied them access to practice their traditional activities, that of a hunter and raider, a role model, and teacher. Unable to follow traditional subsistence and economic practices, most men faced a loss of purpose within their families and communities. The rules and regulations inherent with reservation life jeopardized many of the traditions and ceremonies that had been practiced for centuries. Sacred rituals handed down from generation to generation became in danger of being lost. Reservation agents placed restrictions on healers and shamans, and boarding schools removed the children from their families, which prohibited them from learning about their culture. With permission required to leave the reservations, opportunities for the men came down to either serving in the U.S. Army or joining the reservation police.2

The Western Apache scouts parlayed their skills as warriors, trackers, and masters of their domain into seventy-six years of service in the U.S. Army, while continuing their cultural and ideological beliefs. At times respected and reviled by their Native relatives and the U. S. Army soldiers with whom they served, these men took the assimilationist hand they were offered, served on their own terms, and emerged successfully as both

Western Apache men and Army soldiers. Serving in the from 1871

2 With the army rounding up “renegade” Apache off the reservations and the general public afraid of the Apache and prone to vigilante justice, confining the Indians on the reservation helped keep the peace. 10 to 1947, these scouts faced numerous challenges: tracking their own Apache brethren, while being labeled traitors; animosity and distrust from within the Army; decades of failed federal Indian policies; racism from the territorial and state population; and ultimately, the modernization of the American military, which declared their services obsolete. Serving throughout the Territory of Arizona and in during their tenure,

Western Apache scouts performed a number of duties. During their enlistments they served as scouts, soldiers, trackers, policemen, hunters, guides, wranglers, cowboys, and public entertainers. Their final years of service found them assigned to Ft. Huachuca,

Arizona. On September 30, 1947, after serving their final quarter-century in relative obscurity, the last four warriors retired from active duty, ending seventy-six years of honorable service in the U. S. Army.3

Research

The basic story of Apache Scouts has been well documented along two parallel lines: the role these men played in tracking down and subduing the legendary Chiricahua

Apache War Chief Geronimo; and the history of their service as documented and interpreted by white Army officers, scouts, and the Indian Service agents who commanded them. Unfortunately, however, only their kin and descendants understand how the scouts themselves viewed their service—their story does not exist in the published or scholarly record. In addition, the story of these soldiers’ military service after World War I is basically unknown. This thesis attempts to better understand the decision by several generations of Western Apache men to enlist in the U. S. Army, the

3 H.B. Wharfield, Apache Indian Scouts (El Cajon, CA.: np, 1964), 103. 11 same organization that forced upon them and their families a new way of life. What has not been told to date is how these brave men embraced their Army service as a way to provide for their families and perpetuate their traditional way of life. Faced with seemingly only two options, either assimilate or perish, these unique Western Apache soldiers manipulated their new way of life in order to live in two different worlds: the world of the U.S. Army and the world of the reservation. They learned to become members of a highly regimented Anglo-American military system, while continuing to practice many of their traditional ways of life. I will examine the relationship between the

Native scouts and their Army commanders. Initially a forced association, it later evolved into a more sympathetic relationship as their service continued into the twentieth century.

The thesis will attempt to offer a more historically accurate and nuanced picture of

Western Apache scout’s service and their contributions, not only to their families and communities, but the United States as well.

The sources incorporated into this work are somewhat limited in nature, given the lack of unbiased print material associated with the topic. The main media from which I have gathered information has been scholarly and professionally published texts about the Western Apache, and the U. S. Army and its Indian scouts. This included anthropological studies and memoirs by former Army officers who served with the

Native soldiers; archival records, accessed at former and present U.S. Army forts in

Arizona; contemporary works by Native scholars and veterans; and finally, interviews conducted with two White Mountain Apache lineal descendants of these scouts. My involvement in this project began in 2005, after visits to several historical Arizona Army 12 forts that stirred my growing interest in Apache military history. I initially visited Ft.

Verde, Ft. Apache, and the museum at San Carlos. Intrigued by the scout’s numerous

Medals of Honor, yet obscure history, I began my research at some of these same forts I had visited.

For the first portion of my research I visited the museum archives at the White

Mountain Apache Cultural Center and Museum, located on the Ft. Apache Historical

Site, Ft. Apache, Arizona, and the Ft. Huachuca Historical Museum, Ft. Huachuca,

Arizona. These two museum archives contain most of the limited documentation that remains within Arizona regarding the scout’s service. Given that the scouts began their service at Ft. Apache and concluded their final enlistments at Ft. Huachuca, these two locations became integral to the project. Consequently, aside from general background information, the time period this thesis examines begins with the recruitment of the

Western Apache scouts at Ft. Apache in 1871 and concludes with their retirement at Ft.

Huachuca seventy-six years later.

During an eight-month period between July 2008 and February 2009 I did research at these archives on numerous occasions. The archives at the Ft. Apache

Cultural Center and Museum were organized to a large degree with the assistance of Lori

Davisson. Ironically, in an age of increasing technology and greater access to print materials, the Arizona-based records of military service by the Western Apache scouts remain extremely scarce. The archival paper trail of the Western Apache Scouts during their tenure at Ft. Huachuca is severely limited. Additionally, because of the ongoing reorganization of the U.S. Army during the period in question, the enlistment and 13 discharge paperwork of the scouts became scattered among various military installations, based on whichever Army fort had operational control of Arizona posts at the time. Some of the scouts had, at one time or another, personnel records stored at Ft. Bliss, Texas, The

Presidio in San Francisco, and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson. Davis-Monthan

AFB offered no tangible leads on the scout’s history, and because no research occurred for this project outside of Arizona, Ft. Bliss and The Presidio remain unchecked. This made it more difficult to ascertain as much about the daily routines of the Apache scouts during their final twenty-five years of military service as I had originally hoped.4

What primary source military data I did locate, mainly from the Ft. Huachuca archives, consisted of copies of letters describing the organizational structure of the

Indian units, orders for their transfer from Ft. Apache to Ft. Huachuca, rosters of the enlisted men and assigned officers during certain years, deactivation and separation orders for the unit, and its final members. Of a secondary nature there are descriptions of certain scouts by Ft. Huachuca post historians, numerous descriptive handwritten notes

4 Lori Davisson is a former research historian with the Arizona Historical Society, who spent years researching and documenting the White Mountain Apache. Private William Major, who retired in 1947, was discharged from service at Davis-Monthan on September 30, 1947, but his discharge papers apparently reference the Presidio of San Francisco, with a date of June 16, 1947, showing him with the rank of sergeant. This is according to written transcript of audiotape #48, by William Major, recorded at Ft. Apache on 07/19/1976. Davis-Monthan Field became Tucson Army Airfield in 1940, and Davis-Monthan Army Airfield in 1941, becoming Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in 1948, after the formation of the United States Air Force as a separate military command in 1947. There is some speculation over the loss of Ft. Huachuca records relating to the World War II era and before. It is possible some post records were destroyed because the significance of their future value was not fully understood. Some of the records may have been sifted through and sorted before being sent to Davis-Mothan Army Air Field, where they were sorted once again, with those records deemed important enough loaded onto boxcars and transported to The National Archives in Washington, D.C. Another unsubstantiated account simply refers to the fact that the Army was simply overwhelmed with combat records from the overseas theaters of operation during WW II and placed a much lower priority on the retention and archival of stateside Army training base records. Stephen Gregory (a civilian museum technician with the Department of the Army), interview by author, Ft. Huachuca Army Museum, July 25, 2008. Followed up with email correspondence on February 1, 2009. 14 from unknown sources, and various newspaper articles on the scout’s final years, including obituaries of the final group. Lori Davisson’s manuscripts provide ethnographic material on the Western Apache, as well as the history of Ft. Apache. There are also numerous newspaper clippings on the scouts and Ft. Apache. These archival resources provide names, dates, and places to help organize the narrative, as well as some personal stories to give it life.

The second phase of my research entailed the standard search of historiographic materials, monographs, journal articles and newspaper clippings regarding the relevant years of military service. Few significant historical texts regarding Native scout service remain. Those that do are generally biased in that they were written by U. S. Army officers or Indian Service agents who commanded these men during their military career.

Some of the military officers who wrote memoirs of their service with Apache scout detachments include Generals George C. Crook (1946) and Nelson A. Miles (1896), as well as numerous members of their commands during the .5 Those who commanded the Native trackers included men such as Captain John G. Bourke (1891), Lt.

Britton Davis (1929), Lt. Charles B. Gatewood (2005), and Chief of Scouts

(Thrapp, 1964). Some of the officers and men that penned memoirs of their campaigns against the Western and Chiricahua Apache, as well as other Native American tribes, came to appreciate and respect these Native men for the skills and dedication they demonstrated. Bourke especially, became a noted Western Apache ethnographer,

5 In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo ended the Mexican-American War, opening up the territory to Anglo-American expansion. In 1862, the first significant battle between the Apache and the U.S. Army occurred at , with hostilities escalating from that point onward. The period known as the Apache Wars generally refers to the 1870s and 1880s, concluding with the final surrender of Geronimo in September 1886. 15 historian and linguist. Educated at a higher level than the general population, these select

Army officers offered some of the only recorded narratives of Native service. Less significant because of its extreme family bias, but also examined, is the text about John P.

Clum, the Indian Service agent at the San Carlos Indian Reservation during the period of

Apache removal between 1874-1877, written by his son Woodworth (Clum, 1936).

Texts more specific in nature included three short historical monographs written by H.B. Wharfield (1936, 1964, 1965), who served as a 1st with the U.S.

Army’s 10th Cavalry stationed at Ft. Apache in 1918. Wharfield offers some key insights into the scout’s routines in the twentieth century, as well as describing his own interactions with some of the Western Apache scouts. Wharfield also provides valuable data regarding rank and dates of scout enlistments. A 1998 archeological study of Ft.

Huachuca, The Forgotten Soldiers: Historical and Archeological Investigations of the

Apache Scouts at Ft. Huachuca, Arizona, by Rein Vanderpot and Teresita Majewski, contains material on the living conditions of the Apache soldiers during their final years at Ft. Huachuca. Additional monographs about the San Carlos Indian Reservation

(Nickens 2008), the history of Ft. Huachuca and General John J. Pershing’s Punitive

Expedition against into Mexico (Thompson, 1934 and C. Smith, 1976) help fill in a few of the gaps regarding the Army scout’s service.

Primary source materials, in this case recollections by Western Apache scouts, or even Western Apaches in general, are scarce. Historically, the San Carlos, White

Mountain, and have been reluctant to share details of their past. Several ethnographic texts offer personal narratives from actual Army scouts who were 16 interviewed about Western Apache culture. The most important of these come from the field notes of ethnographer Grenville Goodwin, still considered the foremost ethnographer on the Western and Tonto Apache. Unfortunately, the historical archives at the Arizona State Museum in Tucson, Arizona, which house Goodwin’s collection of unpublished notes, has been closed to the public for the last two years.

Keith Basso’s edition of Western Apache Raiding & Warfare, from the notes of

Grenville Goodwin, (1971) however, contains two important narratives: “John Rope,” the full text of Grenville Goodwin’s, (1936) Experiences of an Indian Scout: Excerpts From the Life of John Rope, an “Old Timer” of the White Mountain Apaches and, “David

Longstreet,” a Western Apache who served with General George Crook. These men’s oral histories describe how their lives changed forever as a result of the army occupation of their lands, and their subsequent enlistment as Army scouts. Both of these narratives offer good examples of the scouts incorporating their traditional lifestyle within the confines of scout duty during the Apache Wars.

More generic in nature is Thomas W. Dunlay’s seminal monograph on Native

American scouts, Wolves For Blue Soldiers: Indian Scouts and Auxiliaries with the

United States Army, 1860-90 (1982). This historical text looks at the creation of Indian scouts after the Civil War and their service throughout the Western frontier until the end of the Apache Wars. Critical to Dunlay’s text is his discussion of the motivations that drove the Indian scouts to serve with the U.S. Army and the use of these men by their commanders. Chapter Ten, while devoted strictly to the Apache scouts, essentially references material by other renowned scholars such as Goodwin, Basso, and Ball. Two 17 other short “series” texts; Ron Field’s US Army Frontier Scouts, 1840-1921 (2003), part of the Elite 91 series on the history of military forces, and John Phillip Langellier’s

American Indians in the U.S. Armed Forces, 1866-1945 (2000), part of the G.I. Series 20 provide limited historical information on Western Apache scouts.

More general ethnographic knowledge on the colonization of the American

Southwest, northwestern Mexico and the various Apachean cultures and bands has been reviewed in the seminal works by renowned anthropologists such as Grenville Goodwin

(1935, 1942, 1954, 2000), Edward H. Spicer (1962), Morris E. Opler (1983), Donald E.

Worcester (1979), Angie Debo (1976), Eve Ball (1970, 1980), Richard J. Perry (1991,

1993), Dan L. Thrapp (1964, 1967, 1972, 1975), and Keith H. Basso (1971, 1983, 1986,

1996). Goodwin and Basso are distinguished experts on the Western Apache, and Opler is viewed as an authority on the Chiricahua Apache. Numerous publications by these authors are incorporated into this thesis to provide a historical and cultural picture of the

Western Apache from first contact through the scout era in the twentieth century. Ian

Record’s recent publication, Big Sycamore Stands Alone: The Western Apache, Aravaipa, and the Struggle For Place (2008), is one of the few texts that discusses the Aravaipa band of the San Carlos Apache, going into great lengths on the Camp Grant Massacre.

Other contemporary scholarly works by Native authors offer insights into historic and contemporary Western Apache life. Eva Tulane Watt’s (with assistance from K.

Basso) Don’t Let the Sun Step Over You: A White Mountain Apache Family Life, 1860-

1975 (2004), is a memoir of her and her family members, offering short revelations into their community and cultural history, an account rarely revealed in print format. Eve 18

Ball’s Indeh: An Apache Odyssey (1980) is very similar in style, offering memoirs of

Chiricahua Apache during the period. Both of these texts describe the cultural and physical changes forced upon them as a result of American colonization.

Native works pertaining to indigenous military service and the “warrior tradition” such as Tom Holm’s Strong Hearts, Wounded Souls (1996) and Al Carroll’s Medicine

Bags and Dog Tags (2008), offer insights into what military service meant to Native men in the twentieth century. In many cases motivations for service differed dramatically from the perspectives assumed by Anglo society. Finally, local publications such as The Smoke

Signal,6 offer historical background on places and events such as Ft. Apache, Ft.

Huachuca, and General Pershing’s Punitive Expedition into Mexico. Newspapers describing events of the day from the local perspective offer additional insights.

The third phase of my research involved interviews conducted over an eight- month period between July 2008 and February 2009, with two White Mountain descendants of scouts who served at Ft. Huachuca. Dr. Karl Hoerig, the Museum Director and Ft. Apache Projects Coordinator at the Nohwike’ Bagowa White Mountain Apache

Cultural Center and Museum, arranged the initial interviews, as well as an interview with a third White Mountain Apache member. Beverly Malone and J.T. were each interviewed twice. I spoke with Beverly Malone on July 25, 2008 and February 4, 2009. The interviews with J.T. occurred on July 24, 2008 and February 4, 2009. Another interview with a third scout descendant took place on 5 February 2009, but the interviewee recalled no information on the topic of the thesis. Both Beverly Malone and J.T. had numerous

6 The Smoke Signal is a local Tucson historical publication by the Tucson Corral of Westerners. 19 family members who served in the U.S. Army as Apache scouts. Both of Ms. Malone’s grandfathers, while J.T.’s great-grandfather, grandfather, father, and paternal uncle served.

The questions I asked the interviewees were approved by the University of

Arizona’s Institutional Review Board (Appendices 4-6) and pertained to their recollections of their ancestor’s service, motives for enlisting, and their feelings regarding the military service of their family members. Originally, I had anticipated interviewing more relatives of Western Apache Scouts from both the White Mountain Apache and the

San Carlos Apache Reservations. Unfortunately this proved impossible to accomplish given the limited contacts available to me, and the complexities of meeting tribal protocols for research approval on two different groups. The interviews provided some data not available in military records or anthropological and scholarly texts. The lack of primary source material from the Western Apache Scouts or their descendants makes it difficult to formulate an exact picture of the reasons behind their enlistments into the U.S.

Army. However, it is the hope of his thesis to fill in some of the gaps and answer some the questions regarding the honorable service of the Western Apache Scouts.

Thesis Organization

The format of this thesis will, for the most part, be chronological in nature. The story of the scouts evolved over their seventy-six year history of military service. From

1871 to 1947, their lives and military roles changed dramatically. After American colonization these men were recruited for combat service under General George Crook.

They enlisted and served for nearly eighty years, some reenlisting year after year, until 20 eventually the U.S. Army no longer needed their services. This paper will introduce individual Apache accounts, both by scouts and civilians, in order to present a more personal and accurate narrative of their historical service.

Chapter two introduces the Western Apache and their relationship to other

Apachean cultures and societies, members of the larger Southern Athapaskan speaking linguistic family. I discuss their ways of life as semi-nomadic hunters, gatherers, and raiders that organized into bands, laying the background for the coming disruption to their culture that occurs as a result of foreign invasion, beginning in the seventeenth century.

Chapter three describes the attempted colonization of Western Apache territory by the Spanish and later the Mexicans, revealing the violence and genocide inflicted on the

Apache through the taking of slaves and the paying of bounties for the scalps of Apache men, women, and children. The immigration of Hispanics into Apache territories between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries profoundly changed their raiding way of life and sets the stage for future colonization of their sacred homelands by the Americans following the Mexican-American War.

Chapter four provides an overview of the U.S. Army’s use of Native men as military conscripts and as a tool for enforcing Federal Indian policies. While Native

Americans had served as soldiers both for and against Anglo-Europeans since before the

Revolutionary War, after the Civil War they enlisted as official members of the U.S.

Army. Service by Plains Indians as Army scouts in the early 1860s paved the way for the

Apache a decade later. Initially, many Army officers questioned the use of Indians as 21 guides or scouts. Some outright refused to incorporate former enemies into their units, fearful of possible treachery by the Indians. Gradually, perceptive officers such as

General George Crook developed tactics based upon Native scout’s expert abilities as trackers and warriors, ultimately refining their strategies to use the Apache scouts against other Apache in order to subdue and control the increasingly violent Apache Indian population in the Southwest.

Chapter five introduces the Western Apache as U.S. Army scouts. Confined to reservations within the Arizona and Territories, military service offered some men a viable means of providing for their families, while helping to maintain their self-respect through the modification of traditional male roles. Despite the fact that warriors from the several Apache tribes had little choice but to serve as scouts, many

Western Apache men continued to serve in the Army generation after generation.

Chapter six discusses the San Carlos Indian Reservation, where White Mountain and Tonto Apache from the Ft. Apache Reservation were relocated in 1875. A shift in federal Indian policy mandated all Apache within the Arizona Territory to be confined to a single reservation at San Carlos. This ultimately led to increased tensions among the

Indian agents, the military, and the tribes themselves. It continued to fuel the so-called

Apache Wars and the increased reliance on Indian scouts to control “outbreaks” and to track down those who had escaped the reservation confines. It also introduced the tribal police as a means to assimilate and control the Native population at San Carlos. The

1870s and 1880s became a tumultuous time for the Western Apache. There was the

Camp Grant Massacre in 1871, the Battle at Cibecue Creek with Western Apache scouts 22 in 1881, and the betrayal of the Chiricahua scouts in 1886 by the federal government after the final surrender of Geronimo, to name but a few of the more well-known battles and skirmishes.7

Chapter seven addresses the remainder of the nineteenth century and the diminished roles of the Western Apache scouts in the army. The Punitive Expedition into

Mexico by General Pershing in 1916 temporarily returned them to a more active, albeit minor military role in the search for Pancho Villa. World War I bypassed the scouts and begins an era of military mechanization, which eventually relegated the few remaining

Indian scouts to service and ceremonial roles within the U.S. Army. The mechanization of the cavalry left the scouts as one of the only horse units left in the military. Planes and motorized vehicles appeared to be the way of the future.

Chapter eight describes the final chapter in Western Apache scout service.

Transferred to Ft. Huachuca in 1922, the remaining Indian trackers performed various support duties as their unit was deactivated, despite the American preparations to enter

World War II. Regardless of being full-fledged members of the U.S. Army, the Apache began to find themselves regularly performing as ceremonial personnel, marching in parades and other military ceremonies in Native regalia. In 1947, the final four Western

Apache scouts, now in their forties and fifties, retired from the U.S. Army, each man having served over twenty-five years of military service.

Chapter nine, the conclusion, finishes the story of the Western Apache scout’s service, revaluating their motives for service and repeated enlistments. For some families

7 Phillip J. Deloria, Indians in Unexpected Places (Lawrence: University Press of , 2004), 27-28.

23 this meant up to three generations of military scout service. I review the rationale for the

Army’s long relationship with the scouts, particularly, why the men chose to and were allowed to serve for so long.

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CHAPTER 2: APACHEANS IN THE GREATER SOUTHWEST

To understand how the Western Apache scouts came into being one needs to examine the late 17th century American Southwest and northwestern Mexico. This chapter will look at Apache ways of life before contact with the Spanish, Mexicans, and

Americans. Anthropologists categorize the Western Apache as one of seven Southern

Athapascan speaking tribes occupying the region. They are the Chiricahua, ,

Jicarilla, Lipan, Kiowa, and Western Apache. The Western Apache, as a social and cultural designation, cover five smaller subtribal groups: the White Mountain, San

Carlos, Cibecue, Northern Tonto, and Southern Tonto Apache. (Map 1) Each of these social units separated themselves further into smaller kinship and geographic based groups, identified in decreasing order as bands, local groups, family groups (gotáás), and individual residential units (gowaa). (Map 2) The small size of the tribal bands allowed groups to more easily defend their homelands, as well as control the extensive ecological knowledge needed to live in such a difficult environment. They could mount a decent defense if attacked, but also escape rapidly, with a rear guard ensuring the families’ safe getaway. Clan classifications, a matrilineal identifier based upon ones mother’s legendary place of origin, further complicated western culture’s understanding of Apache society.

Considered blood relatives, clan members could cross over any geographical boundaries of bands or larger units because clan membership traditionally held a higher priority than

25

Map 1. Western Apache subtribal groups. Source: Basso, Western Apache Raiding & Warfare, 8. 26

Map 2. Western Apache subtribal groups and bands. Source: Adapted from Grenville Goodwin, “The Social Divisions and Economic Life of the Western Apache,” 56. In John R. Welch and T.J. Ferguson, Cultural Affiliation Assessment of White Mountain Apache Tribal Lands, Fort Apache Indian Reservation (Historic Preservation Office, Heritage Program, Final Report, June 2005), 13. 27 territoriality within Western Apache culture. Regardless of the particular bands or groups, all of the Western Apache practiced a semi-nomadic, hunter-gatherer way of life.8

Ways of Life

The Apache, like all Native societies, viewed their sacred lands as integral to their physical survival and cultural identity. The place names they attached to their homelands recognize not only a physical location, but also reveal the history of events that transpired there. An integral combination of language and their physical landscape intertwined to help forge the social standards and well being of Ndee society.9 As a semi-nomadic people they traveled according to seasonal ecological cycles and their subsistence needs.

In order to subsist they lay claim to an enormous geographic area referred to as

Apacheria. (Map 3) This region, not geographically defined according to Western

8 Keith H. Basso, “Western Apache” Handbook of North American Indians: Southwest, Volume 10. Alfonso Ortiz, ed. (Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1983), 463. Each of the Western Apache subtribal groups was further subdivided. The White Mountain were comprised of eastern and western bands; the San Carlos broken up into Pinal, Arivaipa, San Carlos, and Apache Peaks bands; Cibecue split into Carrizo, Cibecue, and Canyon Creek bands; Northern Tonto into Mormon Lake, Fossil Creek, Bald Mountain, and Oak Creek bands; and the Southern Tonto into the Mazatal band and six other unnamed bands. Keith H. Basso, The Cibecue Apache (Holt, Rineheart and Winston, 1970; reissued Long Grove, IL.: Waveland Press, 1986), 4-5. Keith H. Basso and Morris E. Opler eds., Apachean Culture History and Ethnology. Anthropological Papers of the University of Arizona, no. 21 (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1971): 152. Basso identifies local groups as both gotáás and gota, depending on the publication. Grenville Goodwin, “The Social Divisions and Economic Life of the Western Apache.” American Anthropologist 37, no. 1, Part 1 (January-March 1935): 43, 55-57. Goodwin cites the local group as the key organizational unit of the Western Apache, the hub for social organization and government for the bands. Local groups varied in size from three dozen to over two hundred. Based upon military census records, Basso cites the mean size for a Western Apache band between 1888-1890 as 387 individuals, however, the sizes varied dramatically among bands, with the San Carlos band having 53 members and the Eastern White Mountain Apache band claiming 748 individuals. Keith H. Basso, ed., “Introduction,” Western Apache Raiding and Warfare. From the notes of Grenville Goodwin (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1971), 14. 9 John R. Welch and Ramon Riley, “Reclaiming Land and Spirit in the Western Apache Homeland.” American Indian Quarterly 25, no.1 (Winter 2001): 2. Ndee is a term the Western Apache use to describe themselves.

28 boundaries, moved over time, as outside influences affected the Native populations.

Because of the diversity of their geographic region the Western Apache faired better than other Apache cultures, such as the Chiricahua who lived further south in a less diverse, predominantly desert region. Their lands, prior to the 1870s, covered 90,000 square miles 29

Map 3. Apacheria Source: Thrapp, Conquest of Apacheria, ix.

30 and included a variety of environmental and ecological zones: from desert valleys, 2,000 feet above see level in the south, to the White Mountains in the north, peaking at over

11,000 feet. This geographic diversity helped establish the culture of these people.10

In the nineteenth century, prior to their relocation onto federal reservations, the

Ndee relied upon four major food sources: livestock and agricultural stores taken in raids or through trade, wild game, plants, and the produce raised on their own lands. It is estimated that they raised one-quarter of their food, with the remainder coming from meat and wild plants. Acquiring farming skills from their eastern Athapascan relatives, the

Navajo, the Ndee planted such staples as corn, pumpkins, beans, melons, wheat, potatoes, and sunflowers, traveling throughout their home territory according to the planting and harvesting cycles. A typical yearly migration cycle also revolved around wild plants. The spring harvesting of mescal brought families to lower elevations, with the sahuaro

(saguaro) and prickly pear, following later in mid-summer. The mesquite beans and acorns came in late summer, while piñon nuts and juniper berries, which grew at higher elevations, ripened as winter approached.11

Men hunted year round, but the principal seasons occurred during the spring, between the first planting and the summer harvest, and in the fall, when the game was at its best. While the women harvested plants and berries, the men hunted mule and whitetail deer, pronghorn sheep, elk, bear, turkey, and other small game. Hunting parties

10 Ibid. Keith H. Basso, Wisdom Sits in Places (Albuquerque, Press, 1996), 40-45. 11 Goodwin, “The Social Divisions and Economic Life of the Western Apache,” 61-62. Winfred Buskirk, The Western Apache: Living with the Land Before 1950 (Norman: University of Press, 1986), 117-18. 31 provided men an opportunity to be recognized for their individual skills and achievements and earned them respect within their local groups and bands.12

Raiding and Warfare

The additional elements of Apache subsistence came from trading and raiding. A trading network brought different Western Apache social units together with the Navajo,

Comanche, Kiowa, Southern Utes, Eastern Pueblo, and even Mexican settlers in the provinces of Sonora and . Raiding and warfare fulfilled not just subsistence survival needs, but traditional cultural male roles for the Western Apache as well. From early childhood the males prepared their bodies physically, continuously exercising and training to improve their stamina, dexterity, and strength. Young boys learned to master the sling and the bow and arrow, practicing with miniature versions as soon as they could leave camp on their own. By their early teens they were proficient in hunting quail, wood rats, rabbits, and squirrels. James Kaywaykla, a Warm Springs Apache, recalled having mock battles with members of the White Mountain and Tonto Apache as a young boy, practicing ambush and warfare techniques taught to them by their elders. Typically around the age of sixteen, Western Apache males participated in their first deer hunt and raid. A teenager’s initial raid was a significant event, a life cycle transition similar to a young woman’s puberty ceremony. A young man underwent four days of special training with his father, or closest maternal male relative, immediately prior to the mission. The

12 Goodwin, “The Social Divisions and Economic Life of the Western Apache,” 61. Buskirk, The Western Apache, 117-18. 32 young male learned the special language and taboos that separated raiding and warfare activities from everyday life.13

For the Western Apache, a distinction existed between raiding and warfare, at least prior to Hispanic and American contact. As Basso explains, raiding meant literally

“to search out enemy property,” while warfare meant, “to take death from an enemy.”14

Raiding resulted from the need for food and bounty, warfare from the need to avenge the death of a relative. When a group’s meat supply became low one of the elderly women made it known, suggesting a raid be planned. An experienced warrior typically volunteered to lead the party and those males who had successfully completed the required training were eligible to participate from within that group. The size of a party varied from five to fifteen men, remaining small so as to avoid detection. The tactics involved stealth and speed, with several men approaching an enemy herd just before dawn and silently leading away the selected livestock as quietly as possible. This smaller group then met up with the others in the party and headed for home, often forgoing sleep for a number of days in order to return home safely as quickly as possible.15

The sharing of the stolen booty generally followed matrilineal lines within the families of those men who participated. However, female non-relatives in need could sing or dance for a raider in a traditional ceremony known as literally as “enemies their

13 Eve Ball, In the Days of Victorio: Recollections of a Warm Springs Apache. Narrator, James Kaywaykla (2003., 10th printing. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1970), 158. James F. Brooks, Captives and Cousins: Slavery, Kinship, and Community in the Southwest Borderland (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002), 363. Buskirk. The Western Apache: Living with the Land Before 1950, 117-118, 288-289. 14 Basso, “Introduction,” Western Apache Raiding and Warfare, 16. 15 Ibid., 16-17. 33 property dance” (inda ke?ho?ndi), and receive one animal for their efforts.16 This custom helped ensure that those members in need had access to recovered plunder. Missions varied, according to the needs of the particular Apache groups. The Western Apache, located further north, where game was more prevalent, probably raided less frequently for food than their Chiricahua relatives further south. The White Mountain Apache generally chose to operate mostly in Sonora, while their neighbors, the Cibecue and San Carlos

Apache, elected to steal from the Tohono O’odham and Akimel O’odham, Maricopa, and

Hispanic settlements closer to home. Different needs and circumstances dictated raiding strategies.17

Palmer Valor, a White Mountain Apache, recalled being on raiding parties that traveled a short distance to the northeast, in search of Navajo sheep and horses, as well as striking out for several weeks into Sonora, traveling as far south as the Gulf of Mexico.

The trading network within the region and the scouting done within the bands and local groups presumably provided some intelligence regarding raiding opportunities. Different groups also had established preferences based upon their familiarity of the area and the resources available for plunder, however, they did not raid against their trading partners.18

As fairly opportunistic raiders, the Western and Chiricahua Apaches might come across unforeseen opportunities and make off with unanticipated plunder. Conversely,

16 Basso, “The Victory Celebration,” Western Apache Raiding and Warfare, 281. 17 Ian W. Record, Big Sycamore Stands Alone: The Western Apaches, Aravaipa, and the Struggle for Place. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008), 228. The Papago and Pima Indians later changed their names to the Tohono O’odham and Akimel O’odham, respectively. 18 Basso, “Palmer Valor,” Western Apache Raiding and Warfare, 43. 34 they had no qualms about abandoning raids or attacks if the conditions posed too great a threat. During the intense warfare period of the 1870s-1880s, this strategy proved invaluable in eluding the U. S. Army. Regardless of the situation, there were risks involved and men often died on the raids. When this occurred Ndee culture mandated a war party be organized to avenge the deaths of the fallen, with the slain warrior’s maternal kinsmen responsible for settling the score.19

The Western Apache clan system came into play whenever larger bodies of warriors were needed for a war party. Because the clan network spread outside of the local groups, clan chiefs recruited members from throughout their band territory by sending out messengers to other local groups. Clan ties, stronger than that of local groups, ensured that enough volunteers could be organized for battle. A single commander, assisted by at least one shaman, led the war parties, which grew to as many as two hundred warriors when circumstances permitted. Before leaving their camps for battle the warriors engaged in traditional sweat baths and the war dance ceremony, a ritual that involved the entire community. The ritual, comprised of four phases and lasting two days, allowed the accomplished warriors to demonstrate how they intended to fight the enemy, recalling past experiences and rousing their fellow members to bravery and success. Upon returning victoriously, more celebrations and cleansing ceremonies took place, with adult captives being offered to the female relatives that had lost a loved one, thus avenging their death. Ritual such as this began to occur more regularly as

19 Ibid., 16-18. 35 colonization attempts began with the arrival of the Spanish to the region in the sixteenth century.20

20 Ibid., 17-18, “War Dance,” 246-252. 36

CHAPTER 3: COLONIZATION

Spanish Colonization

The Spanish arrival in New Spain in the early 1500s opened an era that had serious consequences for the indigenous population of Sonora, Chihuahua, and the future

American Southwest. The Europeans entered the region at about the same time as the theoretical southern migration of the Apachean people.21 The introduction of the gun and livestock, mainly sheep, cattle, and the horse, helped cement the Western and Chiricahua

Apache role of “raider” permanently in Native and non-Native cultures. The horse provided both a source of plunder and a means to extend raiding lifestyles over hundreds of miles of New Spain. This activity soon developed a historically negative connotation due to the violence that accompanied the Spanish invasion; the Spanish slave raids and the increased militarization of the region.22

Western Apache raiding increased dramatically following the Spanish migration into northern Mexico and (which included what is now Arizona).

Initially, the Indians viewed raiding as strictly a means of subsistence. They never intended to kill or evict their victims from their lands, but merely to resupply their

21 Like many Native peoples, the Apache do not believe they migrated from some other place to ultimately arrive at their ancestral lands. Categorized as southern Athapascan, it is believed by western scientists and scholars that the Apachean people migrated thousands of miles south to occupy the American southwest. The Apache, however, believe they were among the first people to inhabit the Earth, emerging from below the Earth’s surface to inhabit their sacred lands. All of the Apache creation stories are similar; with certain parts of the Apache creation stories being considered sacred and not generally shared. Greenville Goodwin, Myths and Tales of the White Mountain Apache (New York: American Folk-Lore Society; J.J. Augustine, 1939), is a very definitive text on the subject. 22 The tribes of the southwest obtained horses after the arrival of the Spanish to the region. When exactly the Apache acquired equestrian skills is unclear, speculation is sometime in the late seventeenth, early eighteenth century. Donald E. Worcester, The Apaches: Eagles of the Southwest (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1979), 10-11. Edward H. Spicer, Cycles of Conquest (11th ed. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1997), 229-238. 37 communities in time of need. In order for the subsistence relationship to exist it was imperative that the raider’s victims remained in the region. For the Western Apache and other Native groups, the concepts of free-roaming wild game, free-grazing farm animals, or corralled livestock owned by someone else held little distinction. They practiced guerilla warfare, incorporating their unparalleled knowledge of the terrain with stealth tactics in order to reconnoiter the settlers and make off with their goods, preferring to escape without any bloodshed before most of their people became aware they had been robbed. As previously stated, the success of the raiding parties depended on stealth and surprise. Raiding parties refused to engage the Spanish with traditional European military battle tactics, preferring to retreat if the circumstances became too dangerous. Given the smaller organizational size of the Apache bands, the loss of an Apache male had a more negative impact on a community than on larger Native groups or European communities.

As the numbers of Spanish increased in New Spain, however, the tactics of both the Spanish and the Western Apache changed. The invaders established rancherías and presidios in Sonora and Chihuahua, which offered better defenses and locations with which to respond militarily against Apachean raids. Raiding became more widespread and more dangerous. The practice of taking captives for trade or slavery increased the stakes, as the violence escalated among the Spanish and the Native populations. This trend continued to increase over the next quarter millennia.23

23 Basso, “Western Apache,” 476, Basso, “Preparations and Conduct,” Western Apache Raiding and Warfare, 256. Raiding parties were traditionally smaller than those gathered for war, ranging in size from 8-15 men. Also, given the semi-migratory aspect of Apache community groups, such as bands and local groups, they were generally much smaller than established rancherías or Anglo communities. Basso, The Cibecue Apache, 5. In later years, as raiding became the sole means of sustenance for some groups, the raiding parties became larger so they could bring back more livestock. Worcester, 8-9. Angie Debo, 38

Slave Trade

The Spanish practice of Indian slavery for use in mines in Mexico brought at least two responses from the southwestern tribes. For those primarily sedentary communities such as the Pueblo and the rancheria groups, the Spanish practices of taking captives and using torture and mutilation as public demonstrations of punishment led to outward submission by Natives and began acculturation into the Spanish political and social environment. The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, incited mainly in protest to the Spanish prohibition of Pueblo religious practices, also revolved around Spanish slavery practices, specifically a case involving groups that had been guaranteed safe passage, only to be taken hostage and placed into bondage, just days prior to the revolt.24

For those tribes who had incorporated the horse into their way of life and were more mobile, such as the Apache, Navajo, and Southern Utes, Spanish violence and the taking of prisoners for slave labor resulted in Native retaliation. Within two hundred years an extensive slave-trading network covered the Southwest, ranging from Sonora and Chihuahua in the south, north into California, Arizona, , , Texas, and

New Mexico. No longer was the focus of raiding merely to obtain livestock and provisions. Now being raided on themselves, the Western Apache began taking prisoners,

Geronimo: The Man, His Time, His Place (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1976), 28. General George C. Crook, “Annual Report to the Secretary of War,” 1883, 11-12, in Dan L. Thrapp, General Crook and the Sierra Madre Adventure (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1972), 130-131. Spicer, 12-14, 243, 374. The Spanish adopted the concept of the ranchería from the indigenous tribes of the region that had fixed settlements. These settlements comprised homes spread widely apart, with the owners sometimes moving from one location to another during the growing cycles each year. These included the Piman, Opatans, Cahitans, and Tarahumaras, to name a few. 24 Brooks, 52. The first demand of the Pueblo after their siege of Santa Fe in August 1680, called for the surrender of Francisco Javier, the local secretary of government and war, who was responsible for the capture of the Apache, giving away some as gifts to his friends and taking the rest south to sell as slaves in Parral, Chihuahua. The Plains Apache referred to are most likely Kiowa-Apache. 39 adapting their raiding strategy in attempts to preserve their own population and increase their supply of captives to be sold or traded. For the Indians, women and children became the preferred prisoner, based on the assumption they could be more easily assimilated into their local bands. The Spanish, however, forced many captured Natives into a different kind of slavery; characteristically using the men in the mines, the women as domestic servants, and the children as commodities for sale, both within New Spain, the rest of Mexico, and the Caribbean.25

In 1786, as a result of increased Apache raiding (by the Lipan, Mescalero,

Chiricahua, Western, and Kiowa Apache groups), the Spanish adopted a new Indian policy. The government offered peace treaties to individual bands, warning of increased military pressure, however, if they refused. The intent was to coerce each individual

Apache group to relocate within the immediate vicinity of an established presidio. There they received free rations of food, cheap firearms, and liquor. It was hoped this policy would force all the Apache to become entirely dependent on the Spanish, thus curtailing their raiding, while at the same time introducing Spanish political and Christian practices

25 Ibid., 327-328. New Mexico’s first territorial governor, James Calhoun, reported to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1850, that, “trading in captives has been so long tolerated in this Territory that it has ceased to be regarded as wrong; and purchasers are not prepared willingly to release captives without adequate ransom . . .” Letter dated to Commissioner on March 31, 1850. Ned Blackhawk, Violence Over the Land: Indians and Empires in the Early American West. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press, 2006), 1-9. Spicer states the Spanish mines in Sonora and Chihuahua in the late 1600s employed slaves from all of the Sonoran tribes except the Seris and Apache, 305. Worcester, 23-27. Under the encomienda labor system the Spanish viewed Native labor as a by-product of occupation. While it was outlawed in the early 1700s, the Spanish continued to use Native labor to operate their mining interests in New Spain, circumventing the laws by offering the promise of wage labor. It does not appear that Apache captives were generally sent to work in the mines, possibly because of the threat of escape and their close proximity to Apache lands. Worcester cites the Spanish transported their Apache prisoners to Mexico City, to be sold as slaves to affluent families, or later, to labor on the fortresses at Veracruz and Havana. The Spanish eventually quit taking grown male captives, due to their frequency of escape. The Apache traded their captives as bounty or assimilated them into their bands and local family units like many other Native tribes. 40 as a means of acculturation. Given the social organization of the Western Apache, where loyalty revolved first and foremost at the smaller local level and with clans, this strategy proved somewhat effective. Local groups and bands began to negotiate truces with specific individual communities, maintaining trade and peaceful relations with some, but not with others. This relationship made acculturation by some Apache groups into local

Spanish presidios an easier alternative than that of war.26

One example of the effectiveness of this Spanish strategy became known as the

Apache Mansos, or “tame” Apache, who settled near the presidio at San Xavier, outside

Tucson. This new Spanish policy brought some success in reducing the raids, reportedly enlisting the use of these friendly Manso to scout and fight against other Apache and

Yavapai bands who rejected colonization, a strategy the U.S. Army adopted some eighty years later. While the White Mountain Apache did not participate in this strategy at the time, it became clear that some Apache would scout against their fellow bands given certain circumstances. While this strategy provided some local relief from Spanish-

Apache violence, Spanish policy soon came to an end.27

Mexican Colonization

With Mexico’s independence from Spain in 1821, a new Mexican policy of colonization emerged, one similar to the later American policies of removal or extermination. Without the financial support of Spain, Mexico could no longer subsidize

26 Worcester, 18-23. Dan L. Thrapp. The Conquest of Apacheria (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1967), 7. Spicer, 239-240. 27 Worcester, 25-33. Basso, Western Apache Raiding and Warfare, 12, en. 6, p.315. Spicer, 239- 241. Goodwin, “The Social Divisions and Economic Life of the Western Apache,” 55. The identity of which Apache people become Manso is not made clear. 41 the Apache groups that had abandoned the practice of raiding and now lived near the presidios. The lack of funds also limited the militarization of Sonora and Chihuahua. It left Mexican troop numbers insufficient to either provide security for settlers and sedentary Native communities or curtail Apache raiding. The resulting escalation of attacks by the Apache at this time proved destructive for both Natives and non-Natives.

Profitable raids, both for provisions and slaves brought about more frequent and deeper

Chiricahua, Lipan, and Western Apache excursions into Mexico, forcing the provincial governments to look for new strategies to prevent Indian pillaging.28

Bounties

In 1835, Sonoran officials began offering a bounty of one hundred pesos for each Apache scalp in efforts to eliminate the Indians and end the increasing Native raids. Two years later, Chihuahua officials offered a bounty of one hundred pesos for a warrior’s scalp, fifty for a woman’s, and twenty-five for a child’s. The scalp bounty lasted several years, but proved so successful that the Mexican government quickly found themselves unable to afford the ever-increasing bounties as depredations against not just the Apache, but all local tribes swelled. Increased violence as a result of the scalp bounties greatly amplified all Apache hatred of Mexicans. As the hostilities increased among the Indians and the

Hispanics, the Mexican provinces of northern Sonora and Chihuahua became largely uninhabitable. Thousands of Mexican settlers were killed, not to mention unknown

28 Richard Perry, Western Apache Heritage: People of the Mountain Corridor (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1991),174. 42 numbers of Apache and other local Indians.29 The Chiricahua Apache’s close proximity to Mexico led to their ever increasing need to subsist largely just by raiding. When it became too dangerous to stay in one place and practice what limited agriculture they traditionally relied upon, they began raiding deeper into Sonora and Chihuahua. No longer able to establish semi-permanent camps for defensive reasons, the Chiricahua groups moved more often, necessitating the plunder of supplies in order to survive. As the violence against all the Apache increased, the normal patterns of migration for food became interrupted. The loss in male warriors and the constant threat of Mexican retaliation forced the Indians to change their traditional ways of subsistence. While

Chiricahua attacks against the Maricopa, Akimel O’odham, and Tohono O’odham

Indians located just south and west of the Western Apache homeland provided some relief, continuing raids into Mexico proved far more productive. While the Chiricahua earned reputation as the most violent of the Apache, their repute quickly became associated with all Apache, regardless of their group or band. It was this savage reputation that preceded the American occupation of the Apache lands with the culmination of the Mexican-American War and renewed United States expansion.30

29 Spicer, 240-241. Worcester, 38-40. Thrapp, 8-9. Brian DeLay, War of a Thousand Deserts: Indian Raids and the U.S.—Mexican War (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008), 159-161. Spicer cites the bounty for Apache warriors as one hundred dollars, culminating in 1836. Worcester uses pesos, referencing the scalp bounty continuing through 1841. Dan Thrapp gives no date beyond the inception of the program, but explains that one peso at the time was roughly the equivalent of one dollar. DeLay references the national government in Mexico City calling for a halt on Chihuahua’s state authorized bounties, but the policy proved to popular and remained in effect, with the national government simply pretending it did not exist. Americans, such as James “Santiago” Kirker and John James Johnson, became highly successful bounty hunters, murdering hundreds of Apache. 30 Basso “Western Apache,” Table 1, 466, and The Cibecue Apache, 3-4. 43

CHAPTER 4: AMERICAN MILITARIZATION

In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo concluded the war between Mexico and the United States and opened the Southwest to Anglo expansion, ushering in a series of major changes that affected the Western Apache way of life. The indigenous tribes of the region now faced a new colonizer, one that fully intended to occupy its newly acquired

Native lands. In the process of American occupation and attempts at Native assimilation, the U.S. Army became an integral player in the colonization of the territory. Over the next forty years the region’s indigenous people experienced different levels of occupation and violence, while they reconciled their places within the expanding United States. For some tribes, the process proved less violent than for others. For the Western Apache the transition proved especially difficult and found Apache pitted against Apache.31

The 1849 discovery of gold in California, and the addition of more lands along the southern border four years later as a result of the Gadsden Purchase, helped make

Native homelands a thoroughfare for the tens of thousands seeking profit and adventure in California. In 1849, to provide security over this vast new region, the U.S. Army established Camp Calhoun in the southwestern corner of the territory, near the confluences of the Gila and . That post secured the western flank of the

Butterfield Overland Mail Route as it entered California. Ft. Defiance followed in 1851, located in the northeast corner of what is now Arizona to provide a base for military operations against the Navajo. Once the final boundaries of the Gadsden Purchase went

31 Krystanya M. Libura, Luis Gerardo Morales Moreno, Jesús Velasco Márquez, Echoes of the Mexican-American War (Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2004), 155.The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo ceded to the United States over two and a half million square kilometers, nearly a million square miles, encompassing what became parts of California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. 44 into effect in 1856, the militarization of the Apache homelands within New Mexico

Territory (which included what is now the states of Arizona and New Mexico) began in earnest. During the next twenty-four years, the Army established forty military outposts

(Appendix A and Map 4) within Arizona in order to maintain a federal military presence and limit further Indian raids across the border into Mexico, as directed in Article XI of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo.32

For the Western Apache, incorporation into the United States as part of the newly created New Mexico Territory greatly curtailed their traditional way of life. Up to that point they had been secure in their homeland and free to cross into Sonora and Chihuahua to raid whenever they needed. (Map 3) The Spanish and Mexican migrations that had begun in the sixteenth century failed to establish any permanent outposts or commercial operations within the Apache homelands that are later defined as part of the U.S. Located as far north as they were, the Western Apache escaped colonization from Spain and

Mexico. While their isolated location outside of the railroad and stage lanes did not prevent them from avoiding American colonization, they did manage to become one of

32 The Gadsden Purchase in 1853 ceded the southern portion of the Arizona Territory from Yuma into New Mexico, including portions of the Western Apache lands in and around Tucson and eastward to Sierra Vista (Ft. Huachuca). Ray Brandes, Frontier Military Posts of Arizona (Globe, AZ.: Dale Stuart King, 1960), vii, 29. Douglas C. McChristian, , Arizona: Combat Post of the Southwest, 1858- 1894 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2005), 14. Cornelius C. Smith Jr., : The Story of a Frontier Post. (Sierra Vista, AZ.: Fort Huachuca, 1977), ix, 9.Camp Calhoun was relocated from the east bank of the Colorado River to the west bank in 1851, which placed it within the boundaries of California. It was renamed Camp Yuma, followed later by Ft. Yuma. Some sources list the historic post in Arizona, some in California. Later posts appeared due to the Civil War, but all posts played a role in the control of the Native population. The U.S. Army established forty-six military outposts in Arizona between 1849 and 1886. Prior to General Order 79, created in 1878, military sites were identified as forts, camps, posts, barracks, presidios, etc. Subsequently, the term “fort” became the preferred designator for future military sites.

45 the last Southwestern Native groups to experience Anglo-American occupation of their homelands.

Map 4. U.S. Army Posts: Arizona Territory. Source: Robert Walker Frazier, Forts of the West: Military Forts and Presidios, and Posts Commonly Called Forts, West of the Mississippi River to 1898 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1972), 5.

46

While the United States claimed title to its newfound lands in the Southwest, it failed to meet one of the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, that of preventing the

Indian raiding expeditions into Mexico. Consequently, the Apache continued raiding across the new border, inciting retaliation by both the Mexican Army and the civilian population. In 1850, members of the Warm Springs Apache band entered Ramos,

Chihuahua under the guise of being invited to a celebration by the local population. Once the Indians became intoxicated, civilians and soldiers murdered them all. This brought about reprisals in the form of war parties by the Warm Springs Apache. While bounties for Apache scalps reportedly peaked during this period, the practice undoubtedly continued in Mexico for a period of time after that, as raids across the border did not end for several more decades.33

That same year another example of the violent retribution being waged against the

Apache groups venturing into Mexico occurred. It proved to have significant ramifications on their freedom of movement in the years to come. A group of Chiricahua

Apache entered Chihuahua to trade at the town of Janos, leaving their women and children at a seemingly secure location outside of town. While the men traded, a force of

Mexican troops from Sonora, under the command of General Carrasco, attacked the encampment killing approximately two-dozen and taking many more as captives to be sold later as slaves. Among those killed were Geronimo’s mother, wife, and two children.

Their deaths forever solidified Geronimo’s hatred of Mexicans, a hatred that resulted in

33 Michael L. Tate, Apache Scouts, Police, and Judges as Agents of Acculturation, 1865-1920. (PhD diss., University of Toledo, 1974), 18-19. Peter Aleshire, Reaping the Whirlwind: The Apache Wars (New York: Facts on File, 1998), 15. Aleshire states the scalp trade peaked between 1949-1850. 47 violence on both sides of the border in the years to come and helped reaffirm the reputation of the all Apache as bloodthirsty killers. Violence across the border continued to take its toll on the raiding Western, Tonto, Chiricahua, and Lipan Apache, as their numbers declined. In addition, their world became increasing smaller as the U.S. Army infiltrated the American Apacheria. This period transformed raiding into a more violent

34 activity, much more similar to warfare as the bands simply tried to survive.

The 1860s ushered in a new period in U.S.-Indian relations within the territory.

The events at Apache Pass during the winter of 1860-61, involving Second Lieutenant

George Nicholas Bascom and the Chiricahua chief Cochise, served as a precursor for the final subjugation of the Apache by the U.S. Army over the next quarter century. The advent of the Civil War, the formation of Arizona as its own territory in February 1863, and the discovery of gold and silver throughout the region, brought about the rapid militarization of the region, with twenty-eight military outposts or forts being erected in

Arizona during the decade (Appendix A).35

When the federal government recalled most of its troops within the territory back east to fight in the Civil War, the Apache viewed this as a victory. They had seemingly forced the white soldiers out of their homeland. Unfortunately, as the Western and

Chiricahua Apache bands increased their raiding and casualties mounted, new enemies

34 Dates of these incidents can vary with the sources. According to Geronimo, his family died in 1858. This is generally discounted, but the exact dates and even the locations of events cannot always be confirmed. Betzinez recalled hearing Geronimo’s family was killed outside Ramos, but this is also refuted. Debo, 34-35. Jason Betzinez. I Fought With Geronimo. Wilbur Sturtevant Nye, ed. (Harrisburg, PA.: Stackpole Books, 1959), 1-9. Geronimo and S.M. Barrett, Geronimo: His Own Story. (1906; repr., New York: Meridian, 1996), 75-77. Tate. Apache Scouts, Police, and Judges as Agents of Acculturation, 18-19. 35 Basso, The Cibecue Apache, 15-18. McChristian, Ch. 1. Spicer, 247. In February 1863, the Territory of New Mexico Territory is divided into two different territories: New Mexico and Arizona. In February 1912, Arizona finally achieves statehood. 48 appeared. With the regular Army troops gone, Native raids increased throughout the southern half of the territory. Consequently, in July 1962, to quell the increasing violence and provide protection for the civilian population, the federal government transferred a brigade of California volunteers, led by Brigadier General James H. Carleton, into the territory. Carleton’s use of Natives that had been traditional enemies of the Western

Apache permanently changed their ability to raid, wage war, and escape the Army’s reach with relative impunity. Along with this increased military presence came a shift in federal Indian policy, one that profoundly affected the peace within the region.36

Federal Indian Policy

As the United States grew as a nation it continued to redefine its Indian policy in attempts to meet the growing problems associated with colonizing the indigenous populations within its ever-increasing domain. When the Western Apache found themselves living under American authority in the 1850s they initially faced a policy determined to annihilate them as a people, much like that adopted by the Spanish and the

Mexicans earlier. Unlike the eastern tribes in the 1830-1850s, who found themselves forced from their traditional lands in order to provide for America’s expansion westward, the Indians of the Southwest faced a somewhat different predicament. Removal of indigenous populations westward to uninhabited locales no longer applied. As a result, many of the Arizona tribes managed to remain on, or in close proximity to, their traditional homelands, despite numerous attempts to relocate them to Indian Territory.

36 McChristian, Ch. 1. Spicer, 247. Peter Cozzens, ed., Eyewitness to the Apache Wars, 1865- 1890: The Struggle for Apacheria. Vol. 1 (Mechanicsburg, PA.: Stackpole Books, 2001), xviii.

49

While in the long run this allowed many Native people to retain much of their cultural identity, it did not protect them from the brutality they faced at the hands of the growing non-Native population and the policies adopted to deal with them.37

With federal troops in limited supply due to the Civil War, western territories came to rely on local militias and volunteer recruits. In 1866, this manifested itself in the form of the 1st Arizona Volunteer Infantry, a force created strictly to hunt down and kill

Apache. Replacing the California Volunteers, which had been transferred into the territory to replace those troops recalled back to fight in the east, the new volunteers formed into five companies. Comprised almost entirely of Mexicans, and Maricopa and

Akimel O’odham Indians, the same people the Ndee had raided, these volunteers hunted, killed and scalped, receiving bonuses in the form of tobacco for every Apache they killed.

The Akimel O’odham gained notoriety during this period for mutilating the heads of the

Indians they killed, a practice foreign to the Western Apache. In retaliation, however, some of the Apache adopted similar practices as the violence around them increased.38

More and more, the violence generated toward the Chiricahua, Western Apache, and occurred away from established communities and the associated authorities.

Armed forces sought out the Indians, hoping to destroy their camps and foodstuffs. It

37 In 1830, with the ascendency of Andrew Jackson to the presidency, a policy of Indian removal began, forcibly relocating the Native population from the east, further and further to the west to meet the needs of colonial expansion as warranted by Manifest Destiny. This policy continued until the 1850s, when it became evident the United States eventually would encompass the entire continent, coast to coast, and the need for acquiring more Indian lands became apparent. For a brief description of the federal Indian policies and federal Indian law see William C. Canby, Jr., American Indian Law in a Nutshell (4th ed. St. Paul: West, 1998). 38 Thrapp, The Conquest of Apacheria, 27, 33-35. Similarly, civilians raised hunting parties, when time permitted, to wage war on the Apache. One of the most notable figures in Arizona history is King S. Woolsey. One of his tactics was to lace pinole (corn flour) with the poison strychnine and gave it to the Indians. 50 manifested itself in localized Indian wars involving the U.S. Army and massacres perpetrated by Anglo-Americans, , Indians, and various local militias. Ranging from Montana to Arizona, the atrocities committed against the Native populations by the various armed groups during the 1860s-1870s perpetuated the cycle of violence that defined the Western frontier.

For the Apachean people, two tragic events became part of their colonized history. In January 1864, over 200 Navajo perished during the “Long Walk,” their forced march relocation away from their traditional homeland to their imprisonment at Ft.

Sumner. Then on April 30, 1871, citizens from Tucson, Arizona, along with a force of

Tohono O’odham Indians, attacked a peaceful Apache encampment near Camp Grant,

Arizona, murdering over 100 women and children. The Camp Grant massacre resulted in two significant actions on the part of the War Department, actions that significantly altered the traditional Western Apache way of life.39

First, in May 1871, Brevet General George Crook replaced Brevet Major General

George Stoneman as acting commander of the Department of Arizona. Secondly, War

Department policy changed, authorizing the creation of Indian reservations within the territory to contain the Indians and protect them from the local population, as well as to

39 Blackhawk, 213. Robert M. Utley and Wilcomb E. Washburn, Indian Wars (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987), 194-195, 207, 217. Some examples include the following, with different sources citing different casualties: January 29, 1863- Over 225-300 Shoshone Indians are killed in a surprise attack on their camp along the Bear River, SE of Ft. Hall in Washington Territory (Idaho). November 29, 1864- The Colorado Territorial Militia murders 200 to over 300 Cheyenne and Arapaho camped at Sand Creek, Colorado near Ft. Lyons. January 23, 1870- the U.S. Army attacked the camp of Piegan, part of the Blackfoot Confederacy, along the Marias River in Montana, killing nearly 200. Record, 230-245. Fairfax Downey and Jacques Noel Jacobsen, Jr., The Red/Bluecoats: The Indian Scouts U.S. Army. (Ft. Collins: Old Army Press, 1973), 39. In a premeditated strategy, many attacks during this period occurred in winter, when the Indians typically remained close to camp in order to keep warm. Their horses were also weaker due to the scant grazing offered close to the camps. 51 claim and open Indian lands for settlement. For all of the Cibecue, White Mountain,

Tonto, and San Carlos Indians, this meant confinement on one of two reservations within their territory, either Ft. Apache or San Carlos. The local Indian Wars of the 1870-1880s resulted, to a large degree, from the federal policy of forcing the Apache bands onto these reservations, particularly the mandated confinement of all of these local tribes to the San

Carlos Indian reservation. This included the Chiricahua Apache and Yavapai bands as well.40

The continued escalation of violence within the western territories in the latter half of the nineteenth century, along with the shortage of Army personnel after the Civil

War, led the War Department to explore the possibility of using Indians as tools in the subjugation of resistant bands of Natives throughout the West. Rather than confine the angry young warriors on reservations with no outlet to occupy their time, the War

Department examined the idea of using conquered tribal members as Army scouts against their fellow tribesman and lifelong enemies.41

Indians and the Army

40 Martin F. Schmitt, ed., General George Crook: His Autobiography (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1946), 160-162. The award of Brevet rank was very common in the U.S. Army until the end of the 19th century. It was essentially an honorary title, given for gallantry or until a position for that rank became available. James B. Fry. History and the Legal Effect of Brevets in the Armies of Great Britain and the United States from Their origin in 1692 to the Present Time (New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1877), 9-13. http://books.google.com/books?id=gDIAAAAIAAJ&pg=PP7&vq=brevet+rank&source=gbs_selected_pag es&cad=4#v=onepage&q=brevet%20rank&f=false (accessed March 17, 2010). The other members of the Western Apache, the northern and southern Tonto Apache, were confined within their homelands on a reservation near Camp Verde. Beginning in 1874, the Office of Indian Affairs ordered all Arizona Apache to be confined at San Carlos. By 1877, there were over 5,000 Apache and Yavapai confined at San Carlos. The conditions became intolerable and Apache of all tribes routinely left the reservation to raid and wage war. Paul and Kathleen Nickens. Images of America: Old San Carlos Arizona Historical Foundation (Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, 2008), 8. 41 McChristian, Ch. 1. Spicer, 247. 52

The move to include American Indians as members of the U.S. Army coincided with the conclusion of the Civil War. While Native Americans had often served as scouts and soldiers for Europeans beginning soon after first contact, it was not until 1866 that the enlistment of Indians as military personnel became official. Historically, the federal government and the Anglo-American population considered the indigenous population inferior when compared to the colonizing Europeans. Despite this, the U.S. government habitually recruited Natives to fight in its wars, beginning with the Revolutionary War.

In 1775, the Continental Congress recruited Mohican warriors from Stockbridge,

Massachusetts to serve in newly formed colonial companies. The Pequot, despite being nearly exterminated by the English colonists in 1637, fought against the British as well, along with members of the Oneida, a member of the Iroquois Confederacy. Various other

Native tribes participated during the Revolution, forced to choose between the English and the colonists in order to maintain necessary trade relations and preserve the peace.

The War of 1812 brought more Native participation, both allied with, and against the

English. In March of 1814, General Andrew Jackson led a force of Cherokee, Choctaw, and loyalist members of the Creek Nation, against the rebellious Creek “Red Stick” coalition, defeating them at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Jackson later fought the

English in New Orleans with many of these same Native forces. Native service continued during the Civil War, where over 20,000 Native Americans participated in the fighting, serving both the North and the South.42

42 Ron Field, US Army Frontier Scouts, 1840-1921. Elite 91; Illustrated by Richard Hook. (Reprint 2003; Oxford, Great Britain: Osprey, 2003), 14. General George Washington recruited Native warriors, stating they made “excellent use as scouts and light troops.” Narragansett and Mohican forces 53

At the conclusion of the Civil War, both the War Department and the indigenous tribes located west of the Mississippi River faced perhaps their greatest challenge, that of reorganization and survival, respectively. The United States Army returned to protecting a migrating citizenry over an immense geographic region. Purchases and treaties had introduced nine new territories in the 1860s. Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah,

Idaho, , Montana, Washington, and Dakota now vied for federal protection from threatening Native tribes being encroached upon. With the conclusion of the Civil

War, Congress began the debate over the required size of a peacetime military. On July

28, 1866, Congress authorized a standing army of fifty thousand men.

In March 1869, Congress began cutting troop levels by curtailing all appointments and promotions in order to reduce the number of infantry regiments from forty-five to twenty-five. More cuts followed in 1870, reducing the officer corps from 3,036 to 2,277; and the enlisted cadre from 61,605 to 35,000, and then 30,000. Reductions continued, and by June 16, 1874, Congress had reduced the U.S. Army to only 2,161 officers and 25,000 enlisted men, despite the fact that it now had to patrol a nation that had more than doubled in size. In addition, post Civil War troop numbers remained typically below

recruited by the colonists of the Massachusetts Bay Colony attacked the Pequot, allying with the English colonists against their indigenous neighbors. As the Native population lost their traditional way of life and became reliant on Europeans for subsistence goods they were forced to make difficult choices and alliances. Twenty-four years later, in 1838, these same loyal Cherokee experienced the forced relocation of their people from their ancestral lands east of the Mississippi, in Georgia, Alabama, and North Carolina, to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) on the infamous Trail of Tears. Approximately 4,000 Cherokee perished on the journey. This removal occurred as a direct result of President Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act, enacted soon after his inauguration. Cherokee Confederate General Stan Watie, the last Confederate general to surrender during the Civil War, remains the only Native American to ever obtain the military rank of general. John Phillip Langellier, American Indians in the U.S. Armed Forces, 1866-1945. The G.I. Series 20. (Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2000), 5-6. 54 authorized levels given the high rates of sickness and desertion. The U.S. Army needed help to accomplish its mission.43

Indians as Scouts

During the period between the late 1860s and 1890s, so-called localized Indian

Wars raged nearly continuously, from the Mississippi River to the Pacific and from

Canada to Mexico. In response, on July 26, 1866, President Andrew Johnson signed

General Order No. 56, which authorized the creation of American Indian Scouts. These men, not to exceed 1,000 in number, would assist the U.S. Army in its pacification and control of the remaining Native tribes across the frontier. These Indian scouts served across the territories and received the regular Army pay of thirteen dollars a month.

Initially, their enlistments lasted three months, six months, or a year. Additionally, the

Army Department Commander could discharge them at any time throughout their enlistment. The Army never enlisted the full compliment of 1,000 men, but the Indian scouts who joined in 1866 began a period of military service by Native Americans that continued through the end of World War II.44

The policy of fighting Indians with Indians emerged as an interesting paradox.

For those white soldiers and officers who viewed the complete extermination of the

43 James A. Garfield, “The Army of the United States,” North American Review 126, no. 261 (March-April 1878), 193-216. In Eyewitness to the Indian Wars, 1865-1890, The Army and the Indian. ed. Peter Cozzens, 16-18. (Mechanicsburg, PA.: Stackpole, 2005). The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the Gadsden Purchase increased the size of the U.S. by over 55%, gaining nearly 555, 000 sq. miles. Herman J. Viola, Warriors in Uniform.(Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2007), 37. Soldiers who served during the Civil War expected to be released at the conclusion of the war. For those units that were retained to fight in the Indian Wars, it was not uncommon for them to have higher desertion rates. 44 Don Rickey, Jr., Forty Miles a Day on Beans and Hay: The Enlisted Soldier Fighting in the Indian Wars. (1966; repr., Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1963), 5-16. Downey, 12. Wharfield, 1. Field, 12., cites Congress approved the act on 28 July 1866. 55

American Indian as a necessary and forgone conclusion, being asked to serve and fight side by side with those they considered an inferior, savage race may have been a bitter pill to swallow. The key question revolved around whether the Indians could be trusted not to turn on their Army comrades. Fortunately, the use of these men proved highly successful, much to the astonishment of some Army officers and enlisted men.

Unfortunately, officers in the field often neglected to mention the fact that Indian scouts participated in battles and campaigns, citing only white participation in their field reports.45

It did not take long, however, for many Army commanders to recognize the skills and loyalty exhibited by the Native enlistees. Army officer Hugh L. Scott understood the importance of recruiting the right personnel to meet the needs of the Army. He stated,

“The tribe from which they came would be chosen according to the country in which we were to operate, and the tribe against which we were to operate, taking advantage of their knowledge of the country where they had been brought up and of their enmity against their neighbors.”46 Colonel William P. Carlin, who served during the Plains Indian Wars in the Black Hills, viewed the recruitment of the Indians as beneficial. He explained that for small-scale operations against other Indians, “they are the cheapest and altogether best soldiers that can be employed.”47 James M. Burns rationalized the use of Native scouts another way. He evaluated the procurement of scouts from a fiscal standpoint,

45 Thomas W. Dunlay, Wolves for the Blue Soldiers: Indian Scouts and Auxiliaries with the United States Army, 1860-90. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1982), 26-27, 60, 65. Dunlay reports that Indian scouts were generally listed in the quarterly “Tabular Statements.” 46 Downey, The Red/Bluecoats: The Indian Scouts U.S. Army, 12. 47 James M. Burns, “Indians as Soldiers,” Army and Navy Journal 15, no. 36 (April 13, 1878), 568. In Eyewitness to the Indian Wars, 1860-1890: The Army and the Indian. Vol. 5. ed. Peter Cozzens, Peter, 402. (Mechanicsburg, PA.: Stackpole Books, 2005). 56 arguing that the government paid to feed the Indians whether they were on the reservation or elsewhere. If they paid to feed them as members of the Army, that meant they needed to recruit and feed fewer white soldiers, thus saving the government money. He acknowledged, however, that he did not know how the cost of clothing entered into the equation.48

In August 1865, served with distinction during the Powder River

Expedition in the against the Sioux and Cheyenne, their traditional enemies. The Pawnee actually served as auxiliary Army troops before General Order 56 became official. For some tribes, especially for those who had been displaced or injured by their enemies, scout service offered a chance for revenge. The Pawnee also provided protection to the workers of the Union Pacific Railroad Co., working on the transcontinental railroad across Nebraska and Wyoming. The Pawnee served off and on for the next decade, finding military service a great improvement over conditions on the reservations. They helped the U.S. Army against the Sioux and Cheyenne whenever they were allowed. In 1876, the Pawnee served as Army auxiliaries and scouts for the last time, serving under General George Crook in the last Powder River Expedition. His 1876 force against the Cheyenne included (besides the Pawnee) Sioux, Snake, Shoshone, and

Crow, numbering nearly 300 in total. After the Cheyenne defeat he recruited many of these same scouts to assist in his campaign against the Nez Percé.49 Beginning with his

48 Ibid. 49 Field, 13, 20-22, 29, 43-50. Rein Vanderpot and Terisita Majewski. The Forgotten Soldiers: Historical and Archaeological Investigations of the Apache Scouts at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Prepared for the Department of the Army, DABT63-93-D-0011. (Tucson: Statistical Research, 1998), 5. Numbers and breakdowns of tribal affiliations during the campaigns vary from author to author. Downey, 78, 95-96. John G. Bourke, On the Border With Crook. (1962 reprint; New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1891), 417. 57

Indian campaigns in 1865, through his death in 1890, General Crook became one of the most outspoken advocates for the use of Native scouts as a military asset. Crook used

Native scouts with success against the Northern Paiute, Shoshone, Bannock, Klamath,

Western and Chiricahua Apache, Sioux, and Cheyenne during his military career. His greatest notoriety, however, resulted from his use of Native scouts during the Apache

Wars against Geronimo.50

Crook incorporated several techniques that allowed him an advantage in his use of employment of Native scouts over the years. Crook immediately recruited scouts from among those Indians he had just defeated, including this strategy as part of his peace negotiations. This tactic, first and foremost, prevented young men from inciting trouble, since once they were sequestered on the reservation they often had nothing to do, which often resulted in groups of bored, disgruntled men breaking out. It also allowed the newly enlisted scouts to remain within their tribal community, as scout’s families normally camped in close proximity to the scouts and their assigned post.51

Crook believed the Indians, “are fierce, warlike, and bloodthirsty so long as war is the only avenue by which their young men gain prominence and distinction, but they are by no means slow to perceive when their best interests demand the cultivation of peaceful relations with former enemies, be they white or red.”52 If treated fairly, they could be acculturated into white society, being employed on the reservations. From a tactical

50 George Crook, “General Crook on the Indians; A Letter of General Crook to Mr. Tibbles,” (editor of the Omaha Herald) The Council Fire 2, no. 12 (December 1879), 178-179. In Eyewitness to the Indian Wars, 1860-1890: The Army and the Indian. Vol. V. ed. Peter Cozzens, 149-152. (Mechanicsburg, PA.: Stackpole Books, 2005), 149-150. 51 Dunlay, 48. 52 Crook, “General Crook on the Indians,” 149-150. (Mechanicsburg, PA.: Stackpole Books, 2005). 58 military perspective, Crook realized that the Indian boy began his training as a cavalryman as soon as he could sit on a horse, while the Army trooper, very often an unskilled rider, received minimal training even after enlistment. The general considered the Apache male a superb individual fighter capable of thinking on his own, while the

Army soldier learned to be part of an organization, relying on direction in order to perform his duty effectively.53 These were some of the attributes that made an Indian such a valuable military tool for the U.S. Army.

A key goal of any military commander is to prevent casualties among his troops.

For the Western Apache scouts this manifested itself in the form of guerilla warfare, fighting as a smaller force, thereby avoiding placing themselves in positions where they were at a military disadvantage. For the U.S. Army, these scouts provided them a tactical advantage. By using the Indian men to round up their fellow tribesmen, Crook shortened the Apache Wars, thereby accomplishing his objective, albeit at the expense of the Native population of Arizona. For the Apache, this proved a double-edged sword. Crook hastened their incarceration onto the reservations, and for the Chiricahua, their exile as prisoners-of-war. Quite possibly, however, by having the scouts track the reservation escapees, he may have prevented further Indian casualties at the hands of civilian vigilantes. Crook’s two campaigns in Arizona, 1871-1874 and 1883-1886, offered unique opportunities for some of the reservation bound Apache males.54

53 Dunlay, 85-87. 54 Worcester, 82. In the summer of 1862, Apache forces under the command of Cochise and Mangas Coloradas attacked units of the California Volunteers in mass at Apache Pass. The Apache were forced to retreat when the Army units opened fire with howitzers. It was the last time the Apache attempted large scale attacks, preferring their more traditional guerilla style tactics. 59

CHAPTER 5: FT. APACHE

In 1869, the United States Army arrived on White Mountain Apache lands and commenced what became nearly a half-century of permanent military occupation. This turbulent period brought everlasting changes for the Western Apache. The establishment of Camp Ord, later Ft. Apache, followed by the Camp Grant Massacre a year later, and the subsequent reassignment of General Crook to the Department of the Arizona all profoundly affected the Native people. Now placed under federal jurisdiction, sequestered onto reservations, and denied access to much of their tribal lands, the local Ndee population faced a new way of life. The arrival of the U.S. army onto Western Apache lands “ . . . accelerated and intensified the introduction to the Apache of everything from wagons, guns, metal, knives, and cooking pots, to concepts including institutionalized hierarchical authority, internationally institutionalized religion, and wage labor.”55 During this period the U.S. Army proved to be a paradox of sorts for the local Apache, denying their traditional way of life on one hand, while offering a means of survival to a chosen few on the other.56

On July 21,1869, Brevet Colonel (Major) John Green, 1st Cavalry, Commanding officer of Camp Grant, Arizona, led the first sortie into the homelands of the White

Mountain and Cibecue Apache, guided by some Apache Manso scouts from the Tucson area. The Army suspected the local Native bands (not yet identified as subtribal groups of the Western Apache) had been supplying the Chiricahua Apache with corn and possibly

55 John R. Welch, Theodore Roosevelt School District National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form (On file White Mountain Apache Tribal Historic Preservation Office, 2004), 35. In Nicholas C. Laluk, An Integrative Approach to Interpretations of an Historical Period-Apache Scout Camp at Fort Apache, Arizona (Master’s Thesis, University of Arizona, 2006), 13. 56 Welch, “Reclaiming Land and Spirit,” 7. By the twentieth century the federal government had claimed ten million acres of Western Apache lands, leaving the Ndee with just four million acres of their original homeland. 60 weapons.57 As a result, it had been decided that a military presence in the area would allow the U.S. Army to monitor the local Indians and dissuade them from assisting their southern neighbors. Additionally, it was hoped the fort might offer a buffer between

Native and non-native violence instigated by the increasing non-Native population laying claim to the area.58

Colonel Green’s first encounters with the local bands could have tragically altered

Apache history, were it not for the peaceful behavior of the local indigenous population.

On July 28, 1869, the Colonel encountered two white men, Corydon E. Cooley and

Henry W. Dodd with the Apache chief Miguel (Pin-dah-kiss) approximately thirty miles from the chief’s village on Carrizo Creek, northeast of the future Ft. Apache. Green was convinced of the guilt of the White Mountain and Cibecue Apache, suspecting Cooley and Dodd of selling arms to them. He ordered three of his officers, Captain John Barry and James Calhoun and F.K. Upham, to take their men and “exterminate the whole village if possible.”59 Fortunately, the officers used some discretion.

Green and his remaining force advanced toward the White River, burning the cornfields they encountered along the North Fork. Captain Barry’s force was met with generosity and friendship upon arriving at Miguel’s Cibecue Apache camp; each Native member presented them with corn for their horses. Barry did not follow his orders;

57 For an in depth look at the Apache Indian Wars see Dan L. Thrapp, The Conquest of Apacheria. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1967. 58 Lori Davisson, “Fort Apache Arizona Territory: 1870-1922.” The Smoke Signal, no. 33 (Spring 1977). Revised (Fall 2004), no. 78. (Tucson: Tucson Corral of Westerners), 174. While the Cibecue and White Mountain bands were generally peaceful, the other Western Apache bands, such as the Chiricahua, continued to depredate, raising the ire of the settlers of southern Arizona. 59 Ibid., 177. Davisson reported that Colonel Green encountered Cooley and Dodd in Miguel’s Carizzo Creek camp. 61 instead he reported to Green that the Apache wished a peaceful, friendly relationship.

Fortunately, Colonel Green’s encounters with the White Mountain Apache validated

Barry’s assertion that they wanted peace. The encounter, however, illustrated the Army’s negative initial attitude and assumptions towards the Indians, despite the peaceful encounter experienced by the Green’s expedition. His recommendation became the impetus for the future fort on the east fork of the White River and the White Mountain

Reserve.60

In March 1870, Ely Parker, the Seneca Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and

William Belknap, the Secretary of War, agreed to the location of the new army fort and set aside land for the protection of the White Mountain people until a formal reservation could be approved. Had the establishment of the reservation occurred a year earlier, future bloodshed at Camp Grant may have been averted. A consensus regarding the

Apache “problem” in the new territory appeared seemingly unobtainable, with different sides proposing alternative options. For the territorial legislature and the local citizenry the only option seemed to exterminate the Apache, with no differentiation between those forced to defend their homes and family and those who maintained friendly relations with the whites. At a minimum, the Arizona population demanded the unconditional surrender

60 John Green, “Interesting Scout among White Mountain Apaches Some of Whom Sue for Peace and a Reservation.” A letter to the Assistant Adjutant General, Department of California, dated August 29, 1869. In Eyewitness to the Indian Wars, 1865-1890: The Struggle for Apacheria. Vol. 1. ed. Peter Cozzens (Mechanicsburg, PA.: Stackpole Books, 2001), 40-47. Despite the peaceful demeanor of the White Mountain Apache, Colonel Green reported that during his campaign into White Mountain Apache territory from July 20, 1869-August 17, 1869, his force killed eight Indians, took thirteen captives, confiscated numerous livestock and property, and destroyed at least 100 acres of corn, all while not clearly knowing which band of Indians he pursued and attacked. Initially, the land set aside by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and the War Department was known as the White Mountain Reserve. The lands encompassed what eventually comprises both the White Mountain Apache Indian Reservation and the San Carlos Indian Reservation further south. The Salt River divides the two Western Apache Reservations. Nickens, 7-8. 62 of all “renegade” Natives in the territory, however, without the means to raise an adequate military force on its own, the Arizona Legislature remained dependent on the federal government for assistance. The War Department, itself reduced in size, adapted an alternate policy of engaging hostile Indians and leaving the peaceful Natives to their own defenses. For the Western Apache, this meant finding a means to subsist, while protecting themselves from the civilian and military population, a challenge that became increasingly difficult with the settlement of the territory.61

Camp Grant Massacre

One new means of subsistence for the Western Apache involved providing the

U.S. Army with hay and firewood for garrisoned soldiers. The military presence in the territory presented lucrative business opportunities for those able to obtain army supply contracts. As a result, the local Tucson business community, which became known as the

Tucson Ring, made every attempt to secure any and all government contracts for themselves. The ring’s methods entailed perpetuating the threat posed by all Apache, inciting fear in the local civilian population, which in turn exerted pressure on the territorial governor A. P. K. Stafford to request more troops, potentially providing more business opportunities for the Tucson contractors. Obviously, any contracts with the local

Indians reduced the profits for the civilian contractors, thereby making the Native suppliers a threat. This ongoing situation; the perceived threat of the Apache; the money

61 Ely Parker served as a Union officer during the Civil War, becoming General Ulysses S. Grant’s adjutant later in the war. Davisson. “Fort Apache Arizona Territory,” 174-179. Fort Apache was initially designated Camp Ord, Camp Mongollon, Camp Thomas, and later Camp Apache in 1871. It will finally be designated Fort Apache eight years later. Spicer, 248-249. 63 made through military contracts; and the political power to be gained by local businessmen, all contributed the planning and execution of the Camp Grant Massacre.62

The Aravaipa and Pinal bands of the Western Apache, gathered at Camp Grant in

April 1871, hoped to broker a peace and receive government protection, both from military and civilian attacks. Increasingly unable to provide for themselves because of the threat of violence they agreed to abstain from raiding in exchange for Army protection and government rations until they could harvest their own crops. After demonstrating their good intentions, Lieutenant Royal Whitman, the Camp Grant commander, offered the two bands a contract to provide the post with provisions, including hay and firewood.

This action undercut local civilian contractors in Tucson who responded rapidly and violently to the changing Indian situation.63

In the early morning hours of April 30, 1871, an armed force from Tucson comprised of 146 men; 92 Tohono O’odham warriors; 47 Mexicans; and 7 American civilians, attacked and murdered approximately 100 Aravaipa Apache camped peaceably near Camp Grant.64 General John M. Schofield, commanding the Division of the Pacific, suggested in a letter to the Army’s Adjutant General, Edward D. Townsend, “the massacre resulted from greed on the part of the Tucson businessmen who desired the

62 Darlis A. Miller, Soldiers and Settlers: Military Supply in the Southwest, 1861-1885 (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1989), 53-54. Record, 198-206. 63 Spicer, 249. Record, 83, 190-193. 64 The Aravaipa and Pinal Indians were local groups of the San Carlos band of Western Apache, see earlier footnote, #8. Thrapp, The Conquest of Apacheria, 89-90. Record, 241. Spicer, 250. Numbers of participants and casualties vary. Thrapp cites an attack force of 140 men, with 92 Papagos, 42 Mexicans, and 6 Anglo-Americans. Record cites 146 men, 92 O’odham warriors, 47 Mexicans, and 7 Americans. Casualties included approximately 125 Apache killed, including 8 men. Spicer cites 77 women and children, with 7 men (250); Thrapp notes 144 women and children, with possibly 8 of those men (90). All sources cite between 27-29 children taken captive and sold as slaves in Sonora. Despite nationwide protest, every one of the citizens placed on trial for the murders were found innocent of all crimes. 64 profitable government supply contracts.”65 The escalating violence garnered national attention, with the western press generally in support of the Indian killings and the eastern press shocked at the incivility of the event. President Grant, pressured by the eastern outrage, referred to the massacre as “purely murder,” and in typical political response, called for an official investigation.66

General George Crook and the Apache Scouts

It is under these circumstances that Lt. Colonel (Brevet General) George Crook found himself assigned as the new Department of Arizona Army Commander. His orders: round up all the Apache and place them on reservations. Initially, General Crook followed territorial governor Anson P.K. Stafford’s suggestion and hired fifty Mexican scouts. It became obvious after just a short period of time, however, that they lacked the skills the general wanted.67 While Ft. Whipple, near present day Prescott, Arizona became the general’s Department of Arizona headquarters, others forts, such as Ft.

Apache, played a major role in the Indian Wars and the creation of the Indian scout detachments.68

On August 12, 1871, General Crook and members of his staff arrived at Camp

Apache and began recruiting Western Apache scouts. Noch-ay-del-klinne, the future medicine man and object of the Cibecue Creek Battle years later, became one of the first

65 Schofield’s letter of 20 October 1871 taken from Miller, 107. 66 Record, 257. “Arizona Citizen” June 24, 1871. Thrapp, The Conquest of Apacheria, 92. 67 Schmitt, 163. Thrapp, Conquest of Apacheria, 97. 68 Schmitt, 161-162. Crook had been officially transferred to Arizona just prior to the Camp Grant Massacre, but he did not depart for Arizona until June 3, 1871. 65 new members of the scout detachment.69 Seventy-five men from the Carizzo and Cibecue bands volunteered immediately, forming Company A of the first Western Apache Scout

Detachment as part of the 3rd Cavalry, commanded by Captain Guy V. Henry. Seventy- five men volunteered, with forty-four being selected, twenty-two for active duty and twenty-two as reserves.70 Generally, each company consisted of twenty-six men, led by a civilian chief of scouts. Later units grew in size as mission requirements changed.

The Army also recruited additional scouts from other camps and forts within the region in order to compare their capabilities and ensure their successful suppression of the Chiricahua and Western Apache. Within a year after arriving, Crook had recruited

Tonto, Cibecue, and White Mountain Apache, Walapai, Yavapai, Apache-Mohave, and

Paiute warriors into his newly formed scout detachments.71 In November 1871, as the ranks of his scout units continued to grow, Crook issued General Order No. 10. It stated, all Indians roaming free of the reservations must return at once or ”be regarded as hostile and punished accordingly.”72 For the newly enlisted scouts and their families, this directive changed their lives forever.

69 Thrapp, The Conquest of Apacheria, 99. Davisson, “Fort Apache Arizona Territory,” 187. 70 Davisson, “Fort Apache Arizona Territory,” 187. Lori Davisson, Unpublished, untitled papers. Lori Davisson Research Collection. Box 5, No. 65, 11 page typed manuscript on scouts. P. 4. Ibid., 13 page typed manuscript on scouts. P. 7. Both examined during archival research conducted on 25 September 2008. Davisson states the scouts recruited were all Cibecue. Part of the difficulty in identifying the Indians involved the fact that as different members were placed on the reservation, newly assigned military personnel assumed that because they are on the White Mountain reservation they must be White Mountain Apache. Field and Thrapp identify the members of Company A as Coyotero and White Mountain. Field, US Army Frontier Scouts, 1840-1921, 44-45. Thrapp, The Conquest of Apacheria, 100. Vanderpot, 8. These initial Western Apache all belonged to the Cibecue band. The White Mountain warriors began service two years later, joined in 1875 by the Tonto/Yavapai and San Carlos Apache. The Chiricahua served from 1880-86, followed by their forced exile as prisoners-of-war. 71 Thrapp, Conquest of Apacheria, 97, 119. 72 Ibid. 66

While the Western Apache remained on their own lands, confinement within the limited boundaries of the new reservation curtailed their seasonal migratory lifestyle.

They were now restricted from areas they traditionally relied upon, both for subsistence, and possibly more importantly, their cultural needs. For the Apache, like all indigenous people, their relationship to the land, especially the mountains, played an integral role in their culture. The use of Ndee language, combined with place names, greatly influenced their speech; traditionally classified as ordinary talk, prayer, or narrative. For the Western

Apache the narrative is the equivalent to written record of the westerner. The use of the narrative in Ndee culture can be categorized according time and purpose. That is to say, the use of myths, historical tales, sagas, and gossip, all relate to specific notions of Native time, such as, “in the beginning,” “long ago,” “modern times,” or “the present.”73 The different categories and their temporal associations provided the moral constructs of

Indian society, with different educational purposes aligned with each division.

Restrictions placed on the Ndee by reservation life jeopardized this important aspect of their culture. This facet of Native life was unknown to those implementing the reservation policy and it played a significant role in the choices made by the Western

Apache individuals and families.74

As a member of the Army stationed at the fort, the scout, more than likely, stood a better chance of obtaining regular rations than other common reservation Indians. The scouts also had the opportunity to leave the post much easier in order to hunt for game to augment their rations. In addition, the scouts received permission to place their families’

73 Basso, Wisdom Sits in Places, 49-50. 74 Ibid. 67 camp near the post, which helped them gain access to various material items they adapted to meet their cultural needs, now that their traditional options became less available. Just by their close proximity to the fort they managed to acquire common objects, such as tin cans and metal wire, which they used to manufacture tinklers and bread grills. The option to work as a scout offered selected Western Apache males a chance to provide for their families in an environment where subsistence opportunities had become greatly limited.

However, this placement of scout’s families around the post shifted the traditional arrangement of matrilocal groups to that of scouts and their immediate families, altering an important social structure.75

With the military presence at Ft. Apache, the army gained control over the local bands’ avenues of raiding and trading, as well as a significant psychological advantage, given the bands’ ties to their homelands and their fear of being relocated.76 This association forced many Western Apache to acquiesce and accept the conditions imposed upon them by military law. One of the conditions took the form of “tagging,” a means of identifying reservation Western Apache males considered old enough to bear arms. The brass tags, comprised of different shapes according to the warrior’s band, made it easier to identify males missing during reservation checks or found outside the reservation by

75 Laluk, 13-14, 26-28. Tinklers are conical metal ornaments used as decorations on Apache dresses, particularly the jingle dresses used during a woman’s coming of age ceremony or Sunrise Dance. Ball, In the Days of Victorio, 157. 76 Welch, “Reclaiming Land and Spirit in the Western Apache Homeland,” 6-7. 68 military patrols. The tags also helped identify those Indians killed in action as Army scouts.77

Crook’s realization of local Indian scouts as actual U.S. Army assets in military operations ended up being delayed for over a year because of President Ulysses S.

Grant’s newly established “Peace Policy.” In September 1872, he launched his first campaigns against the “renegade” Yavapai and Apachean bands, incorporating the newly enlisted scout units into the 5th Cavalry and the 23rd Infantry. Between December 1872 and July 1874, these units located and engaged Indians in several major battles near

Camp Verde and Ft. McDowell. In rugged, snow covered terrain, the scouts played a pivotal role in the resounding success of the army units, securing victories in battles known as the Skelton Cave Massacre in Salt Creek Canyon, the battle at Turret Butte in the Tonto Basin campaign, and finally in the Superstition Mountains. In the Tonto Basin campaign alone, the Crook’s Native scouts accounted for the majority of the “renegade”

Indians killed during the fighting.78

77 Implemented in 1872, this “tagging” policy came to ensure those captured and returned to the reservations remained there. It began after the first military campaigns against the Tonto Apache. These tags would be similar to military “dog” tags today. Carl-Eric Granfelt. “Apache Indian Identification Tags.” (p. 18-20) Mimeographed un-cited article taken from Lori Davisson Research Collection, Box 5, File 74. From archives examined at the Ft. Apache Cultural and Museum, Ft. Apache, AZ., on September 25-26, 2008. H.B. Wharfield, Alchesay: Scout with General Crook, Sierra Blanca Apache Chief, Friend of Fort Apache Whites, Counselor to Indian Agents (El Cajon, CA., 1969), 3. Schmitt, 244. , The Truth About Geronimo, ed. M. M. Quaife (New Haven, CT., Yale University Press, 1929. Reprint, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, Bison Books, 1976), 39. Beverly Malone, interview by author, White Mountain Apache Cultural Center and Museum, September 25, 2008. She identified her grandfathers as Apache Army scouts, with tag numbers D-49 for Thomas Tehnehjeheh and A-99 for Charles Colelay (Chissay). 78 Record, 155-156. Wharfield, Alchesay, 4. Grant’s “Peace Policy,” conceived of in 1869, shifted the focus from a strategy of warfare against the indigenous populations to one of benevolence, with Indian reservations being managed by missionaries. Grant sent two representatives to the territory in 1872, Vincent Colyer of the Board of Peace Commissioners, followed later General Otis O. Howard. Their mission a failure, Crook received permission to engage the Indians later that fall. Thrapp, The Conquest of Apacheria, 119-143. 69

While the exact tribal makeup of the different scouting units varied, their role unquestionably ensured military victory and led to all the Western, Chiricahua, and Tonto

Apache being returned to the confines of their respective reservations.79 As a result of their outstanding service, General Crook recommended four White Mountain and six

Aravaipa Apache be awarded the Congressional . On March 30, 1875, the

Secretary of War, William Worth Belknap, approved the recommendation; awarding ten

Western Apache scouts the medal for their gallantry. These men and their bands were identified as follows: Sergeant Alchesay, the future White Mountain chief (Photo 1);

Sergeant Jim, Aravaipa; Privates Machol, Blanquet, and Chiquito, White Mountain; privates Kelsay, Kasoha, Nantaje, Nannasaddi, and Corporal Elsatsoon, Aravaipa

Apache.80

79 Lori Davisson, Unpublished, untitled papers. Lori Davisson Research Collection, Box 5, No. 65, 13 page typed manuscript. P. 8. Examined during archival research conducted on 25 September 2008. Davisson cites all the scouts recruited from Ft. Apache came from the three Cibecue bands. Thrapp. The Conquest of Apacheria, 97-102, 119, 126. Thrapp references Apache, Walapai, Yavapai (Apache-Mohave), Paiutes, Maricopa, Pima, and even and Mexican men forming the scouting companies under Crook. As Crook learned of the abilities and traits of the Indian scouts he ultimately chose to use strictly Apache as scouts, eliminating other Native members for various reasons. 80 Wharfield, Apache Indian Scouts, 4-5. The actual monument at Ft. Verde, Arizona lists the scouts according to the dates of their gallantry, with different spellings on several names: For service in March 1875, Sgt. Alchesay and Pvts. Chiquito and Blanquet. For service on April 12, 1875, Sgt Jim, Pvts. Kelsay, Kasoho, Nannasaddie, Nataje, and Machol, with Cpl. Elsatsoosu. On March 7, 1890, Sgt. Rowdy earned the medal for his gallantry at Cherry Creek. Data collected on a visit to the Ft. Verde (Historical Park) on May 25, 2005. 70

Photo 1. General George Crook and White Mountain Apache Scout Alchesay. Crook, in his traditional civilian attire when conducting military campaigns, is riding his mule, Apache. Source: Basso, Western Apache Raiding and Warfare, 155. Courtesy Arizona Pioneer’s Historical Society.

While the scout’s skills became evident immediately, the integration of these scouts within established Army units did not occur without some challenges. The combination of Indians and white soldiers in a single unit required unique compromises on behalf of both groups. Officers leading the scout detachments needed to abandon some of their military rigidity and learn to become more flexible. General Crook did this by allowing the Apache scouts to perform their traditional ceremonies before battle, which endeared him to the Native enlistees. General Crook freely endorsed the practice of

Native ceremonies before and after engagements with the enemy. The Army officers also needed to be able to keep up with their Apache guides. Any sign of weakness or lack of courage by the white officers or civilian scout chiefs quickly resulted in an immediate 71 loss of respect by the Western Apache. Once enlisted, these Indian scouts could be ordered to leave their families and track their fellow Apache. This idea of joining the army in order to track one’s own tribal members emerged as an interesting paradox of

Crook’s Southwestern campaigns.81

The Western Apache’s social organization placed one’s loyalty primarily within one’s own clan and family cluster, or gota. This cultural belief meant that the men from a specific clan were under no local restrictions as to whether they could work for the

Army in tracking down other Western Apache. Davisson explained, “He [Western

Apache] had no obligation to other local groups within his own band, much less to other bands, groups or divisions.” 82 Therefore, the White Mountain and Cibecue Apache felt no allegiance or kinship to the Tonto or Chiricahua Apache, so scouting against their neighbors posed no moral predicament. Scholars, such as Keith Basso, have described this same theory of Western, Tonto, and Chiricahua Apache moiety and clan affiliation.83

Basso offers an excellent example with Black Rope’s (John Rope) recollection of serving at Ft. Apache as scout in 1880, and performing in a war party ritual to avenge the death of a White Mountain Apache. Black Rope remembered forty men enlisting as scouts to help avenge the death of an Eastern White Mountain (Western) Apache chief killed by a member of Chief Victorio’s Warm Springs (Chiricahua) Apache band. The chief and two members of his family had been killed in retaliation for an earlier death of

81 Dunlay, 93. Basso, “John Rope,” Western Apache Raiding and Warfare, 154, n. 312. John G. Bourke. On the Border With Crook, 203. 82 Davisson, Box 5, No. 65, 11 page typed manuscript on scouts, 1. Basso, “Introduction,” Western Apache Raiding and Warfare, 13-16. 83 Ibid., Box 5, No. 65, 13 page typed manuscript, 3. Basso, “John Rope,” Western Apache Raiding and Warfare, 116-118. 72 one of Chief Victorio’s band. The example illustrates both the loyalty among clans and bands, as well as the perpetual cycle of violence that escalated with colonization and reservation confinement. It also shows how the men on the reservations might use scout service as a tool to engage in certain traditional practices.84

Scout service offered a select few males a chance to get off the reservation. In tracking their enemies, a demonstration of bravery and skill such as raiding or going to war, they earned respect and honor within their society. However, not all Apache felt the same about the scout’s military service. James Kaywaykla, a Warm Springs Apache child growing up during the 1870s and 1880s as a member of Chief Victorio’s Warm Springs band, recalled hearing , one of the Chiricahua leaders, discussing Apache scouts that had tracked his group down in the Sierra Madres. “Only the scouts, the accursed scouts,” could track them. “When they first began working with the cavalry it was to run down our enemies. Now they are used against their own people, and for what? Only the silver—the eight pieces of silver they get every moon.”85 Other accounts describe possibly different scout behavior and loyalties.

Black Rope, on a scouting mission shortly after the war dance ceremony, recalled two scouts, assumedly Western Apache, discharging their rifles while tracking the Warm

Springs band. Admonished by their officer for potentially revealing their location, they did the same thing two days later. While they claimed they had been hunting, the officer

84 Basso, The Cibecue Apache, 3. Basso, “John Rope,” Western Apache Raiding and Warfare, 13, 116-118. 85 Ball In the Days of Victorio, 32-33. From the conversation it appears the scouts described must be a band of Chiricahua Apache. The reference to the eight pieces of silver represents the scout’s monthly pay. 73 in charge questioned their integrity and wanted them relieved of duty. However, the scouts as a group convinced the officers otherwise, threatening to end the mission and return to the fort.86 This backing down of the army officers to the ultimatum given by the scouts demonstrates how indispensible the Apache trackers had quickly become to the military. It is also highly probable there may have been instances where the scouts provided their own relatives with ammunition, supplies, and possibly even protection if the circumstances warranted, although no records seem to validate this.87

Crook’s strategy of incorporating Indians as scouts did, however, provide the military with several strategic advantages. First, by placing recently surrendered warriors within established scouting units, he placed potential troublemakers where they could be observed, while at the same time incorporating them within Apache units that had seemingly agreed to their new way of life under General Crook’s terms. Also, their enlistment greatly reduced the workload placed upon the white troopers, leaving them sharp and rested for any impending emergencies. The Apache also offered security to the main Army force, scouting ahead and covering the flanks, incorporating their knowledge of the land and the tactics of those they pursued. This later facet proved particularly beneficial in the longer campaigns across the border into Mexico in the 1880s.88

In just a short period of time the Indian scouts had proven their worth. They had helped track down and subdue those Western Apache refusing to abide by the new

86 Basso, “John Rope,” Western Apache Raiding and Warfare, 122-124. 87 Eve Ball in a letter to Dan L. Thrapp, February 14, 1970. Papers and Letters. Provo Special Collections and Manuscripts. Harold B. Lee Library, , Provo, Utah. In Sherry Robinson. Apache Voices: Their Stories of Survival as Told to Eve Ball (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2000), 102. 88 Bourke, On the Border With Crook, 202-03. 74 regulations placed upon them and brought peace to the region, while trying to preserve their own lives and remain on their homelands. With the Natives seemingly contained on their reservations and racial violence dramatically reduced as a result, the federal government transferred control of the Department of Indian Affairs from the War

Department to the Department of the Interior. The control of the Apache people had shifted from those with a limited knowledge of the Ndee, to those thousands of miles away in Washington, D.C., with little or no knowledge. The ramifications of this decision had a resounding affect on the population of the Arizona Territory.89 One of the key figures in the impending violence that resulted from the federal shift in Indian policy; the newly assigned agent at the San Carlos Indian Reservation, twenty-three year old John

Phillip Clum.90

89 Thrapp, The Conquest of Apacheria, 162. 90 Davisson, Box 5, No. 65, 13 page typed manuscript, 9. The degree to which Clum influenced the decision to have all the Apache relocated to San Carlos is not apparent. It is not entirely clear whether the Office of Indian Affairs decided consolidating the Apache was a good idea or if Clum convinced them he could successfully take on the job. 75

CHAPTER 6: SAN CARLOS INDIAN RESERVATION

The establishment of the San Carlos Indian Reservation in February 1873 brought about the removal policy long desired by the white citizenry of the territory. The original lands set aside for the White Mountain reserve encompassed a vast block of the eastern

Arizona territory. San Carlos became the formal reservation anticipated two years earlier by the Department of Indian Affairs, when Camp Ord was established. Agent Clum’s arrival on August 8, 1874, coincided with the transfer of control of the Department of

Indian Affairs from the War Department to the Department of the Interior. It signaled the beginning of the forced relocation of all the Apache to one location, San Carlos, potentially freeing up thousands of acres of desirable lands currently being occupied by the different Indians groups. For the local businessmen, the removal also eliminated

Native competition for lucrative military contracts, such as those the procured by White

Mountain and Cibecue Apache for the personnel assigned to Ft. Apache. For those

Natives groups that had been promised they could remain on their lands if they agreed to terms of peace, the move to San Carlos came as a shock, both emotionally and physically.91

In February 1873, prior to Clum’s arrival, 1, 200 Apache from a number of bands made the fifty-mile walk from Camp Grant to San Carlos becoming one of the first inhabitants of the new reservation. The physical location of San Carlos created great supply problems for the agents tasked with feeding the indigenous population. Located near the , the reservation had little vegetation, poor, if any topsoil, and no on-

91 Nickens, 8. Davisson, “Fort Apache Arizona Territory,” 174-179. Thrapp, The Conquest of Apacheria, 162. 76 site source of water. With little means to produce their own food, the Native inhabitants became totally dependent on government rations. The slow moving Gila River compounded the difficult conditions, providing the perfect environment for malarial breeding mosquitoes, a new threat unfamiliar to the Western Apache who had previously resided in the higher elevations.92 Despite the poor facilities, the population of the reservation continued to swell over the next decade as federal policy changed yet again.

In February 1875, the Tonto Apache from Ft. Verde relocated to San Carlos without incident. The following July, John Clum ordered the White Mountain and

Cibecue to give up their homes and relocate or face the withholding of their government rations. This caused a rift between the different families and clans when scout members of Pedro’s band and their families received permission to remain behind at Ft. Apache.

This led to a great deal of animosity toward them from those forced to leave. In fact, over two hundred White Mountain Apache defected south to the Chiricahua reservation at Ft.

Bowie, rather than abide by Clum’s directive. In June of 1876, however, the Chiricahua faced the same situation. Many of the White Mountain group that had escaped less than a year earlier, as well as some Chiricahua, slipped across the border into Mexico to avoid confinement on the new reservation. In the coming months and years, members of this group returned to San Carlos to incite breakouts by their relatives. In April 1877, members of Clum’s Indian police force escorted the Warm Springs (Ojo Caliente)

Apache from the New Mexico Territory to the San Carlos Reservation. Within just three years, the relocation policy adopted by the Department of the Interior led to the

92 Nickens, 33. The identity of these Apache is unclear, but it is probable that they comprised at least partially different bands of the San Carlos group. 77 confinement of over 5,000 Apache and Yavapai Indians from various groups and bands on one desolate reservation.93

Those Apache confined to San Carlos during the late 1870s faced impoverished conditions. For the White Mountain and Cibecue Apache that adhered to the Army’s stipulations of peace the move was onerous. Their lands offered natural resources simply not available at San Carlos. During the previous year (1883-1884) the people at Ft.

Apache had produced 6,000 bushels of corn and one hundred bushels of beans. In addition, they had provided the fort with one hundred and fifty tons of hay. Their forced reliance on government rations required them to adopting diets very different from their traditional ones. They faced ethnic and racial discrimination, both from the local civilian agency and U.S. Army personnel. Groups of Apache, some lifelong rivals, found themselves occupying the same location. In ideal circumstances the different Indian groups might have set up camps far from each other, but with no real means to provide for themselves, everyone remained much closer to the agency, in order to ensure access to the rations they depended upon.94

Ace Daklugie, the son of Chiricahua war chief Juh, described life as he remembered it at San Carlos, “The worst place in all the great territory stolen from the

93 Nickens, 11. Included in this migration of Tonto Apache, where four separate Yavapai groups. These Indians resented their relocation to San Carlos as they did were not Apache. Some of them had served as scouts for Crook as well. Davisson, “Fort Apache Arizona Territory,” 189. Thrapp, The Conquest of Apacheria, 167. It is unclear how many of Chief Pedro’s White Mountain group were allowed to remain at the fort. Davisson, Box 5, No. 65, 13 page typed manuscript, 10. 94 Davisson, “Fort Apache Arizona Territory: 1870-1922, 188. Richard J. Perry, Apache Reservation: Indigenous Peoples and the American State (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993), 1. Eve Tulene Watt, Don’t Let the Sun Step Over You: A White Mountain Apache Family Life, 1860-1975 (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2004), 48-49. On example of the differences between cultures is represented in the issue of green coffee beans to the Apache on the reservation. The women did not understand what coffee beans were, boiling them as they normally did for regular beans, rather than roasting them first. 78

Apaches. If anybody had ever lived here permanently, no Apache knew of it. Where there is no grass, there is no game . . . The heat was terrible. The insects were terrible. The water was terrible. Insects and rattlesnakes seemed to thrive there; and no White Eye could possibly fear and dislike snakes more than do Apaches.”95 A Third Cavalry officer stationed at the reservation in the 1880s simply referred to San Carlos as “Hells Forty

Acres.”96 Both Natives and whites deplored the conditions they faced on the reservation.

The inability of the government to adequately provide for such a large population, ultimately led to frequent breakouts from the reservation.

In order to maintain control within the reservation, Clum established a police force comprised of men from the various groups imprisoned at San Carlos. Because scout enlistments varied in duration (three months, six months, or one year), and since men could be discharged at any point, some of the scouts served as reservation policemen as well. This additional opportunity offered the men a degree of status and limited authority unavailable anywhere else, while helping them earn an income to supplement their government rations. During the periods when the Army managed San Carlos, the Native men assumed dual roles, that of policeman and scout.97 Like the scouts, those Indians who chose to be policemen sometimes found themselves at odds with their dual responsibilities, an obligation to their work, and responsibilities to their families and clans.

95 Eve Ball. Indeh: An Apache Odyssey. With Nora Henn & Lynda A. Sánchez. Foreword by Dan L. Thrapp (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1980), 37. 96 Nickens, 8-9. 97 Ibid., 47, 67. The San Carlos Reservation came under military control, or had Army troops garrisoned there for security purposes, from 1873-1875, with Clum’s assignment, and again from 1882- 1901, after Chiricahua breakouts became more frequent. 79

Indian Police

Organizing an Indian constabulary became one of the first tasks undertaken by

Clum after his arrival at San Carlos. The removal of the U.S. Army placed an extremely large Native population under the control of a limited number of agency personnel.

Crook’s policy of using Indian assets to manage and control their fellow Natives manifested itself as Western Apache and Yavapai men being hired as reservation policemen and tribal judges by a Agent Clum. The first Indian policemen received fifteen dollars per month, a salary comparable to the thirteen dollars a month earned by the

Indian scouts.98 They performed common police duties such as arresting those breaking local reservation laws, guarding prisoners, and trying to control the drinking of tiswin, a fermented corn mash brewed by the Apache.99 (Photo 2)

Clum began his San Carlos police operation with four Apache men: Eskinospas,

Tauelclyee, Goodah-Goodah, and Sneezer. They quickly demonstrated their loyalty to the agent by arresting fellow Indians found brewing tiswin. Clum’s tribal judges followed suit, convicting all twenty-five men charged in the raid. Sentenced to fifteen days hard labor, the prisoners spent time in the reservation guardhouse, watched by their fellow

Apache.

98 Wharfield, Apache Indian Scouts, 1. On August 12, 1876, Congress authorized a statute paying the scouts forty cents per day for the maintenance and risk to their horses. The statute also granted non- commissioned offer status to Indian scouts. Don Rickey, Jr., 5-16. 99 Tate. Apache Scouts, Police, and Judges as Agents of Acculturation, 84. Tiswin is also referred to as tiswin and tulapai. 80

Photo 2. San Carlos guardhouse, 1880. In this photo the guards are wearing scout attire not reservation police uniforms. Source: Nickens, Images of America: Old San Carlos, 68. Courtesy of NARA, RG 111, Signal Corps Collection, No. 89503.

The responsibility and obligation to duty shown by the Native police and judges selected by Clum demonstrated to the Indian Service the potential of Clum’s tribal police concept, which led to increased funding and a more militarized unit. Similar to the rational behind the creation of Indian scouts, the recruitment of a tribal police force provided the government an additional tool in the assimilation the Western Apache and Yavapai.100

On March 20, 1877, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, John Q. Smith, ordered the San Carlos Police Force to Ojo Caliente (Warm Springs) New Mexico Territory to arrest marauding Chiricahua Apache and return them to San Carlos for trial. (Photo 3)

100 Woodworth Clum, Apache Agent: The Story of John P. Clum (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1978), 136-140. Clum does not identify what bands the Apache men are from. 81

Photo 3. Clum and his police force departing Tucson for Ojo Caliente, NM. 1876. Source: Nickens, Images of America: Old San Carlos, 69. It is believed the citizens of Tucson purchased the police uniforms. Courtesy NARA RG 111, Signal Corps Collection, No. 89536.

His orders later directed him to return all the Warm Springs Apache to San Carlos.

Clum’s unit brought about what is arguably the only true capture of the Apache shaman

Geronimo, placing him and several of his sub-chiefs in shackles for the return to

Arizona.101 For the celebrated agent, the relocation of all these Apache to San Carlos signaled the end of his tenure as . He left the reservation in July 1877, resigning in disgust after the Department of Indian Affairs rejected his ultimatum regarding a pay raise for himself and funding for two more police companies.102 His reservation police garnered national acclaim, however, as a model of success for

101 Woodworth Clum, Apache Agent: The Story of John P. Clum, 186-222. Thrapp, The Conquest of Apacheria, 172-175. 102 Clum, 254-255. Clum believed his Indian police force should replace the U. S. Army as the military force in the territory. 82 maintaining law and order on the reservation and within a decade over 900 reservation police officers served to maintained the peace on nearly fifty Indian reservations. For those that remained as policemen at San Carlos after Clum resigned, the situation became

103 grew increasingly more difficult.

Having most of the Western and Chiricahua Apache forced onto the reservation at

San Carlos placed extreme pressures on the Indians. Some bands, tired of fighting and running, promoted peace. Others could not tolerate the conditions on the reservation and looked to escape. The tribal police found themselves placed in a difficult position. With the army tasked with rounding up those breaking out from the reservation, police duty revolved around maintaining the peace within the reservation. This entailed restricting the making of tiswin and the sale of illegal liquor from outside bootleggers. It also came to include rounding up truant Indian children and returning them to the reservation agency or school. Prior to 1900, and the opening of the Rice boarding school at San Carlos, the

Indian children found themselves forcibly relocated to the Carlisle Indian Industrial

School in Pennsylvania. After 1900, the reservation police simply returned the students to the reservation school. This duty continued for years and often placed policemen in difficult situations, particularly when the parents did not agree with their children being forced to attend federal boarding schools and learning English. In May 1898, two policemen from San Carlos sustained severe stab wounds after being attacked by the father of a runaway school child they had apprehended. The father accused them of

103 Nickens, 67-69. Downey, 105. 83 serving the white man and abandoning their traditional ways. The loss of many of the traditional ways led to increasing flare-ups and dangerous situations. 104

Battle of Cibecue Creek

By the 1880s the tribes of the western frontier had endured decades of genocide, forced removal and relocation onto reservations. They had lost their lands and the greater part of their populations. For the Apache this entailed confinement at San Carlos. With no end to the suffering in sight, it seemed natural for the population to look to their religious leaders for hope. Religious revitalizations such as the well-known Ghost Dances occurred amongst numerous tribes during this era. The Western Apache revitalization movement occurred in 1881, orchestrated by the former Army scout Noch-ay-del-klinne. Like many revitalization visions, the Apache shaman’s message prophesized the resurrection of all

Native ancestors and the elimination of white intruders from their sacred lands. These movements generally incited both the Native and non-Native populations within the local area. The Indians viewed the movement as an answer to their prayers, while the non-

Natives feared a unified insurrection as a result. The Apache movement never achieved the notoriety of the Ghost Dance ceremony inspired by the Paiute shaman Wovoka, it did, however, have one aspect that set it apart from all other similar events. The confrontation between the U.S. Army and the followers of Noch-ay-del-klinne forced the Apache scouts to define their loyalties and choose between two cultures.105

104 Nickens, 67-69. Downey, 107. William T. Hagan, Indian Police and Judges: Experiments in Acculturation and Control (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1966), 76-77. 105 Various spellings are used for the Apache scout turned shaman known as the “Prophet.” Most use that given in the text. Eve Ball/Ace Daklugie cite Noche-del-klinne and Perry uses Noche-do-klinne in Perry. Apache Reservation, 134. An excellent account of the events surrounding Wounded Knee is available in Dee Brown. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West 84

As in most recollections of battles between Indians and the U.S. Army, accounts vary widely. The same is true for the Battle at Cibecue Creek. The Apache Prophet,

Noch-ay-del-klinne, practiced a ritual and philosophy sent to him by the creator Ussen, not as a means to incite trouble, as assumed by the San Carlos Indian agent, J.C. Tiffany, but, as the Apache leader Juh hoped, to prevent trouble. Word of his message attracted both Indian scouts and others from Ft. Apache, San Carlos and the surrounding area. The

Prophet promised a return to the old days and the revival of the dead chiefs if the people united among themselves. With more and more Indians illegally leaving the reservation to listen to the words of Noch-ay-del-klinne, local white population assumed the worst.106

In the weeks leading up to the battle, as the scouts spent more time listening to the message of the Prophet, concerns over their loyalty arose and the army confiscated their ammunition. Sam Bowman, chief of scouts at Ft. Apache, warned General Eugene A.

Carr, the Ft. Apache commander, that the scouts believed the Prophet’s message and might possibly mutiny. Bowman, in fact, resigned on the spot and left because he feared the conflict inevitable. After Noch-ay-del-klinne failed to report to San Carlos, and later to Ft. Apache as directed, General Carr ordered the commander of the scout company,

Second Lieutenant Thomas Cruse, to rearm the remaining scouts and arrest the

Prophet.107

Thirtieth Anniversary ed. (New York: Henry Holt, 2001). The 1890 massacre of Lakota Sioux at Wounded Knee occurred in part due to the fear the movement inspired among the white population. Lori Davisson. “Fort Apache Arizona Territory,” 189-90. Part of Noch-ay-del-klinne’s message involved those Cibecue Apache feuding amongst each other over Clum’s earlier decision to allow some to remain at Ft. Apache. 106 Ball, Indeh, 52-53. Ace Daklugie, a young boy at the time, recalls that all the Apache leaders that witnessed the Ghost Dance were impressed. These included Nana, Juh, and Geronimo. 107 Thrapp, General Crook and the Sierra Madre Adventure, 18. Thrapp, The Conquest of Apacheria, 218-221. Carr’s decision to take the scouts’ ammunition away was later questioned during the 85

On August 29, 1881, a force of 117 men left Ft. Apache, including twenty-three

Indian scouts from Lt. Cruse’s company. Noch-ay-del-klinne surrendered peaceably to

Carr the following day. The actual events of what happened next remain uncertain. The

Army unit left with the shaman and make camp for the night a short distance away.

Noch-ay-del-klinne’s faction of at least one hundred men followed the soldiers and when they approached the bivouacked unit they received a warning to go away. A shot rang out and the “battle” ensued. Which side fired first is unclear and variations of the actual event abound, however, seven soldiers and an unknown number of Apache, including Noch-ay- del-klinne died as a result of the fighting. In either case, the U.S. Army forced the

Western Apache scouts into a lose-lose situation, one undeserving given their past service. They were forced to choose between their own people and the unity called for by the Prophet, or the U.S. Army.108

Regardless of who fired first, the Battle at Cibecue Creek changed the political face of the region dramatically. Reports vary as to whether all of the “renegade” scouts under Cruse’s command peaceably returned to Ft. Apache. The ensuing trial at Ft. Grant found five scouts guilty of mutiny, desertion, and murder. Two scouts received long prison terms, while Sergeants Jim Dandy and Dead Shot, along with Private Skippy,

investigation of the battle by the Army. The Apache base their loyalty on the respect and trust they have of their commanding officer or leader. Consequently, the actions of Colonel Carr do not lend themselves well to instilling loyalty on the part of the scouts. Carr did not actually wish to rely on the Ft. Apache scout detachment, but he was unable to get through to Camp Grant to request a different scout detachment because of downed telegraph lines. Pressured to act by the urgency generated by the San Carlos agent, J. C. Tiffany, Carr responded. Carr is listed as a Colonel here, but in Thrapp, Conquest of Apacheria, 220, he is shown as holding Brevet Major General in rank. Davisson also cites Carr as a general, “Fort Apache Arizona Territory: 1870-1922,” 190. 108 Ball, Indeh: An Apache Odyssey, 54. Thrapp, The Conquest of Apacheria, 221-25. Aleshire, Reaping the Whirlwind: The Apache Wars, 85. 86 received death sentences. On March 3, 1882, under heavy military guard, the three Indian scouts were hanged at Ft. Grant. Their deaths proved to be the only instance of mutiny by any Indian scouts serving in the U. S. Army. A descendant of Dead Shot believes the convicted scouts acted in self-defense. It is his understanding that Dead Shot, repeatedly ordered to fire on other Apache, finally shot and killed Captain Hentig in a manner of self-defense, not mutiny. In the aftermath, after the army transferred hundreds of troops into the area, seventy Indians were held in custody, suspected of complicity in the

Cibecue fight. Dozens of scouts never returned to duty. Eventually all but the five

Western Apache scouts were released. However, the damage had been done.109

Between 1875 and 1882 the federal government made some calamitous decisions regarding the Apache Indians in Arizona Territory. Removing all the Apache bands from their homelands and concentrating them together at San Carlos led to great duress.

Killing the Prophet and forcing the scouts to take sides during a poorly conceived and managed situation at Cibecue Creek increased the anxiety of the territorial population, both non-Native and Native. Six years after using the Apache scouts to bring peace to the territory, General Crook returned to Arizona and began recruiting new units of Western

Apache and Chiricahua scouts to once again subdue those Natives that refused to acquiesce to reservation confinement.

Geronimo Campaign of the 1880s

Despite the execution of the Indian scouts in the aftermath of Cibecue Creek

109 J.T., interviewed by author, White Mountain Apache Cultural Center and Museum, February 4, 2009. Thrapp, The Conquest of Apacheria, 224-230. Thrapp, General Crook and the Sierra Madre Adventure, 46-47. 87

Battle, Crook had no trouble recruiting and maintaining large numbers of Western

Apache and Chiricahua scouts to track and bring in the Chiricahua escapees from San

Carlos. He helped diffuse the situation somewhat by allowing the Cibecue and White

Mountain groups to return to their homes around Ft. Apache. This helped recruiting efforts and soon after arriving in the territory, Crook commanded five companies (A-E) of Indian scouts, approximately 150 Native men.110

James Kaywaykla, a Warm Springs Apache, recalled when General Crook initially recruited scouts, it was to fight against their enemies, the Akimel O’odham and

Tonto Apache: “Being chosen as a scout was a recognitions of a warrior’s ability to fight, and it was a relief from the dreary, monotonous existence on the reservation. To Apaches a reservation is a prison. Scouts were envied and admired by other men . . . What they valued was the possession of a rifle and ammunition for they had been deprived of arms when they went on the reservation.”111 Later as the Army contained all the Arizona tribes,

Indian scouts found themselves faced with the possibility of hunting down their own relatives. For some, it represented a shift in their role as a male within their society.

Where traditionally serving as a warrior in Apache society meant volunteering for raiding and warring parties, enlistment in the U.S. Army meant mandatory service; when ordered to do something they had to comply.

This situation led to mixed reactions by their fellow Apache and family members.

110 Wharfield, Apache Indian Scouts, 21. Smith, Fort Huachuca: The Story of a Frontier Post, 256. Each company was led by an Army officer, typically a lieutenant, and a civilian chief of scouts, who sometimes acted as an interpreter. The makeup of the enlisted scout ranks varied slightly depending upon the source, but there seems to have been one first sergeant, possible a duty sergeant, two corporals, and twenty-six privates in each company. 111 Ball, In the Days of Victorio, 80. 88

Once again, James Kaywaykla described how his people felt about their fellow Apache hunting them: “Chiricahua warriors wearing the red head-cord that was their badge of servitude. Good and true warriors inveigled into military service and now used against their own people! Those who attempted to leave the service were grimly informed of the punishment meted out to deserters.”112 While these feelings clearly occurred, it is difficult to determine the degree to which they affected Apache society, especially given the fact that Indian scouts repeatedly reenlisted in the U.S. Army.

However, because the scouts often patrolled far in advance of the cavalry units, they had opportunities to manipulate operations based upon circumstances. One occurrence of scouts using their skills to protect other Apache is revealed in Kaywaykla’s memoirs, when Tissnolthos, a former member of Geronimo’s band, described locating fellow Chiricahua Kaytennae, yet letting him and his group escape: “We were miles ahead of the cavalry, as usual, for they weren’t in any hurry to catch up with the Apaches, even women and children. The soldiers would never know what we did, and besides,

Kaytennae was my relative. Speckle Face too. Do you think we wanted to kill

Kaytennae?”113 As the Chiricahua scouts spent time as prisoner-of-war, they reminisced with each other about events such as this. Because the army put more and more scouts into the field, occurrences such as this most likely happened less often.

112 Ball, In the Days of Victorio, 80. Field, 1840-1921, 54. The actual hat cord described by Kaywaykla did not become part of the official Indian scout uniform until late 1890. The event described occurred several years between 1883-1886. However, the animosity felt by those finding themselves facing their own relatives cannot be discounted. 113 Ball, In the Days of Victorio, 80-83. 89

In April 1883, Crook set out after Geronimo with one company of the 6th Cavalry, a force of forty-two soldiers, and 193 Apache scouts. This disproportionate force demonstrated Crook’s belief in the use of Apache to track Apache and proved highly successful during his campaign into Mexico. Indian Army scouts, including Tzoe, or

Peaches, as the Army troopers referred to him because of his boyish complexion, located

Geronimo in the Sierra Madre Mountains, southeast of the town of Huachinera. (Map 5)

The Chiricahua shaman surrendered to General Crook on May 21, 1883, agreeing to return to San Carlos after he rounded up all the members of his scattered band. Before the end of the month, 123 Apache warriors and 252 women and children had gathered in preparation for the return march to San Carlos, however, Geronimo failed to reappear.114

Crook assembled his captives and headed back across the border arriving at San Carlos in late June. Finally, in February 1884, Geronimo returned across the border and surrendered to Lieutenant Britton Davis. He and some of the more rebellious Chiricahua traveled to their new home at Turkey Creek, seventeen miles southwest of Ft. Apache.115

114 Vanderpot, 19. This source cites the Indian scout force included Chiricahua, White Mountain, Yuma, Mojave, and Tonto scouts. Dunlay, 174. Dunlay describes a scout force comprised of 192 Apache scouts. Tzoe, Tsoe, Tso-ay, or Peaches, is referred to as Cibecue Apache by Record (179) and Basso, “John Rope,” Western Apache Raiding &Warfare (151). Eve Ball. Indeh, (51) and David Roberts, Once They Moved Like the Wind: Cochise, Geronimo, and the Apache Wars (New York: Touchstone-Simon & Schuster, 1994), 226., cite him as White Mountain Apache, while Dan L. Thrapp. General Crook and the Sierra Madre Adventure (119), described Tsoe, or Pah-na-yo-tishn, “Coyote Saw Him,” as Chiricahua. Significant is the fact that Peaches had just recently been a member of the Chiricahua groups under the command of Geronimo, Chato, Loco, and other raiders, and chose to return to the reservation rather than continuing to live as a hunted man off the reservation. He is immediately signed on as a scout and becomes an integral member of the scouting unit that locates Geronimo. Peaches is also one of the Army scouts later sent to Florida as a prisoner-of-war with Geronimo’s final surrender in 1886. The fact that he so easily agreed to serve as a scout against the Chiricahua gives credence to his being Western Apache and not Chiricahua. Thrapp, The Conquest of Apacheria, 283-291 115 Davis, 82-102. 90

Map 5. Area of Crook’s Mexican Campaigns. Source: Thrapp. The Conquest of Apacheria, 317.

Geronimo disappeared from Turkey Creek on May 18, 1885, evading capture until the following January, when Apache scouts under the command of Captain Emmet

Crawford located his group. Crawford died in a skirmish with Mexican troops shortly after, on January 17, 1886, and First Lieutenant Marion P. Maus assumed command of the scout detachment. The Apache “renegades” and Lt. Maus agreed to a meeting with

General Crook in “two moons” at Cañon de Los Embudos (Canyon of the Tricksters), just across the Mexican border. Over several days, on March 25-27, 1886, Crook and

Geronimo, along with their lieutenants, reached an agreement regarding the Apache’s surrender. Crook returned across the border to report his success, leaving Lt. Maus behind to escort Geronimo’s band across the border. Later that evening, on March 29, after getting drunk on liquor supplied by bootlegger Bob Tribolett, Geronimo, Nachite, 91 twenty men, thirteen women, three boys, and three girls, slipped out of camp and disappeared south further into Mexico.116

Ironically, Crooks failure to obtain Geronimo’s final surrender in March of 1886 ultimately served to reaffirm the effectiveness of the Apache scouts. General Sheridan, long suspicious of the scout’s loyalty, believed they had been the cause of Geronimo’s latest escape. In a letter dated March 31, 1886, in response to Crook’s letter of the previous day, in which he reported, “Geronimo and Natchez with twenty men and thirteen women, left his camp [Lt. Maus] taking no stock,” Lieutenant General P. H.

Sheridan replied, “Your dispatch of yesterday received . . . It seems strange that

Geronimo and party could have escaped without the knowledge of the scouts.”117 This disagreement over the loyalty of the Apache scouts and Sheridan’s orders directing

General Crook to renegotiate an unconditional surrender with the “renegade” Apache signaled the end of Crook’s command in the Arizona Territory. In a letter dated April 1,

1886, Crook cited his difference of opinion and requested reassignment. Sheridan complied, and on April 2, 1886, Brigadier-General Nelson A. Miles received order to replace George Crook in the Territory of Arizona.118

Miles immediately relieved the Apache scouts, in part to appease his commander,

Lt. Gen. Sheridan. The result was an unprecedented and costly manhunt comprised of

116 For more on Crook’s final campaigns against Geronimo and the Apache see Davis and Thrapp. Davis, 198-213. Thrapp, 340-347. Nachite, Naiche, or Nachez was a Chiricahua chief with whom Geronimo was subordinate. 117 Britton Davis, 214. Nelson A. Miles, General., Personal Recollections and Observations of General Nelson A. Miles: Embracing a Brief View of the Civil War or From the Golden Gate and the Story of his Indian Campaigns With Comments on the Exploration, Development and Progress of Our Great Western Empire. Frederick Remington, illustrator (Chicago: Werner Co., 1896), 472. 118 Britton Davis, 217. Miles, Personal Recollections and Observations of General Nelson A. Miles,745. 92

5,000 soldiers, one quarter of the entire U.S. Army. It also proved ineffective. For six months Miles’ command searched in vain for Geronimo and his meager band. Finally, after reintroducing Apache scouts gradually to the campaign, Geronimo was located by

Lieutenant Charles B. Gatewood and twenty-two Apache scouts. Two scouts, Kayitah and Martine, approached Geronimo and convinced him to meet with Gatewood to discuss surrender.119 On September 4, 1886, Geronimo surrendered for the last time to General

Miles, bringing about an end to the Apache Wars and the service of Chiricahua Apache as Army scouts.

Tragically, the Chiricahua scouts, and their families from San Carlos, were shipped to Florida as prisoners-of-war with Geronimo, Naiche and their group. For many of the Chiricahua scouts, their decision to enlist revealed, in part, their desire for peace.

As long as Geronimo remained free, public opinion against the Apache, especially in the

Southwest, continued to rise. The scouts served, in part, in the hopes of ending the violence. For the Chiricahua, however, the outcome proved very unfortunate. They remained incarcerated for twenty-seven years before they gained their freedom. Sent first to Florida, then Alabama, and finally, Ft. Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma, the federal policy regarding the Chiricahua reverted from reservation policy back to one of removal. For the remaining Apache scouts, a new era of military service began, one that questioned their continued enlistments in light of the incarceration of the Chiricahua.120

119 Thrapp, Conquest of Apacheria, 353. Ki-e-ta, or Kayitah, was also a former Chiricahua “renegade” who returned to serve as an Army scout. 120 H. Henrietta Stockel, Shame & Endurance: The Untold Story of the Chiricahua Apache Prisoners of War (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2004), 142. 93

CHAPTER 7: THE END OF AN ERA

In September 1886, with the deportation of Geronimo and many Chiricahua eastward as prisoners-of-war, the number of Western Apache scouts in Arizona Territory declined drastically. The number of Indian scouts assigned to the San Carlos reservation during the spring of 1886 had reached a high of 450, by October that number had declined to 110. By the following spring, just 50 scouts remained. At Ft. Apache, however, the number of scouts rose between 1887 and 1891, climbing from 20 to 75.

(Appendix B) In 1886, a detachment from the fort mustered to track the lone Apache man, Massai, who had escaped from the train carrying the exiling Chiricahua prisoners- of-war to Florida. He made his escape near St. Louis, Missouri, jumping of the train as it slowed down climbing a steep grade. Massai made it safely back to Arizona, and evaded the scouts. He took a Mescalero wife and lived in hiding for years before he was eventually killed by Mexican troops.121

The most famous campaign of the Ft. Apache scout detachment involved attempts to capture the legendary scout, turned fugitive, Es-ke-be-nadel, otherwise known as the

Apache Kid. He had joined the scouts after being befriended by Al Sieber, Crook’s Chief of Scouts, years earlier. He served with distinction from 1882-1888, until his dishonorable discharge in 1888. In a drunken stupor he had murdered an Apache named

Rip, believing he had avenged the killing of his father Togo-de Chuz. After a brief period on the run, Es-ke-be-nadel and several members of his group returned to San Carlos and surrendered to the authorities. As the wanted group turned in their weapons, shouting

121 Davisson, “Fort Apache Arizona Territory”, 190-91. Debo, Geronimo, 301. Ball, Indeh, 248- 60. In Ball, Alberta Begay cites Grey Lizard escaping with Massai. 94 started between them and other Apache bystanders. Tempers rose and shots rang out, with Al Sieber being shot in the foot and crippled for life. The subsequent court-martial found Es-ke-be-nadel and four of his party, Sgt. As-Kisay-La-Ha, Cpl. Na-Con-Qui-Say,

Pvts. Be-Cho-On-Dath, and Margy guilty of mutiny and desertion. Each member received a death sentence, to be carried out at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. However, a reviewing officer reduced their sentence to life imprisonment. A subsequent inquiry by the Judge Advocate General’s Office cited the lack of impartiality by some of the jury officers stationed at San Carlos, which resulted in a reduction of their sentences.122

Congress, however, intervened, citing jurisdictional legalities regarding Indians committing capital crimes, and the convicted group returned to Globe for a civilian trial.

Found guilty once again, Es-ke-be-nadel and his party received seven-year terms at the territorial prison in Yuma, Arizona. On the stagecoach between Globe and Yuma, the Es- ke-be-nadel and members of his group escaped, heading south into Mexico, and prompting a massive manhunt by the U. S. Army and Apache scouts. Sieber’s best man, the Es-ke-be-nadel, evaded every capture effort by the Army scouts and was never found, although scouts from Ft. Huachuca reportedly captured members of his band. Ironically, the Western Apache scouts failed to track down two of their own members.123

122 Smith, 141, 264. Vanderpot, 24. Dan L. Thrapp, Al Sieber: Chief of Scouts (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1964), 320-341. Wharfield, Apache Indian Scouts, 51-64. Wharfield’s text seems to offer the most thorough account of the events surrounding the trial and sentencing. See Congressional Record, March 3, 1885, pg. 2533. There are differences over which relative the Apache Kid actually avenges, his father or grandfather. Worcester and Thrapp cite his father, with Smith and Wharfield referring to him as the Apache Kid’s grandfather. 123 Thrapp, Al Sieber: Chief of Scouts, 320-341. Worcester, 310-312., Both cite the scouts’ sentences being commuted from ten-year terms at Alcatraz to seven years in the territorial prison at Yuma, Arizona. Smith cites the Es-ke-be-nadel going to Yuma and the others to Alcatraz. 263-264. There is also disagreement over which relative the Es-ke-be-nadel avenges, his father or grandfather. Worcester and 95

Official Uniform

From 1887-1890, scout numbers doubled, rising from 75 to 150. With this rise in numbers came the first official Indian scout uniforms. In August 1890, Circular No. 10 from the Army Adjutant General’s Office authorized a special uniform for the scouts. A hat cord, insignia, and chevrons differentiated the scouts from the regular army, either in their design or coloring. The new hat cord comprised two worsted cords, one white and one scarlet, with two tassels of the same colors 1 ¾ inches in length. (Figure 1) The metal hat insignia, three inches in length, consisted of crossed arrows over the letters

U.S.S., for United States Scouts. (Figures 2)

Figure 1. Scout Hat Cords Figure 2. Scout Insignia Source: Field. US Army Frontier Scouts, 1840-1921, Plate H, 40, 63. revised one month later.124 The new insignia, four crossed arrows over a horizontal bow, became the official design. (Figure 7)

Thrapp cite his father, with Smith referring to him as the Es-ke-be-nadel’s grandfather. Given the different reports on who is sent to prison where, the citations on who escaped from the stage differ as well. It is not exactly clear why the number of Army Indian scouts doubled during this three-year period; perhaps scouts from other territorial post were reassigned. See attachment 2 for figures. The Congressional intervention occurred as a result of the passage of the Major Crimes Act of 1885, which gave Congress judicial authority for certain crimes committed on tribal lands, by tribal members. Ex Parte Crow Dog U.S. 556 (1883) led to the passage of the act. 124 In 1952, the newly formed U.S. Army Green Beret Special Forces Units adopted the scout insignia of two crossed arrows. 96

Figure 3. Indian Scout Flag (Department of Dakota) Source: Field. US Army Frontier Scouts, 1840-1921, Plate H, 40, 63.

The enlisted men’s chevrons, while white like the regular troopers, had scarlet piping around the edges. These uniform accessories uniquely identified the Indian scouts and were adopted by all Indian units, with some variations for the different tribes or bands.

All Army troops wore the same shirt, the scout’s trousers, helmet, and overcoat, all taken from standard cavalry issue uniform. This uniform standardization made the Indian scouts appear more like regular troopers. It symbolized a departure from their previous two decades of service and indicated that their roles for the future would be different.125

In the early years of their service, the Indian scouts wore their own traditional clothing. Like many warriors, the Apache men stripped down to their headband, loincloth, and moccasins before going into battle. (Photo 4) Scouts also wore some type

125 Field, 54-56. 97 of identifier to help the regular army troops distinguish them from the hostiles. In the early 1880s, this manifested itself in the form of red headbands for the Apache scouts.126

Photo 4. Apache scout dressed for war, circa 1870s. Source: Nickens. Images of America: Old San Carlos, 74. AHF, Rothrock Collection No. 34; stereograph by George Rothrock.

Until the twentieth century, scout enlistments generally lasted for just a few months time; consequently, they often received surplus, outdated uniforms. Quite possibly the army hesitated in issuing brand-new uniforms to so called part-time enlistees, waiting to determine if they would become as long-term troops.127 (Photo 5) In addition, the availability of supplies and adherence to guidelines invariably differed among commands as well. General Crook himself wore civilian clothes during his Apache campaigns. As uniforms became more readily available the Indian companies began to look more standardized in nature. However, these warriors still managed to retain individual aspects

126 Dan L. Thrapp, “Evolution, Use, and Effectiveness of the Apache Indian Scouts.” Ft. Huachuca Historical Museum Newsletter. (Fall 1975), 4. Nickens, 73. Basso, “John Rope,” Western Apache Raiding and Warfare, 154. 127 Field, 1840-1921, 54. 98 of their culture and personality even as their numbers declined at the close of the nineteenth century. (Photo 6) That the scouts had the freedom to incorporate Native aspects into regulation army issue attire reveals some of the autonomy they had earned from their local officers.

Photo 5. San Carlos scouts, circa 1882. Source: Nickens, Images of America: Old San Carlos, 77. NARA RG 111 Signal Corps Collection, No. 85773

99

Photo 6. Apache scouts, circa 1890s. The two scouts on the right are wearing turkey & quail feather caps. The corporal on the left has a buckskin pouch on his belt for scared pollen. The footwear also varies among the men, with some retaining their traditional moccasins. Source: Nickens, 76. NARA RG 111, Signal Corps Collection, No. 83616.

General Order No. 28

Army General Order No. 28, dated March 9, 1891, ordered the total number of

U.S. Army Indian scouts reduced to 150. (Figure 4) The reduction in numbers meant the unit size no longer qualified as that of an U.S. Army Company. As a result, the unit’s new designation became “Detachment of Indian Scouts.” General Order No. 28 also established the first all Native regular army units: fifty-five Indian soldiers enlisted in

Troop L Cavalry regiments and Company I Infantry regiments. Many Apache scouts who served into the twentieth century began their military careers in Company I of the 11th

Infantry stationed at Ft. Huachuca. Some served in both scout units and regular army units, often using different names for enlistments. The use of Indian names inherently 100 caused problems due to the inability of whites to master the spelling and pronunciation.

Confusion due to language issues contributed to crossed enlistments, with the Western

Apache possibly enlisting in another unit for extra income, or simply the chance to participate in operations off the reservation.128

Authorized Dept of Dept of Dept of Dept of Dept of Dept of Scouts Arizona Dakota Platte Missouri Texas Colombia

1891 50 25 25 25 15 10 Figure 4. Authorized Scout Numbers Source: Field. US Army Frontier Scouts, 1840-1921, 52.

For the supporters of General Order No. 28, the creation of regular army units made up of strictly Indians provided several solutions for the so-called Indian “problem” faced by the federal government; how to contain the movement of the Indian and assimilate them into Anglo society. First, it provided an organized venue in which to incorporate Native males not enthusiastic about reservation life, those more inclined to break out and cause trouble. Major McLaughlin, the Indian agent at the Standing Rock

Reservation explained this issue in an interview, “It would be a grand thing for the

Indians. They are warriors from their childhood and would make the best of soldiers.

There are some six or seven hundred available young men on the Sioux reservation in the

Dakotas, and if they could be enlisted as soldiers . . . it would be the best policy I have

128 Field, 52-53. Nickens, 82. Page 82 shows a photo of what appears to be an Apache soldier. NARA, RG 111, Signal Corps Collection, No. 83564. Vanderpot, 24-25.Wharfield, Apache Indian Scouts, 66. Jerold E. Brown, “Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Army” (Westport, CT.: Greenwood Press, 2001), 123. During this period an army company varied in size between 40 and 250 soldiers. 101 ever heard advanced.”129 Secondly, with companies of Indians drawing monthly checks from the U. S. Army, large-scale unemployment on the reservations could be reduced.

Finally, with three years enlistments to indoctrinate the troopers, successful acculturation seemed more probable. The servicemen, like the boarding school children, would learn

English and the ways of white society, conveying this newfound knowledge to their families and communities after completing their terms of enlistment. In 1892, Company I of the 11th Infantry at Ft. Apache became an all-Indian unit when the program expanded to include the four remaining army regiments without Native companies.130

Ironically, the largest detractor of the military plan to incorporate Indians full- time into the Army passed away one year prior to the implementation of General Order

No. 28. In a February 24, 1890 letter, written to the Army Adjutant General, Major

General Henry C. Corbin, Crook explained that “the same traits that made the Indian scouts successful; their individuality and ability to work alone also prevented them from ever successfully adopting the regimentation of regular army life.”131 His words proved prophetic, because within six years all the Indian companies had been deactivated.

Enlistment numbers had continued to decline precisely because the regular Army units required the Indian enlistees conform to Army policies and procedures, leaving no room for the cultural traditions and ceremonies afforded to the scout members in their

129 William H. Powell, “The Indian as a Soldier.” The United Service 3, no. 3 (March 1890), 229- 238. In Eyewitness to the Indian Wars, 1865-1890: The Army and the Indian. Vol. V., ed. Peter Cozzens, 399. (Mechanicsburg, PA.: Stackpole Books, 2001). 130 Tate, Apache Scouts, Police, and Judges as Agents of Acculturation, 252-254, 272-274. Chapter IX discusses the history and success of these Indian companies in great detail. The Ft. Apache unit began deactivation in September, 1894, discharging Apache soldiers as their furloughs ended. 131 General George Crook, Letter to the Adjutant General, February 24, 1890. George C. Crook Letterbook II, no. 28, 50-52. Rutherford B. Hayes Memorial Library. In Tate, Apache Scouts, Police, and Judges as Agents of Acculturation, 254-255. 102 privileged units. For those units stationed on reservations, such as Company I at Ft.

Apache, the distractions of traditional life frequently encroached upon their military regimentation. While duties such as field exercises and dress parades greatly interested the Indian soldiers because they mirrored traditional activities, allowing the men to demonstrate their abilities and earn respect, they resented the traditional mundane duties typical of peacetime army, believing them to be more like “women’s work.” Even for the enlisted Indian scouts in service at the end of the nineteenth century, military life had begun to lose some of its luster. The need for tracking down enemies, the most interesting part of army work, dwindled to the occasional escaped outlaw or deserter.132

For those scouts assigned to Ft. Apache, the typical duties revolved around hunting parties and military training. Historian Lori Davisson describes amusing post activities that took place during the 1890s and early 1900s. They included army baseball teams, the 10th Cavalry “Monkey Drill Team” (a Roman style riding exhibition by the black Horse Soldiers), billiards, bicycling, football, and even movies. While Indian participation is mentioned, there is no reference to the scouts taking part in any of these activities. In 1890, there is mention of a Whiteriver agency Indian baseball team loosing to the soldiers by a score of 93-77, but again, it is unclear if scouts participated on either side. For the scouts, the opportunity to serve within their homelands and among their own people remained culturally important. Unanswered, however, is whether the White

Mountain and Cibecue men gradually adopted the white man’s sports and activities in

132 Vanderpot, 24-25. Tate, Apache Scouts, 272-274. 103 lieu of some of their own traditional ones. The one facet of white society the Western

Apache had no choice in adopting proved to be wage labor and a cash economy.133

The Wage Economy

In 1901, the Army transferred control of the San Carlos Indian Reservation to the

Department of the Interior.134 According to 1900 Indian agent reports, San Carlos had an adult population of over 2,000 people, while Ft. Apache had a total population of fewer than 2,000, with an adult male population of 648. Besides jobs associated with the Army scouts and the reservation police forces, few economic opportunities existed for the reservation Indian other than that of manual labor. For those Indians sequestered at Ft.

Apache, the natural resources available there provided greater economic opportunities available than for those at San Carlos. In 1900, the reservation of the Cibecue and White

Mountain Apache earned money from the harvesting of barley, corn, hay, and wood products, selling their surplus to both to the U.S. military and federal government. In hay sales alone, the Western Apache earned $30,000, being paid one dollar per one hundred pounds of hay.135 Unfortunately, earnings from the utilization of natural resources failed to provide enough income and forced the Native population to continue their reliance on government rations.

Throughout the growth of the Arizona territory during the nineteenth century the various Apache groups had been hunted down or confined onto reservations. They had

133 Davisson, “Fort Apache Arizona Territory,” 191-193. Roman riding involved trick horseback riding stunts, such as standing atop two horses at full gallop. 134 Nickens, 87. 135 “Report of agent for San Carlos,” 1 November 1900 and “Report of agent for Ft. Apache,” 21 August 1900. Annual Reports, U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 1824-1949. Microfiche 1925, (Tucson: University of Arizona Microforms), 188-89, 200-201. 104 been stereotyped as inferior savages. Consequently, when they did find employment they faced occupational stratification and a dual wage system. Even within the reservation itself, the wage scale favored the non-native and men over women. In 1881, an Indian scout earned thirteen dollars a month, while a white scout attached to Ft. Apache received one hundred dollars a month. A post blacksmith at this time made sixty dollars a month, nearly five times that of the Apache tracker. The higher wage scale for the non-Natives demonstrates the racial hierarchy in effect at this time; however, the army pay scale remained the same from the Civil War to World War I. 136

Throughout Arizona Territory’s history, those who gained employment or business contracts with the military faired much better than those attempting to make it in their own. As one historian has noted, the U.S. Army proved to be, “the single largest purchasing and employment agency in the Southwest.”137 Since the 1870s, the Western

Apache had attempted to capitalize on their relationship with the U.S. Army, selling them hay for their livestock and food staples such as beans and corn for the troops. As noted earlier, this led to animosity and violence between the non-Native population of Tucson and their enemies, the Ndee. This animosity carried over into the twentieth century, with racism greatly inhibiting any labor opportunities for Indian males seeking work. As a

136 Mario Berrara, Race and Class in the Southwest (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1979), 41-44. The terms “occupational stratification” and “dual wage system” are used by the author to define the practice of classifying certain jobs as suited for minorities and consequently paying minorities less than Anglos or whites. While Berrara uses the Mexicans, Chicanos, and Latinos as the predominant minority labor force in his examples of southwestern labor in the late nineteenth century, the Apache met the same criteria when seeking employment. “Fort Apache Monthly Post Reports.” Returns From U.S. Military Posts, 1800-1916. Microfilm 1652, Reel 33. Tucson: University of Arizona Microforms. 137 Historian Darlis Miller, in Thomas E. Sheridan, A History of the Southwest: The Land and Its People (Tucson: Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, 1998), 28. 105 result, the Apache became a highly exploited, menial labor force, based on a racial hierarchy that placed the Native American at the bottom of the wage scale.138

The mining booms in the latter part of the nineteenth century generally chose to exclude Apache laborers, preferring to import cheaper Mexican laborers to work in the mines. At the peak of the silver mining boom in the Southwest, miners earned the standard wage of four dollars a day; most earned between thirty and seventy dollars per month. Typically, however, Mexican labor comprised over half of the mining work force, with the Hispanics paid a lower wage, between twelve and fifteen dollars a month. This forced the Western Apache to accept even lower wages in order to gain work, a practice opposed by the labor unions. By the 1910s, approximately two hundred Western Apache men earned wages as laborers in the mines near Globe and Miami, Arizona. They and their families traveled around looking for work, living in “squatter camps” outside of towns. Eva Tulene Watt recalled her father repairing miner’s tools at the Bluejay mine near Miami, when she was a little girl.139

In 1874, the federal government ceded more Ndee lands, after the discovery of copper. The resulting copper boom at the turn of the century created a greater demand for workers than the territory could supply. Once more the Apache watched as Mexicans and

138 Perry, Apache Reservation, 143. 139 Thomas E. Sheridan, Arizona: A History (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1995), 65, 157- 59. Sheridan. A History of the Southwest, 52-54. The discovery of silver in Tombstone led to its silver boom, which lasted until 1886. William Y. Adams, “The Development of San Carlos Apache Wage Labor to 1954.” In Apachean Culture History and Ethnology. Anthropological Papers of the University of Arizona No. 21, eds., Keith H. Basso and Morris E. Opler (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1971) 119. Watt, 66-68. She recalled her father earning about thirty dollars a month, sometime in the late 1910s, early 1920s. This seems like a large amount of money given the circumstances. Miami and Globe are west of San Carlos.

106 immigrants from Eastern and Western Europe arrived to work the mines. Again a racial hierarchy determined who earned the most, with Western Europeans and Anglo-

Americans earning higher wages than those of the Eastern Europeans, Mexicans, and

Indians. Unable to own the land on which their vast natural resources were found, the

Apache continued to be exploited.140

Finding employment with the railroad, a second major employer in Arizona, proved difficult as well. Chinese laborers helped bring the railroad to Tucson and the territory, in part because it was believed the Chinese could cope with the desert heat more easily than Caucasian workers. As minorities and non-Anglos they faired poorly, earning just fifty cents per day, minus their boarding costs. The railroads did employ some

Western Apache males, paying them a substandard wage as well. Watt recalls however, that they did get to ride the train between San Carlos and Bylas to visit their relatives.

Like other areas of the West, the economic growth of the Arizona territory rode on the back of ethnic laborers.141

By the end of the nineteenth century, cattle numbered over 1,5000,000 head in

Arizona. The need for ranch hands and cowboys failed to include the Western Apache in large numbers, despite their knowledge of the land and their proven skills as horsemen.142

By the 1920s, permits for using 75% of the reservation grazing lands had been given to

140 Perry, Apache Reservation, 145-147. Sheridan, A History of the Southwest, 57-58. 141 Sheridan, Arizona: A History, 117. Watt, 51, n 4, 311. 142 Sheridan, Arizona: A History, 48-49. 107

Anglo-American ranchers by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, theoretically providing money to the tribe as a whole.143

With few reliable or even seasonal options available, the Apache workers continued to accept jobs off their reservations, often forced to deal with crooked employers. One example of the exploitation experienced by the Native workers involved the seasonal harvesting of produce. Around 1920, a group of San Carlos Apache agreed to harvest crops at a wage of $2.50 per day. Transported by truck to the fields, many workers brought their families. There they faced unscrupulous payroll deductions, such as boarding and transportation costs, which, at the end of the day, left them with ninety- five cents, not even enough money to cover transportation back to the reservation, and a wage much lower than the national average of twenty years earlier.144

For the Apache men, service as an Army scout or reservation policeman offered the only guaranteed employment that could ensure a subsistence living for them and their families, while allowing their families to remain safely in their established homes on the reservation. Life on the reservation also meant isolation from the most intense discrimination and prejudice on a daily basis. Military or police service also provided the

143 Perry, Apache Reservation, 145-147. 144 “The Problem of Indian Administration.” Institute for Government Research (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1928), 687, in Perry, Apache Reservation: Indigenous Peoples and the American State, 142. “Salaries for 1899-1900: Farm Laborers-Average Monthly Earnings With Board by Geographic Region” (Series D 705-714). Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, Part 1 (Washington, D.C.: Bicentennial Edition, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1975), 163. Figures for the nation as a whole cite the average 1900 wages for unskilled laborers at $8.82 per week for a 59.7 hr work- week. Farm laborers averaged $4.49 per week and $19.43 per month for the same period. “Hours, Wages, and Earnings—All Industry, Manufacturing, and for Skilled, Unskilled, and Farm Labor (Douglas): 1890- 1926.” Historical Statistics of the United States, 1789-1945. A Supplement to the Statistical Abstract of the United States (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce and Bureau of the Census, 1949), 67.

108 men with a degree of self-respect not available as a manual laborer in the white man’s world.

Ft. Apache’s isolated location made it unique from other Army forts in the territory entering the twentieth century. While other posts benefitted by being located nearer to rail lines, with easier access to material goods and modern amenities, Ft.

Apache remained somewhat isolated from Anglo-American acculturation process. Given the physical difficulties in reaching the post, Ft. Apache also never achieved the level of mechanization or infrastructure development attained by other forts, such as Ft.

Huachuca. This meant a greater reliance on horses, mules, and burros for a longer period of time, which not only provided auxiliary means of income for those living in proximity to the fort, but also eliminated one less facet of civilization from the daily lives of the

Native residents. Being more isolated, the scouts faced less outside pressure, which allowed them to acclimate themselves to Army life more easily. The fact that their families placed their wickiups near the fort and remained close to the scouts gave the

Apache scouts an advantage over the regular enlisted white troopers, who regularly served their tours isolated from their families, especially at the more remote posts.

Whether on duty or not, the Western Apache enlistees practiced a lifestyle closer to their own traditional ways than those they served.145

By 1900, most of the Army forts within Arizona territory had been closed, resulting in a reorganization of troops and scouts. Ft. Apache and Ft. Huachuca became

145 Nicholas C. Laluk examines how the Indians associated with Ft. Apache practiced a lifestyle that approximated Richard White’s concept of “Middle Ground.” Through adaptations of their culture in order to coexist with the military environment at the fort, they incorporated their “landscape knowledge” with “practical politics” and “active residency” in order to survive. Laluk, 17-19, 38-57. 109 the focal points for military activity in southeastern Arizona. The total number of Indian scouts had gradually declined by this time to sixty-eight.146 The primary job of the scouts entering the twentieth century involved patrolling the international border, and from time to time tracking down escaped fugitives within the territory. They still provided game to their individual posts, but their duties became more similar to regular army troops stationed at remote posts.

In 1902, the Army revised their uniforms again. Now the scouts dressed the same as the regular army, excluding their specific insignia. The work uniforms changed to olive drab, with the subdued U.S.S. insignia on the collar of the service coat and the campaign hat. Dress uniforms included the dark blue cap and sack coat, with blue kersey trousers. From this point on, the scout uniforms became the same as the regular Army cavalry units, with the exception of the unique scout insignia, cords, piping and guidon.

With these changes, the Apache scouts came to look more like regular army enlistees.147

(Photo 7)

146 From a memorandum from the Army Quartermaster General’s Office to Lt. Col. Stanley J. Grogan, Public Relations Branch, Office of Deputy Chief of Staff, War Department, 15 January 1941. P. 8. Indian Scout Binder, Section 1. Ft. Huachuca Museum Archives, Main Museum (June 5, 2008). The memorandum shows seventy-five scouts authorized through at least 1921, when the remaining scout detachment transferred over to the Detached Enlisted Men’s List. 147 Field, 57. 110

Photo 7. Sgt Sinew Luke Riley in 1916 Army scout uniform. Riley on his horse Peanut in this circa 1920 photo. Source: Field, US Army Frontier Scouts, 57. Ft. Huachuca Museum, Ft. Huachuca, Arizona.

By this time the need for the scout’s services had declined considerably. Why the

Army retained the Indian trackers during these years when they began their push to mechanize is unclear. One possibility is that the Army and the government still believed it necessary to keep the scouts within the regimentation of Army life, so the Apache men would not be as inclined to revert back to their Native ways, the same rationalization offered thirty-five years earlier. The longer the warriors served, the better acculturated they became.148 Given the limited number of scouts in service at the time, this seems unreasonable. From the scout’s perspective, however, the need to provide for one’s family still retained its importance as a key rational for continued service.

148 Dunlay, 205. 111

Excluded from most desirable employment opportunities, the Western Apache looked to federal positions as a means to circumvent the civilian animosity still directed towards the Ndee. With very limited options entering the twentieth century, enlistment as a scout in the military became a coveted job for those who could balance a life entailing demands from two worlds. With wages at thirteen dollars per month, plus forty cents per day for the upkeep of their own horses, scouts had the opportunity to earn twenty-five dollars a month in wages. Following traditional gendered socioeconomic patterns, the men left the post for days at a time patrolling the U.S.-Mexican border or hunting game.

For the Apache man, no other job offered the same opportunities to relive a portion of the past or simply survive with dignity. In addition, the scouts received meals, uniforms, and housing in varying degrees throughout the enlistments.149 Those enlistees who served thirty years were eligible for retirement pay; a matchless opportunity for most Native

Americans at the turn of the century. For the remainder of their service, however, much of their military role became ceremonial in nature. In 1916, a select few of the remaining

Apache scouts received orders to cross the border into Mexico for one last time, to track and locate the enemy with their legendary skills.

149 There were typically certain monthly fees charged to enlisted military members, such as life insurance, laundry fees for the cleaning of their uniforms, and a traditional deduction to the company fund. For all soldiers, these funds varied according to the post they were assigned to. 112

CHAPTER 8: TWENTIETH CENTURY

By 1915, the number of Indian scouts serving in the U.S. Army had declined to just twenty-four. Serving out their enlistments at Ft. Apache, the remaining members occupied their days training, patrolling, and hunting game; tasks more similar to their everyday lives as Native Americans rather than those of army scouts. Their role in the army had diminished greatly from its heyday of thirty years ago. The need for Native trackers had become an afterthought since the army viewed mechanization as the wave of the future. For the scouts, as well as and the cavalry, however, there would be one last campaign. On March 9, 1916, Francisco “Pancho” Villa’s Villistas raided across the U.S. border into Columbus, New Mexico, seeking supplies to reequip their forces. The United

States responded by sending units of the Seventh, Tenth, Eleventh, and Thirteenth cavalries, under the command of General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing, into Mexico to capture or kill Villa. The Apache scouts that participated in the expedition experienced first hand the shift in the Army’s perception of their military value.150

Punitive Expedition

Once again, the U.S. Army found itself entering Mexico in search of a smaller enemy force that had raided across a border, one familiar with the unforgiving deserts of

Chihuahua and the mountain trails of the Sierra Madre. Like General Miles in 1886,

Pershing waited before enlisting the aid of the Apache scouts. Instead he attempted to first elicit local support from various adventurers, such as expatriate American cowboys and soldiers of fortune, living in the territory. Their abilities proved second-rate, as

150 Michael L. Tate, “ ‘Pershing’s Pets’: Apache Scouts in the Mexican Punitive Expedition of 1916.” New Mexico Historical Review 66, no. 1 (January 1991), 49-54. 113 evidenced by an episode on March 29, 1916, when U.S. forces passed near the town of

Guerrero, missing Villa buy just a few miles, totally unaware of his presence. Pershing’s staff quickly realized without the aid of the scouts their objectives would never be reached. Given the situation along the U.S.-Mexican border, the army increased the scout detachment by an additional fifteen members, brining the total Indian scout strength to thirty-nine men.151

On April 4, Captain Oliver P. M. Hazard, the Ft. Apache commander, received orders to immediately select and accompany twenty Apache scouts on the train to

Columbus; their orders, link up with the 11th Cavalry. Every one of the twenty-four trackers at the fort volunteered for duty, excited about the chance to return to action and days past. Arriving in Columbus two days later, the group immediately boarded a truck convoy and headed south three hundred miles to their area of operations. Due to the immediacy in which they left, they did not bring their own mounts. Issued new horses, the scouts then met their new commander, 1st Lieutenant James A. Shannon, and like all soldiers do at some point or another, they awaited their orders.152

151 Tate, ‘Pershing’s Pets,’ 49-54. Andrew Wallace. “The Sabre Retires: Pershing’s Cavalry Campaign in Mexico, 1916.” The Smoke Signal 9. (Spring 1964), 13. Wharfield, Apache Indian Scouts, 70. James P. Finley, “Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Huachuca.” Huachuca Illustrated: A Magazine of the Fort Huachuca Museum (Ft. Huachuca, AZ.: 1993), 88. Finley reports Indian scout from Ft. Huachuca, part of the additional scout members created in 1916, served in Mexico with the 10th Cavalry, with the Ft. Apache scouts operating with the 11th Cavalry. No other sources confirm this scenario. Vanderpot cites the additional scouts assigned to Ft. Apache and never serving in Mexico. 152 Tate, ‘Pershing’s Pets,’ 54-55. James A. Shannon, “With the Apache Scouts in Mexico.” Journal of the United States Cavalry Association 27, no. 27 (April 1917), 540. Shannon’s article of 1917, lists him as a Captain in the citation, but as a Lieutenant in the text. In Col. Frank Tompkins, Chasing Villa: The Last Campaign of the U.S. Cavalry (1934; repr., Silver City, NM.: High-Lonesome Book, 1996), 260., Shannon is cited as being a Captain. Apparently before leaving Mexico in February 1917, Shannon is promoted to the rank of Captain. 114

For nearly a month the scouts waited, anxious to take to the field. During this period Lt. Shannon came to appreciate the skills of the Apache men as expert trackers, as well as their personalities as individuals. Having never met an Apache, the officer, like most twentieth century whites, “expected to find some tall, lean, eagle-eyed and eagle- beaked redskins, with little or nothing on except moccasins and a rifle belt, with probably a knife or tomahawk fastened on somewhere, sort of “leather Stocking” heroes, silent and fierce.” When the lieutenant arrived to greet his unit he found instead, “Twenty short, stocky, pleasant mannered individuals, fully equipped in cavalry uniform from leggings to campaign hat. (Photo 7) Their average height was about five feet six inches and some of them were decidedly too fat and didn’t look at all as though they could run full speed over the tops of the Sierra Madre.”153 It did not take long for these preconceived misconceptions to be erased. Introduced to soldiers with names like Sgt. Chicken, Chow

Big, and Hell Yet-Suey, the new commander learned quickly the unique character of the type of men he led. Assigned a task for which they were suited, the Western Apache scouts performed quickly and efficiently, demonstrating their physical skills as well as their ability to work either individually or as a team.154

As the punitive expedition continued with limited results, the scouts realized their main duties involved providing fresh game for the troops and tracking down army deserters. They repeatedly excelled at both of these tasks, earning the mutual respect and admiration of their commanding officer. The first and only significant military action the

153 Shannon, 540. Shannon came to respect the Western Apache trackers, which led to the writing of this article and his public support for the scouts. 154 Tate, ‘Pershing’s Pets,’ 56-57. 115 scouts experienced occurred on May 4, 1916, when Major Robert L. Howze of the 11th

Cavalry led a force in response to a call for aid by a Carranzista commander who had encountered a superior Villistas force near the town of Cusihuiriachic, Chihuahua.

Shannon’s scout detachment took flanking positions on the high ground surrounding the ranch. They had hoped to avoid detection, so as to prevent any escape of the Mexican rebels once the frontal attack began. Coming immediately under fire, however, the scouts dismounted and returned fire. When ordered to give up their superior positions and advance into enemy fire they refused, waiting until the tactical advantage had shifted.

Then they joined the regular army troops already engaged in the attack and helped defeat the Villistas, killing or capturing over 130 enemy fighters, with no American or Apache casualties. Taking horses and mules as booty, the scouts demonstrated to Lt. Shannon both their abilities as army soldiers and their uniqueness as Apache warriors. They fought as their culture had trained them, taking their just rewards at the end of the battle, while achieving the desired military objective.

As Lt. Shannon recalled, “The [Apache] Indian cannot be beaten at his own game.

But in order to get results he must be allowed to play that game in his own way.”155 In this instance, like past others, the army accepted the terms on which the scouts chose to participate, a concept entirely foreign, and even dangerous, to military authority. One of the constants of the military is the uniformity, the melding of a group as one, with the unit following the orders without hesitation or question. In larger military operations this

155 Villistas were the partisan forces that fought with Pancho Villa, while the Carranzista were those federal troops loyal to the Mexican government and President Venustiano Carranza. Shannon 547-48.

116 becomes even more critical. If a unit does not follow its prescribed strategy, it places the other units at risk, as they do not know what to expect. Shannon’s unit, one small piece of the military operation, followed its own strategy. While the mission proved successful, if the attack on the ranch had failed, the scout’s reactions may have proved costly in terms of casualties. That nothing happened to the scouts reveals the freedom that possessed.

Perhaps a better example of the scout’s this involves General Pershing’s invitation to the Indian scouts to entertain the American troops stationed at Colonia Dublán. On

September 11, 1916, the Native men cleansed themselves according to tradition, and dressed in traditional attire, performed before 1,000 American soldiers, singing and dancing to overwhelming applause. The Tucson Citizen described the dance as a “Ghost

Dance.”156 First sergeant Eskehnadestah, or Sgt. Chicken, serving his twenty-third year in the military, performed in the lead role, while another scout, Hell Yet-Suey, performed as the drummer and lead singer for a group of fourteen performers. His name, however, does not appear on any available military rosters. Obviously, Hell Yet-Suey is different from the name he used with regard to military formalities such as payroll. This phenomenon, while fairly common, makes it difficult to follow individual scout histories.157

The scouts, dubbed “Pershing’s Pets” by the regular army soldiers, enjoyed their opportunity to perform for the troops, reportedly receiving strong ovations according to printed reports. They returned to the United States in February 1917 with General

156 “Weird Ghost Dance is Given for Gen. Pershing in Mexico.” Tucson Citizen. (September 13, 1916), 4. 157 Tate, ‘Pershing’s Pets,’ 63.

117

Pershing, without any of the fanfare directed at the American hero. Pershing, a proponent of the mechanized army of tanks and planes, enjoyed the Western Apache troops as entertainers, but he failed to publicly endorse their efforts as scouts and servicemen.

Regardless of their lack of public recognition, the twenty Western Apache men returned home, having paved the way for the thousands of Native Americans who follow in their footsteps and enlisted to fight in the Great War, the scouts returned to Ft. Apache and listened to the accounts of the fighting in Europe.158

The Final Years at Ft. Apache

Having survived the threat of annihilation through war and racial violence during the last half of the nineteenth century, the Western Apache faced a new threat in the opening decades of the twentieth century. In the 1910s, two separate epidemics hit Ft.

Apache and San Carlos, the first in the winter of 1914-1915, and the second and longer pandemic from 1918 through 1920. While infectious diseases from Anglo-Europeans had been catastrophic to the indigenous population in the North America since first contact in the fifteenth century, the toll on the Western Apache as a result of these two incidents proved especially devastating.

Lutheran missionary E. Edgar Guenther and his wife Lois Minnie described the winter outbreak of whooping cough and pneumonia at Ft. Apache in 1914-1915, when several hundred Indians perished due to lack of proper care and medical supplies. The

158 Tate, ‘Pershing’s Pets,” 64. Russel Lawrence Barsh. “American Indians in the Great War.” Ethnohistory 38, no. 3 (Summer 1991), 277, 285. http://www.jstor.org/stable/482356 (accessed April 16, 2010).While nearly 17,000 American Indian registered for the draft in WW I and others volunteered freely, no Apache scouts seemed to have gone overseas, despite Pershing’s mention of Apache scouts. For a more detailed look of Native enlistments see Michael L. Tate, “From Scout to Doughboy: The National Debate over Integrating American Indians into the Military, 1891-1918.” The Western Historical Quarterly 17, no. 4 (October, 1986), 417-437. 118 minister realized something might be wrong due to the lack of campfires in the early morning cold, followed by the absence of children at the newly opened school. As custom dictated, whenever disease broke out the Natives dispersed to the surrounding hills, in attempts to isolate themselves from the contagion. The Guenther’s, with no modern medicines, resorted to a homemade concoction comprised of skunk oil, turpentine and coal oil, made more bearable by a hint of Mrs. Guenther’s perfume.

Applied to the chest, it quite possibly helped save some lives, as none of the school children apparently died. As the death toll mounted, rifle shots rang out on the reservation each morning signifying another lost Apache. This outbreak, however, paled in comparison the one that followed.159

The global pandemic several years later had even greater consequences.

Originating in Europe, the Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1918 killed approximately twenty million people worldwide, more than the total deaths associated with the World

War that prefaced its arrival. Figures for infectious diseases rarely included, or differentiated between indigenous populations and the general public so it is uncertain how many Western Apache actually died during this period. For the U.S. population as a whole, it is estimated that twenty-eight percent of the entire population became infected, with the death toll approximately 675,000. In 1918, the epidemic caused the death rate for young adults to rise twenty times higher than that of the previous year. As with any infectious disease, groups congregating together faced greater potential for infection. This

159 William B. Kessel, “Edgar and Minnie” in Western Apache Material Culture: The Goodwin and Guenther Collections, ed. Alan Ferg (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 19870). 9-14.

119 included reservation populations forced to stand in line for rations, children relocated to federal Indian boarding schools, and military members bivouacked together as a unit.

During this period the population of Native Americans had reached an all time low.

Beverly Malone, one of the White Mountain scout descendents, stated she lost three of five aunts or uncles to the pandemic. In January 1920, another outbreak struck the Ft. Apache reservation, infecting many of the students at the Theodore Roosevelt federal Indian boarding school. With so many of the reservation families forced to rely upon assistance from those able to obtain wage paying jobs, the unusually high percentage of young adults sickened by the influenza strain undoubtedly created extra hardship. The presence of the fort itself provided some relief for the scouts and their families.160 It is during this period as well that written accounts of the scouts and their service improved.

In January 8, 1918, Lieutenant H. B. Wharfield received orders to report to Ft.

Apache as the new commander of the Troop L (Indian scout detachment) of the 10th

Cavalry. He later served as acting commander of the fort, recalling his year at the post as the most interesting of his cavalry career. The fort had a garrison of one troop of 10th

Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers, twenty-two Apache scouts, and assorted support detachments, totaling two hundred eleven men. Describing the scout’s military bearing with regard to their uniforms, Wharfield remembered they wore the incorrect insignia on their campaign

160 Jeffery K. Taubenberger, Ann H. Reid, Amy E. Krafft, Karen E. Bijwaard, and Thomas G. Fanning, “Initial Genetic Characterization of the 1918 “Spanish” Influenza Virus,” Science, New Series. 275, no. 5307 (March 21, 1997), under http://www.jstor.org/stable/2892709 (accessed April 16, 2010). Beverly Malone, interview by author, White Mountain Apache Cultural Center and Museum, July 25, 2008 and February 4, 2009. Kessel, 16-17. Kessel states over two hundred Apache died at San Carlos, but no figures are mentioned for Ft. Apache. 120 hats, choosing the U.S.S. emblem, rather than the crossed arrow emblem authorized for their headgear.161 He also recalled Sgt. Chow Big, a veteran of the Punitive Expedition, wearing elastic armbands taken from captured Villistas as proof of his warrior skills. The lieutenant did acknowledge the scouts “were all neat and clean in appearance.”162 This could imply the Lieutenant had some preconceived stereotypes of the Western Apache as dirty, filthy Indians. Many new army officers assigned to outposts that had Native populations within close proximity faced their preconceived notions of what the indigenous population might be like. These descriptions of the scouts demonstrated their acceptance of army uniform regulations on their terms. Another interesting facet of the scout-officer relationship involved the fact that many scouts spoke little or no English, and many officers spoke limited or no White Mountain of Cibecue Apache. This dynamic necessitated a greater degree of trust on the unit. It also revealed the army’s willingness to accommodate the scout’s way of thinking, actions that would not typically be tolerated in any regular army unit.163

Despite the amiable working relationship described between the Army trackers and their commander at Ft. Apache, cultural differences remained significant between the two ethnicities. The Indian Service agents and the army officers tried to place the scouts

161 It appears the crossed arrows insignia was originally worn on a black campaign hat designed for the Indian scouts. For the regular khaki headgear the U.S.S. insignia was normal. Given the limited information, it is possible Lt. Wharfield could have been mistaken in his discussion of the authorized headgear insignia. Field, 57. 162 Wharfield, With Scouts and Cavalry at Fort Apache, 18. 163 Ibid., 1, 18. Finley, 12. Smith, 197. The Buffalo Soldiers were African-American soldiers. The origination of their name comes from the Native Americans; one being that the black soldier’s hair looked like that of the buffalo (bison), the other being a sign of mutual respect for their adversaries, as the African- American soldiers fought with the same ferocity and courage as that of a wounded and cornered American bison. 121 and their families into traditional army assigned housing, but after just a few days the

Indians returned to their traditional manner of housing; the wickiup, with the traditional

“white” wooden buildings relegated as storage facilities. While the Apache disagreed with numerous white concepts, such as fixed housing and canned foods, the army officer’s actions could demonstrate a lack of respect for their enlistees as well. One gruesome hobby practiced by Lt. Wharfield involved his collecting of Indian bones. He had a separate room in his quarters for all the artifacts he amassed while at the fort. His personal ashtray became in fact, an Indian skull. Given the lieutenant’s lack of deference and the fact that the scouts must have been aware of his hobby, it makes the scout’s exemplary record all the more incredible.164

Twenty-two Apache scouts served at Ft. Apache during Wharfield’s tour of duty.

Based on their payroll records from October 1917, these warriors averaged nearly sixteen years of military service apiece, more than likely far more than any other regular army troops stationed at the fort. (Appendix C) Their ages ranged from Sgt. Askeldelinny

(Little Major) at age fifty-three, to Cpl. Jess Billy, the youngest at age twenty-three.165

Also in 1917, the U.S. Army extended the scout enlistments to seven years, the same as the regular troops. In addition, scout’s monthly pay increased based upon their rank. Privates, the lowest end of the enlisted scale, now earned thirty dollars per month, a

164 Wharfield, With Scouts and Cavalry at Fort Apache, 26, 65, 91. Davisson, “Fort Apache Arizona Territory, 191. After meeting Dr. Leslie Spier of the American Museum of Natural History, he shipped part of his collection to her in . In 1883, Captain John G. Bourke and Pvt. Will C. Barnes raided a sacred funeral cave near the fort. When the Apache found out Bourke apologized had the remains returned in order to prevent an incident. 165 These ages are purely speculative, given the fact that the Apache had no written records and did not categorize events based upon calendar dates. The dates of military service are generally considered accurate, discrepancies generally being the changing of enlistment names. 122 substantial increase from the forty-six years standard of thirteen dollars. Each higher rank received a proportional increase. With a longer service enlistment, that is, a guaranteed job, a significant pay raise, and a duty assignment in their own backyard, it is likely scout service became even more coveted than before, especially given the horrendous economic environment on the reservations.166

Lt. Wharfield observed several interesting things while living on the White

Mountain post that evidenced what a steady income could do for a family. First he recalled, “The women of the scouts were well dressed and their children cleaner and better clothed than the reservation Indians,” adding, “the boys were dressed in overalls and shirts purchased at the post exchange.”167 The officer also described how the commissary sergeant and his wife often provided two old Apache women living together near the post, “broken cans of beans, wrinkled old potatoes, and torn sacks of flour, coffee, and all types of so-called “surveyed” commissary items that were dropped from government accountability.”168All the old Indians on the reservation seemed to be regularly taken care of by the scout’s families and friends, despite the fact that they often lived apart from the younger members. These incidents revealed the advantages associated with scout service and living in close proximity to Ft. Apache, as well as the following of clan support.169

166 General Lucian K. Truscott, Jr., The Twilight of the U.S. Cavalry: Life in the Old Army, 1917- 1942 (Lawrence, KS.: University Press of Kansas, 1989), 13. Field, 53. 167 Wharfield. With Scouts and Cavalry at Fort Apache , 23-24. 168 Ibid., 25. 169 Ibid., 26. 123

In the fall of 1919, Minnie Guenther’s sister, Frieda, and her husband Arnold

Knoop, opened a trading post at Carrizo, approximately twenty miles northwest from Ft.

Apache. Unfortunately, it became obvious very quickly that the local indigenous community had no means to regularly purchase items from the store. With cash extremely hard to come by, the Indians found themselves forced to trade what few items of value they owned for food and supplies. These actions brought about two significant, yet unfortunate, outcomes. First, by the winter of 1922-1923, the Knoops were forced out of business, having given away their entire inventory rather than see the local Apache go hungry. Had the scouts’ resources not been available, conditions would have been worse.

Secondly, because the Ndee had few possessions of their own and tradition called for the deceased to have their belongings either buried with them or burned, there remained little of value to trade with. As a result, during this period the resident Indian population forfeited many of their prized possessions. Soon, the scout’s themselves would be displaced.170

Fort Huachuca

Deactivated permanently as a unit on June 30, 1921, the Apache Indian scouts of

Troop L, 10th Cavalry ceased to exist as a unique and separate army organization. Instead, they found themselves members of the Detached Enlisted Men’s list, a mixed bag of small army units and personnel that did not fit comfortably within the army’s regimented unit designations. Sixteen months later, on October 4, 1922, President Warren G. Harding declared Ft. Apache “useless for military purposes” and authorized control of the post be

170 Kessel, 19. The bulk of these items, however, eventually became part of the Guenther Indian Collection, housed at the Arizona State Museum in Tucson, Arizona. 124 shifted from the War Department to the Department of the Interior. This Executive Order, cited in section IX of Army General Order No. 42, meant the transfer of the remaining

Western Apache scouts to Ft. Huachuca. Located at the base of the Huachuca Mountains in southeastern Arizona, just fifteen miles from the Mexican border, the military post found itself home to the legendary scouts mainly because the army did not know what else to do with them.

With a high of thirty-nine Western Apache scouts during the Punitive Expedition, the numbers had fallen to just twenty-two by the closure of Ft. Apache. It is during this time, 1920-1922 that the final scout enlistments occurred. The scouts assigned to Ft.

Apache, they had two options: leave the army or relocate 180 miles south to the new post.

Several men elected to retire rather than reenlist. Of those who chose to end their careers,

Pvt. John Cody had served the longest, retiring after twenty-two years of military service.

The other three, Ka-gethl, Jesse Palmer, and Tea Square, had served eight, ten, and seven years respectively. They mustered out over the next few months as their enlistments expired. As the scouts retired or finished their current enlistments and returned home, they would not be replaced. The small group of Apache men and their families who moved faced the adjustments that came with relocating to a new duty assignment, one that turned out to be their final one.171

171 “Report on Strength of Indian Scouts, 7-9. Indian Scout Binder, Section 1. Ft. Huachuca Museum Archives, Main Museum (June 5, 2008). Wharfield, Apache Indian Scouts, 101. Smith, 251. By January 1923, all scout quartermaster records and personnel files had been shipped to Ft. Bliss, Texas. Gregory J.W. Urwin, The United States Cavalry: An Illustrated History, 1776-1944 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, Red River Books, 2003),181-182. The National Defense Act of 1920 capped the U.S. Army at 280,000 soldiers, with the cavalry to be reduced to 950 officers and 20,000 enlisted personnel. In 1922, further cuts reduced the cavalry by half yet again. By mid 1923, fewer than 10,000 remained in the cavalry, with pony soldiers limited to training and military ceremonies. Due to Ft. Apache’s isolation and 125

Being the minority on post presented some social problems for the scout families.

Where one could live at Ft. Apache without speaking English, language barriers proved more difficult at Ft. Huachuca. Recollections handed down to descendant’s families describe the local storekeeper often getting very upset with the Apache families because they did not speak English. Some Indian children used to skip school, running away to ride horses in the local mountains, rather than learn English. This separation of family groups between Ft. Apache and Ft. Huachuca made it more difficult for some families than for others. Beverly Malone’s father Ambrose remembered being allowed to bring his puppy along on the move to his father’s new post, because he had no brothers or sisters to make the trip with him. The journey between the two posts, dictated by sources of potable water along the way, took over a week by horseback. Given that it was customary for Western Apache women to return home to give birth to their children, returning to the

Ft. Apache area presented challenges, especially for families with multiple children.172

For the scouts themselves, their military roles remained very similar to what they had been for the last two decades. Over the next twenty-five years, the scouts routinely patrolled the fort’s perimeter, watching for fires, repairing fences, and caring for livestock. They served as game wardens and provided fresh meat for the troops when needed. When visiting dignitaries arrived on the post, they often went on tours of the the decline of cavalry troops, its closure made sense. With the switch in ownership of Ft. Apache to the Department of Interior, Congress approved the establishment of the Theodore Roosevelt boarding school, which is still in operation today. Wharfield, Apache Indian Scouts, 86-100. Smith, 265-266. Tate, ‘Pershing’s Pets,’ 68-69. 172 Beverly Malone, interview by author, White Mountain Apache Cultural Center and Museum, July 25, 2008. Her father, Ambrose, was eight years when the family left Ft. Apache for Ft. Huachuca. J.T., interviewed by author, White Mountain Apache Cultural Center and Museum, February 4, 2009. J.T. talked about his mother returning back to Ft. Apache to give birth to him, rejoining his father at Ft. Huachuca later on. In all his parents had sixteen children, with five interned in the Ft. Huachuca cemetery. 126 surrounding mountains with the Apache trackers. Given their integrity and military history, the remaining scouts had a degree of autonomy. They typically received orders straight from the post commander, being directly supervised, if needed, by their own non- commissioned officers. Sinew Luke Riley emerged as the leader of this Western Apache unit. Like their earlier relatives, these Apache men never engaged in army mounted drills or routine garrison duties. For the most part, they functioned as their own unit, living and working separately from the regular troops, following their own traditional code of conduct, based on Ndee culture. One duty they did perform placed them in the public eye and gained them local notoriety became that of the Native performer.173

In the 1920s, Colonel James C. Rhea, Ft. Huachuca’s commander, requested the

Apache scouts to dress in their Native attire and periodically entertain visitors to the fort.

In 1925, Col. Rhea sent 1st Lt. John H. Healy to Ft. Apache to recruit 100 “able-bodied”

Apaches, to be used as extras for the Fox Film, Custer’s Last Stand, shot on location at

Ft. Huachuca, with troops from the post also serving as extras in the film.174 In 1938, the local newspaper reported that the Indians simulated an attack on a covered wagon. This reportedly ended up being one of the most popular events of that year’s Army Day celebration. Dressed in “colorful ceremonial costumes,” the entertainers remained on the drill field to pose for numerous photographs, the local crowd excited to get pictures of

“real live Indians.”175

173 Tate, ‘Pershing’s Pets,’ 69. Smith, 255. Vanderpot, 34. 174 Vanderpot, 39. 175 Arizona Republic, April 6, 1938. In Doerner, 273. 127

One member of the Apache unit, Sgt. William Major, recalled, “We marched in many parades, always once per month at least. On occasion when special visitors were present we would dress in Indian costumes, which we glamorized. We’d put on a lot of feathers and paint our faces to create an impression of ferocity. The visitors expected to see fierce, painted Apaches, so we complied.”176 (Photo 8) The unit also marched in events held off the post, such as the Tombstone “Helldorado Days” parade. (Photo 9) The scouts dressed in unique, non-traditional outfits since they felt obligated to represent not just the Apache, but also all the different Indians that had served in the army over the years. The men continually changed their outfits, because as J.T. put it, “You don’t want to wear the same Easter outfit year after year.”177

While the army encouraged the scouts to perform for the public, taking advantage of their popularity to enhance their own public image, it also promoted a new modern military force, an image that contradicted that of the Indian. In 1933, the U.S. Army determined that the non-uniform Apache scout homes, wickiups or teepees, (Photo 10) no longer fit in with the Army’s modern vision. Consequently, with the scouts help, soldiers of the 25th Infantry constructed seven adobe huts from bricks they manufactured on site.

(Photo 11) J.T. recalled helping make the adobe bricks as a child living at Ft.

Huachuca.178

176 Sgt. William Major, interview by Dr. Bruno J. Rolak, U.S. Army Communications Command Historian, 1973, in Smith, 273. 177 J.T., interview by author, White Mountain Apache Cultural Center and Museum, July 24, 2008. J.T.’s father served as an Apache scout at Ft. Huachuca for over twenty-five years. Tombstone’s Helldorado Days still take place every year on the third weekend in October. 178 J.T., interview by author, White Mountain Apache Cultural Center and Museum, February 4, 2009. 128

Photo 8. Apache scouts at Ft. Huachuca in costume, 1930. Source: Ft. Huachuca Museum, 1930.15.00.66.

Photo 9. Tombstone “Helldorado Parade,” 1930. Source: Ft Huachuca Museum, 1930.15.00.65

129

Photo 10. 1930 Apache scout camp at Ft. Huachuca, comprised of twenty-two teepees. Fort records listed the camp as being near the post cemetery, but this would not have been the case, as the Apache would never locate their homes near a burial ground.179 Source: Ft. Huachuca Museum, 1930.15.00.62.

The two room huts had no plumbing, but did have wiring for electricity. Each on had an outdoor toilet and shower located behind the structure. The scouts and their families did not like the adobe homes and for approximately two years chose to live in their traditional homes, allowing their horses and supplies to occupy the regulation style buildings. Finally, sometime in 1935, the army forced the remaining eight Apache scouts

(Figure 5) and their families into the adobe huts, located in the “Apache Flats” area, and

180 removed the traditional Indian homes once and for all.

179 Both J.T. and Beverly Malone confirmed that their families would not have erected their camp near any cemetery. Interviewed by author, White Mountain Apache Cultural Center and Museum on 24, 25 July 2008 and 4 February 2009. 180 Rita Doerner, “Sinew Riley, Apache Scout,” The Journal of Arizona History 14 (Winter 1973): 274. Smith, 273. Smith lists the adobe huts containing, “stoves, running water and outside shower facilities.” It is unclear how the army placed eight scouts and their families in seven adobe huts. It is not until 1941, with the retirement of Cpl. Alejo J. Quintero that the scouts were reduced to seven members. 130

Photo11. 1960 photo of six of the seven adobe scout quarters built in 1933, Ft. Huachuca. Source: Ft. Huachuca Museum, 1960.00.00.01

Rank and Name Serial Number Date of Enlistment

Sergeant Sinew L. Riley 6 202 937 1920 Corporal Ivan Antonio 6 202 936 1920 Corporal Alejo J. Quintero R 1 140 079 1911 Private Jess Billy R 1 140 069 1913 Private Joe (Y32) Kessay 6 201 531 1922 Private Jim Lane R 1 140 075 1914 Private William Major 6 202 945 1921 Private Andrew Paxon Not listed 1920 Figure 5. 1935 Indian Scout roster. Source: Wharfield, Apache Indian Scouts, 102.

The sixty-year relationship between the Apache and the U.S. Army shifted with the move to Ft. Huachuca. Where once the scouts had dressed according to their traditions and performed their ritual ceremonies whenever they deemed necessary, with the complete endorsement of the military, they now found themselves forced to conform more rigidly to army regulations and protocols. The army now dictated when they could wear non-regulation attire and perform their rituals while on duty. With regard to the majority of their official duties, the scouts still functioned as a separate unit, without 131 direct military supervision. They also kept their own personal lives with their families separate from their military life, attempting to retain traditional Western Apache customs as much as possible. Sgt. Riley acknowledged this as a concern in a letter to his son Luke several years later. Nevertheless, these scouts elected to accept to their changing military roles, continuing to reenlist when their current hitches expired. The remaining decade of their military service only served to expose the widening gap between their heyday and the modern world around them. They found themselves becoming an anachronism, being replaced by tanks, radios, and airplanes.

In December 1938, Sgt. Riley, the ranking member of the dwindling unit, traveled to New York City for a week as a guest on the Columbia Broadcasting Company (CBS) radio program, “We, the People.” Brought there to tell the story of his military service, he visited Rockefeller Center and traveled by himself to the United States military academy at West Point. Reportedly indignant over the fact he might need help getting there on his own, Riley nevertheless managed to master modern modes of transportation just fine, visiting the institution that had trained many of his people’s adversaries over the past decades. While unimpressed with the city, Riley enjoyed Kate Smith’s appearance on the show with him. After calling his wife long distance on the telephone, the eighteen- year military veteran boarded an airplane and returned home five days early. His prophetic response upon arriving back in Arizona, “Too many people, too much noise. I come home.” Riley, after eighteen years in the military, had become acculturated enough to understand what the growing onslaught of modernity meant to his military career. With 132 a world war brewing in Europe, he returned home to his Native lands to await new orders.181

For Sgt. Riley and his fellow scouts, military life changed very little with the onslaught of World War II. With America’s entry into the war, Ft. Huachuca grew rapidly as a training base, expanding to over 25,000 soldiers, both men and women. The bulk of the population comprised of the 92nd and 93rd Black Infantry Divisions. The base also became home to many other support units, in addition to providing uniforms, equipment, rations, and laundry services for other soldiers and airmen stationed throughout the state during the war years. For the aging Apache scouts, aside from having thousands more soldiers on the post, things changed just slightly. They still regularly rode the post perimeter, checking 45-65 miles of fencing and watching for fires. This became even more important with the war mission because the number of fires increased as a result of the escalated artillery training. They also marked trails and warded off hunters and illegal trespassers. In addition, the Indian veterans also served in some capacity as military police during the war.182

These Native men, now all in their forties and fifties, still performed their duties proudly and proficiently, sadly aware their days of military campaigns had ended. Sgt.

Joe Kessay, interviewed years after his retirement, recalled, “We loved our life at the fort.

We had pride in what we were doing and our friendship with the troops was excellent at

181 Emily Brown, “Manhattan Palls on Apache Scout; ‘Nothing to Do,’ Tucson Daily Citizen, December 16, 1938. 182 Smith, 278, 301-302, Doerner, Sinew Riley, Apache Scout, 276. Vanderpot, 34. William Major recalled still having the MP insignia worn on the shoulder of the uniform, adding, “We look after buildings.” This implies some type of detail checking the security of buildings on the fort. 133 all times. We were very well-treated and our work, we felt, was important. We were crushed when the scouts were disbanded.”183 Until they faced mandatory retirement, however, the remaining few men continued to serve as they had for years, protecting their homelands from the enemy.

Before the end of World War II, the Indian scouts lost three more members, reducing their ranks to just four men. In April 1944, Pvt. Jess Billy retired from active duty. In June 1945, Cpl. Jim Lane left the service, and sometime in 1945, Pvt. Andrew

Paxton suffered a fatal injury after falling from his horse while on duty. Despite their age and dwindling numbers, the skills of the scouts came to play one last time.184

In January 1945, the scouts received orders to track one last enemy. Sgt. Sinew L.

Riley, Deputy Sheriff Clell Lee, and First Sgt. Charles Bath, joined forces called out to help track down and apprehended two German prisoners-of-war that had escaped from

Camp Papago, a POW camp in Phoenix, Arizona. While Sgt Riley and his group never apprehended the two German prisoners headed for the Mexican border, the prisoners became part of an obscure, yet rich history; the final enemy tracked by one of the last remaining Apache scouts. Soon after, their proud tradition came to an end, seventy-six years after the first Apache warrior had enlisted as a scout in the U.S. Army.185

183 Sgt. Joe Kessay, interview by Dr. Bruno J. Rolak, U.S. Army Communications Command Historian, 1973, in Smith, Fort Huachuca: The Story of a Frontier Post, 273. 184 Copy of letter from Army Adjutant General to Commander Ninth Service Command, November 24, 1943. AG 320.22 (18 Nov 43) PE-A-SPGA. Copy of letter to Ft. Huachuca post commander from (Operations) Headquarters Ninth Service Command, Lt. Col. H.B. Wharfield, November 30, 1943. Copy of letter from Col. Hardy, Service Command Unit 1922 to Headquarters, Ft. Huachuca (Gen Order No. 137) December 6, 1943. Indian Scout Binder, Section 4. Ft. Huachuca Museum Archives, Main Museum, (June 5, 2008). Wharfield, Apache Indian Scouts, 96-98. 185 “Post Posse Pursues Escaped War Prisoners,” Bisbee Daily Review, (January 15, 1945). 134

The conclusion of World War II led to the scheduled deactivation of Ft. Huachuca and the retirement of the last four Indian trackers. Effective September 30, 1947, Staff

Sgt. Sinew L. Riley, Sgt. William Major, Sgt. Joe (Y-32) Kessay, and Sgt. Ivan Antonio, effectively ended their military careers in the U.S. Army. Just prior to their retirement, a formal ceremony took place on the drill field at Ft. Huachuca to celebrate the scout’s historic military service.186 (Photo 12) Honored was the fact that not only did the Apache warriors who served do so with distinction, they helped pave the way for future Native

Americans who chose to serve in the military. The percentage of Native Americans enlisting for World War I and World War II exceeded that of the general population, a trend that has continued beyond the careers of the Apache scouts.187

The emotions felt by the final four Western Apache scouts on their retirement in

1947 can best be summed up in the words of Sgt. Sinew L. Riley. Taken from a speech he made on August 1, 1936, in celebration of the 70th anniversary of General Order No.

56, which authorized the enlistment of Native Americans into the U.S. Army as scouts, he stated:

186 Wharfield, Apache Indian Scouts,103. Vanderpot, 39-40. According to old Army customs, each of the retiring scouts advanced one grade in rank. For example Sgt. Riley retired as a SSgt. 187 Tom Holm, Strong Hearts Wounded Souls: Native American Veterans of the Vietnam War, (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1996), 99, 104. Holm reports 17,000 Native Americans served in World War I, with the number growing to 25,000 for World War II. Michael L. Tate, “From Scout to Doughboy, “ 430: Tate figures for World War I differ, with 10,000 Natives from Canada and the U.S. serving in World War I. For figures on Vietnam see Strong Hearts Wounded Souls: Native American Veterans of the Vietnam War. 135

Photo 12. Apache scout’s retirement at Ft. Huachuca, 1947. (L-R) Post Commander Col. William L. Roberts, Staff Sgt. Sinew L. Riley, Sgt. William Major, Sgt. Joe (Y-32) Kessay, and Sgt. Ivan Antonio. Source: Ft. Huachuca Museum, 1947.08.28.01

We were recruited from the warriors of many famous nations. We are the last of the Army’s Indian scouts. In a few years we shall be gone to join our comrades in the great hunting grounds beyond the sunset, for our need is here no more. There we shall always remain very proud of our Indian people and of the United States Army, for we were truly the first Americans and you in the Army are now our warriors. To you who will keep the Army’s campfires bright, we extend our hands, and to you we will our fighting hearts.188

The surviving scouts continued to return to Ft. Huachuca in later years to reminisce with each other and harvest the acorns from the trees along Grierson Street and in Huachuca Canyon. The fort only remained deactivated for a short time, reopening with the commencement of the Korean War. In 1950, like the post he had served for twenty- seven years, Staff Sgt. Sinew L. Riley (Ret) received orders to return to active duty as a

188 Smith, 275. The first line of this quote is used in the thesis title. 136 member of the United States Air Force Reserves. Living with his family in Whiteriver on the Ft. Apache Indian Reservation, the aged tracker made the trip to Davis-Monthan Air

Force base in Tucson and reported for duty as directed. While the retired tracker received new discharge papers and did not serve again, he came to epitomize the Native serviceman. Nearly eighty years after the U.S. Army first enlisted Apache scouts, the question remains, why, generation after generation, did they serve?189

189 J.T., interview by author, White Mountain Apache Cultural Center and Museum, July 24, 2008. J.T. talked with Ft. Huachuca personnel during one of our interviews trying to get reassurance that the agreement allowing former scouts and their family’s access on post to pick acorns still applied. I don’t know if J. T. went to Ft. Huachuca, nor if the agreement reached years earlier remained in effect after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the increased security on military bases. Smith, 270. 137

CHAPTER 9: CONCLUSION

During the latter half of the nineteenth century, coercing the Chiricahua and

Western Apache onto reservations within the Arizona territory became the primary role of the U.S. Army. Under General George Crook, the military succeeded in accomplishing this objective. Within fifteen years after the first Ndee warriors entered the army as scouts, the Western Apache had lost most of their sacred lands, been confined onto two reservations, and forced to compete in a wage economy that placed them at the bottom of the economic scale. The Chiricahua, sadly, faired even worse, with many transported back east and imprisoned as prisoners-of-war for twenty-seven years.

From the first contact with the Spanish, through the taking of Apache lands by the

United States in the nineteenth century, survival has been the driving force behind Indian decision-making. While undoubtedly some Ndee warriors enlisted with personal motives in mind, the majority of those scouts that served in the army did so initially as a means of survival; one both physical and cultural. In Western Apache culture the males earned prestige and honor based upon their skills as raiders, hunters and warriors. Their economic contribution to their group revolved around their abilities to provide stolen goods, food, and livestock that could be used for trading. Social capital from their success might manifest itself in stories or songs that honored their valor or tracking skills. Apache place names incorporated their special deeds forever into their family, band, and clan history, with occasional feats becoming tribal lore. Being confined onto reservations prevented males from contributing to their society as they had in the past; it restrained them from pursuing their traditional roles, without providing any alternative opportunities 138 for them to contribute in return, either socially or economically. Service as an army scout offered a replacement for some of the traditional gender roles inherent within Ndee culture. Men could acquire honor and respect through their skills in tracking down

“renegade” Indians and they could help provide for their families and communities with their wages as army trackers. Scout service also provided numerous other advantages for the Western Apache men. They and their families benefited by living on the forts, they had access to military goods and opportunities not available to others on the reservations.

They also could leave the posts more readily, giving them access to traditional resources not located within the confines of the reservation, as well as fresh game.

The U.S. Army garnered tremendous military success through the use of Indian scouts, enough to warrant their inclusion as their own distinct unit. This success revolved around a somewhat symbiotic relationship between the scouts and their individual unit commanders, typically newer, lower ranking officers. Successful commanders, such as

Captains John G. Bourke and Emmet Crawford, and Lieutenants Britton Davis, Charles

B. Gatewood and H. B. Wharfield, realized the greater leeway they afforded the Apache scouts with regard to their culture and beliefs, the more responsive their attitude towards military life. Those officers that learned this became part of history, those who remained rigid and ethnocentric faded from view. Unfortunately, those officers who served with the

Apache scouts and wrote of their experiences generally did so with a western bias. While some of the officers became advocates for the Apache scouts, especially those Chiricahua scouts imprisoned with Geronimo’s band, they still harbored racist opinions of Native 139 people. Fortunately, for some of them, these perceptions and attitudes lessened over time.190

Fortunately for both sides, those younger officers assigned to lead scout detachments generally found themselves permanently relegated to that duty with any demonstration of competency and understanding of the Indians. This allowed a rapport to build within the unit between the officers and the men that granted a degree of autonomy within these detachments not available in the typical cavalry and infantry units. The lack of autonomy in the all-Native army units created in 1890 ultimately caused their demise as the indigenous soldiers rejected the strict military regimentation of the regular units and elected to not reenlist after their first enlistment was up.

This autonomy benefited both the unit commanders and the enlisted scouts. For the officers there existed the chance to earn military honors, especially given the exceptional results connected with the scout’s service. In addition, those commanders curious about Native culture found themselves with an incredible opportunity. For the warriors, service provided certain allowances within the confines of military regulations that allowed them to remain Ndee, continuing to use their traditional skills and knowledge and provide for their families. To that end, hundreds of Chiricahua and

Western Apache males used the U.S. Army to get off the same reservations they had been forced upon, returning to their old trading and raiding areas. This manifested itself into enlisting in the U.S. Army as scouts. The mission and the irony; track down their fellow

190 For example, Lt. Gatewood helped petition the government for life insurance payments due scouts’ families for those who died while serving during the Apache Wars, yet he used an Indian skull as an ashtray. Lori Davisson, Copies of letters to and from The Department of the Interior, 1926-1927. Box 7, No. 93, 140

Apache as members of the same organization that had done the same to thing to them just a short time earlier. This paradox of Apache against Apache looses some of its negative connotation when placed in the proper context. The fact that so many Native men chose military service helps refute the perception of dishonor associated with scout service.191

By 1880s, if not sooner, many Western and Chiricahua Apache understood that continued armed resistance offered only annihilation. While the federal policy to confine all the Apache together at San Carlos in the 1870s instigated most of the breakouts from the reservation, the actions of these “renegade” groups helped fuel the fire among the local citizenry calling for the extermination of the Apache population once and for all.

Scout participation helped lessen non-military aggression towards the Apache by removing those who continued to leave the reservations. It also offered those who served greater opportunities to provide for their families.

Restricted within the confines of the reservation and forced to rely upon a flawed government ration program, while unable to find adequate wage paying opportunities placed tremendous pressure on the Western Apache males. Once the provider of much of their communities’ needs, most men found themselves limited to jobs as unskilled day laborers, building roads, digging irrigation ditches, or picking produce. Placed at the bottom of the racial hierarchy scale, they often received the lowest wages and their dignity and respect suffered. Relegated to these positions, their acculturation into white society occurred much quicker than that of an army scout. Those employed as reservation police faired much better financially, but they faced a degree of animosity from within

191 Tate, Apache Scouts, 309.

141 their community given their responsibilities of maintaining order amongst their family and friends. Enlisting as a U.S. Army scout became the only other alternative that provided the Western Apache males a chance to help their families, while continuing their traditional ways of life off the reservation. With their families allowed to live near them on the post, they had opportunities not available to others. In addition, their monthly income helped them support those unable to do so and granted them a degree of standing within their society.192

The scouts elected to serve long after the Apache Wars, for which they were initially recruited, had ended. Many reenlisted year after year. Through the decades, from

General Pershing’s Punitive Expedition into Mexico through World Wars’ I, and II,

Western Apache men continued their military service. That they still realized a degree of autonomy uncommon in military organizations speaks of their unique relationship within the army, as well as their determination not to completely assimilate. For many, military service became a family tradition; one based as much on cultural beliefs as pragmatic needs. Of the final four Western Apache scouts to serve on active duty, three of them followed their father’s military service. Sgt. William Major’s father, Little Major, served on the Punitive Expedition in Mexico; Sgt Joe Kessay’s father, Pinintinney, served in both in Mexico, and during the Indian Wars, hunting for Geronimo; Ssgt. Sinew L. Riley followed his grandfather, Dead Shot, one of the three scouts hung for mutiny after the

Cibecue Creek affair, his Uncle, Charlie Bones, and his father John. For Sgt. Ivan

Antonio, the forth of the last scouts to serve, there is no available family history. Each of

192 Ibid., 288. 142 the final four scouts that retired in 1947 had over twenty-five years of military service.

Service in the military allowed the Western Apache scouts a means to adapt some of their beliefs and customs into a new way of life. By being given the chance to continue some of their culture’s ceremonial practices, they helped preserve their traditional relationship with the spirit world. Given the service record and military duties performed by these legendary scouts perhaps it can be said the Ndee adopted the military, rather then military adopting them.193

That the United States Army used the Apache scouts to help gain control of

Arizona and its resources is not in question. That these scouts chose to remain “distinctly

Native and distinctly Apache in their Native traditions,”194 has been overlooked. That these warriors served with honor and distinction, generation after generation, is part of

American history.

193 Wayne Spangler, “Scout names and family military history,” Indian Scout Binder, Section 2. File 17. Ft. Huachuca Museum Archives, Main Museum (June 5, 2008). Tom Holm, Strong Hearts Wounded Souls: Native American Veterans of the Vietnam War (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1996), 101. Tom Holm, “American Indian Warfare: The Cycles of Conflict and the Militarization of Native North America,” in A Companion to American Indian History, eds. Philip J. Deloria and Neal Salisbury (Malden, MA.: Blackwell, 2004), 162. 194 Al Carroll, Medicine Bags and Dog Tags: American Indian Veterans from Colonial Times to the Second Iraq War (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2008), 9. 143

APPENDIX A ARIZONA MILITARY POSTS

Years Post Earlier or alternate names

1849-1885 Ft. Yuma (Camp Calhoun, Camp Independence, Camp Yuma)

1851-1861 Ft. Defiance 1856-1861 Ft. Buchanan (Camp Moore) 1859-1890 Ft. Mohave (Camp Colorado)

1860-1905 Fort Grant (Ft. Arivaipa, Ft. Breckinridge, Camp/Fort Stanford, Ft. Breckinridge, Camp Grant) 1860-1891 Ft. Lowell (Camp Tucson, Camp Lowell) 1862 Ft. Barrett 1862-1894 Ft. Bowie 1862-1865 Camp Tubac 1863-1864 Ft. Canby 1863-1913 Ft. Whipple (Camp Pomeroy, Camp Clark, Prescott Barracks) 1863 Camp Supply 1863? Camp Mansfield 1864-1890 Ft. Verde (Camp Lincoln, Camp Infantry, Camp Verde) 1864-1871 Camp Goodwin 1864 Camp McCleave 1864 Camp Lincoln 1864?-1870? Camp Rigg 1864 Camp Tonto 1865?-1870? Camp Lewis 1865-1890 Ft. McDowell (Campo Verde) 1865-1866 Camp McKee (Ft. Mason) 1866-1867 Camp Cameron 1866-1869 Camp Wallen 1867-1874 Camp Date Creek (Camp McPherson, Camp Skull Valley) 1867 Camp El Dorado 1867-1870 Camp Reno (Ft. Reno) 1867-1869 Camp Willow Grove 1867-1874 Ft. Crittenden 1868-1871 Camp Colorado 1868 Camp O’Connell 1869-1873 Camp Hualpai (Camp Toll Gate)

144

APPENDIX A (cont)

1870 Camp Rawlins 1870-1924 Ft. Apache (Camp Ord, Camp Mogollan, Camp Thomas, Camp Apache 1870s Camp Ilges 1870-1871? Camp Pickett Post (Camp Infantry, Camp Pinal) 1871-1874 Camp Beale’s Springs 1873-1900 Camp San Carlos 1874-1875 Camp La Paz 1877-Present Ft. Huachuca (Camp Huachuca) 1876-1892 Ft. Thomas 1878-1880 Camp John A. Rucker (Camp Supply, Camp Powers)

1881-1883 Camp Price 1886 Camp Crawford 1887-1888 Camp (near) Nogales195

195 Adapted from U.S. Government Documents compiled in Ray Brandes, Frontier Military Posts of Arizona (Globe, AZ.: Dale Stuart King, 1960), 8-9. 145

APPENDIX B SCOUTS ASSIGNED TO FT. APACHE & SAN CARLOS, 1873-1916 Scouts 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879

Ft. Apache 47 80 40 40 40 40 25 San Carlos

Scouts 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886

Ft. Apache 25 30 28 0* 0* 0* 48 San Carlos 130 161 220 450

Scouts 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893

Ft. Apache 20 65** 65 75 75 20 20 San Carlos 26 50 55 75 64 30 30

Scouts 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900

Ft. Apache 20 4 8 5 10 10 10 San Carlos 30 10 2 3 2 2 2

Scouts 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907

Ft. Apache 10 10 10 10 16 16 15 San Carlos

Scouts 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914

Ft. Apache 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 San Carlos Source: Returns From U. S. Military Posts, 1800-1916. Micro-film 1652, rolls 33-35, 1091-1092. University of Arizona. Figures denote highest number of scouts assigned to post in each month of the given year.

In 1871, Gen. Crook recruited the first scouts from Ft. Apache, retaining 22 on site from September 1871-February 1872. In April of 1873, scouts returned to the fort. *Military reports cite no scouts assigned to Ft. Apache for the years 1883-1885. Lori Davisson cites scouts operating from post. This absence is most likely due to the fact that the scouts were carried on the San Carlos reports—see scout totals. **1888 only had 65 scouts for the final month, for most of the year it carried 17 scouts. In 1891 General Order No. 28, reduced scout numbers in the territory to 50. 1915-Scouts increased to 16, with three more assigned to the fort in 1916. 146

APPENDIX C APACHE SCOUT PAYROLL ROSTER, 1917

Source: Adapted from Wharfield, (1965), 21-22.

147

APPENDIX D IRB APPROVAL

148

APPENDIX E. IRB EXTENSION

149

APPENDIX F. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

D. Data Collection Instruments

Questions for tribal participants

Name: ______Pseudonym: (To be removed after initial interview)

1. Which member of your family served as an Army scout?

2. Which family member first told you of your relative’s participation as an Army scout?

3. What do you remember about the time and place you first heard about your relative’s role as a scout?

4. Does your recollection of your relative’s participation as a scout seem positive or negative?

5. Do you recall what specific role(s) your relative served during his time at Ft. Huachuca?

6. What are the recollections of your family’s life at Ft. Huachuca?

7. Do you recall hearing stories of the scouts living near the Post cemetery?

150

APPENDIX F (Cont.)

8. What do you recall about the scout’s treatment by members of the U.S. Army? a. The enlisted men

b. The officers

9. Do you know if your relative served during the campaign against Poncho Villa in 1916?

10. Do you recall hearing about why the scouts generally continued to reenlist over the years? a. Economic reasons c. Enjoyed military service b. Prestige associated with role d. Combination

11. How do you feel about your relative’s participation today? What do you view as his legacy?

151

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