The policy of Great Britain has always been to enlist a force of auxiliaries from among the natives of the countries falling under her sway. The Government of the United States, on the contrary, has persistently ignored the really excellent material, ready at hand, which could, with scarcely an effort and at no expense, be mobilized, and made to serve as a frontier police. General Crook is the only officer of our army who has fully recognized the incalculable value of a native contingent, and in all his campaigns of the past thirty-five years has drawn about him as soon as possible a force of Indians, which has been serviceable as guides and trailers, and also of consequence in reducing the strength of the opposition. The white army of the United States is a much better body of officers and men than a critical and censorious public gives it credit for being. It represents intelligence of a high order, and a spirit of devotion to duty worthy of unbounded praise; but it does not represent the acuteness of the savage races. It cannot follow the trail like a dog on the scent. It may be brave and well-disciplined, but its members cannot tramp or ride, as the case may be, from forty to seventy-five miles in a day, without water, under a burning sun. No civilized army can do that. It is one of the defects of civilized training that man develops new wants, awakens new necessities,--becomes, in a word, more and more a creature of luxury. Take the Apache Indian under the glaring sun of Mexico. He quietly peels off all his clothing and enjoys the fervor of the day more than otherwise. He may not be a great military genius, but he is inured to all sorts of fatigue, and will be hilarious and jovial when the civilized man is about to die of thirst. Prominent among these scouts was of course first of all “Peaches,” the captive guide. He was one of the handsomest men, physically, to be found in the world. He never knew what it was to be tired, cross, or out of humor. His knowledge of the topography of Northern Sonora was remarkable, and his absolute veracity and fidelity in all his dealings a notable feature in his character. With him might be mentioned “Alchise,” “Mickey Free,” “Severiano,” “Nockié-cholli,” “Nott,” and dozens of others, all tried and true men, experienced in warfare and devoted to the general whose standard they followed. II. From Willcox to San Bernardino Springs, by the road the wagons followed, is an even 100 miles. The march thither, through a most excellent grazing country, was made in five days, by which time the command was joined by Captain Emmet Crawford, Third Cavalry, with more than 100 additional Apache scouts and several trains of pack-mules.