Farthest North: The Life and Explorations of Lieutenant James Booth Lockwood, of the Greely Arctic ExpeditionLanman, Charles
History
Farthest North: The Life and Explorations of Lieutenant James Booth Lockwood, of the Greely Arctic Expedition
Lanman, Charles
Arctic regions; Lady Franklin Bay Expedition (1881-1884); Lockwood, James Booth, 1852-1884
On the 14th of May, Lockwood writes that “there has been nothing new at
the post except the arrival of Lieutenant Schuyler, Fifth Cavalry. He
has been out on a scout for several months past, dropping in at various
posts now and then. He reports that he came upon the Apaches southeast
of here, killed twelve and took fourteen prisoners. He is accompanied by
Dr. Corbasier and a party of thirty-one soldiers and eighty-one Indian
scouts. These scouts are composed of Apache-Mojave, Tonto-Apaches, and
other tribes, closely allied to the Apaches proper. It seems strange
that they are thus willing to join the enemy in exterminating their
brethren; but such is their nature. They are hardly superior to the
beasts, except in shape, and even there the line of demarkation is not
very distinct. The Pimos, to the number of one hundred or more, were
here about a week ago, on their way to punish the Apaches for stealing
some stock from them. When they returned, they reported the killing of
quite a number of their foes—some sixteen or more—and taking many
prisoners. Schuyler’s party confirm the report; they came across the
camp of the Apaches, and the doctor said he counted a large number of
slain. The Pimos surprised the Apaches when asleep and almost
exterminated them. They were armed with war-clubs, and of course mangled
their bodies horribly. When found their heads were all beaten in, and
their bodies stuck full of arrows and partially burned. The doctor says
it was the most sickening sight he ever beheld. The Apache bands, off
their reservations, are fast becoming exterminated, over a thousand
having been killed during the last winter. General Crook will not allow
them to return to their reservations unless they bring the heads of
several of the ringleaders in the late outbreak.”
In another place, after alluding to the extravagant accounts published
about Arizona, he says: “One would suppose, from reading the pamphlet I
send you, that Arizona is a fine agricultural country—which is absurd;
and that it contains many flourishing cities and towns, whereas even the
river-bottoms require irrigation, and the ‘cities’ are merely the nuclei
of towns.”
On one occasion, after alluding to his enjoyment of the newspapers sent
him from home, and to the early transfer of his regiment, he says: “It
would probably have been removed this spring but for the financial panic
and other commercial disasters. I suppose if the rest of the year goes
by prosperously, and nothing occurs to prolong the gingerly, penny-wise,
pound-foolish policy of Congress called economy (?), that the
Twenty-third will probably be removed next spring or fall.” And again,
he continues: “Grant appears to have obtained great credit by his veto
of the Inflation Bill. How Congress could pass a bill which seems to be
unacceptable and repugnant to the whole people, I can not understand.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account