The dread Apache: That early-day scourge of the Southwest — John Shaqi
The dread Apache: That early-day scourge of the SouthwestFreeman, Merrill Pingree
History
The dread Apache: That early-day scourge of the Southwest
Freeman, Merrill Pingree
Apache Indians; Apache Kid, approximately 1860-; Indians of North America -- Southwest, New
I have said that the surrender of Geronimo terminated the many years
of bloody warfare with the Apaches as a tribe, but the Indian tribes
may, and do, have outlaws in their own tribe, outlaws for whom as a
tribe they are in no way responsible, and for whose acts the individual
and not the tribe should alone be held amenable. Even the white tribe
is not altogether immune from this infliction. In this class, among
others, was the “Apache Kid”, who, following the surrender of Geronimo,
with a few lawless followers made independent warfare on isolated,
helpless settlers, leaving the footprints of his bloody work wherever
he went. The Kid, sometimes called the Apache Kid, and at others simply
Kid, was an Apache scout occupying the position of sergeant under Al
Sieber, chief of scouts. On June 1, 1887, the Kid shot Sieber on the
San Carlos reservation, wounding but not killing him, and this marks
the beginning of Kid’s series of bloody crimes.
Immediately following the shooting of Sieber, Kid, his squaw and
sixteen other Indians, left the reservation.
Capt. Burgess, Old-Time Scout
An interesting old-time scout is Captain John D. Burgess, who came
to Arizona in 1873 to look after some mining interests for General
Kautz and Colonel Biddle of the army, subsequently becoming a guide
and scout for the government, and in 1882 was chief of Indian police
at San Carlos. At the time the Kid started out on his career, Captain
Burgess was working some mines of his own at Table Mountain, in the
Galiura mountains. The officer in command of the troops sent out from
San Carlos in pursuit of the Kid and his followers, knowing Burgess,
immediately secured his services as guide and trailer. Following the
Kid and his band, they trailed them through to Pantano, where they had
crossed the railroad, and going up Davidson’s canyon, and passing E.
L. Vail’s ranch had accommodated themselves to a bunch of his horses.
Passing down the east side of the Santa Ritas, they killed Mike
Grace, an old miner, near old Camp Crittenden. Here Captain Lawton,
with a troop of the 4th Cavalry, heading them off and forcing them
to turn back, they passed by Mountain Springs, near the present Vail
station, and were run over the Rincon mountains, where they were so
closely pursued that while in camp they lost all the horses they had
stolen. They now headed for the reservation, which they succeeded in
reaching before Lieutenant Carter Johnson, who was immediately behind,
could overtake them, and here they surrendered, and in due course were
tried and sent first to San Diego barracks, passing through Tucson on
September 3rd, and subsequently, in February, 1888, were transferred to
Fort Alcatraz, in the bay of San Francisco. Subsequently, the United
States Supreme Court, having decided that the trial of an Indian
devolved on the county in which the crime was committed, ordered that
all Indians sentenced by other than the territorial courts should be
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