Rensselaer Republican, Volume 22, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 November 1889 — SAVED BY A BOY CHIEF. [ARTICLE]

SAVED BY A BOY CHIEF.

A Government Scout Fall* Among the Apaches. There will never be another Indian outbreak serious enough to call for the action of a full regiment of soldiers in suppressing ft The extermination of the buffalo was the death-blow to the hostile Indian. Added to that the building of the railroad lines flooded the West with emigrants, miners, hunters and tourists, and the Indian found himself hedged in by circumstances. The red man is no longer a warrior. Ke is down pretty low, and it is the beginning of the end. He is doomed to follow the buffalo, and his total exti notion will be regretted only by the few philanthropists who argued for him as a theory, and never came in physical contact. No human being ever came nearer being a devil than an Apache Indian, The Puwnees, Blackfeetand Cheyennes were winked enough, but the Ap che had traits of his own—a devilish ness which other tribes might imitate but eould not equal. He was born crafty and cruel He never had the slightest feeling of mercy or pity from the cr.idle to the grave. He was never so much amused as when assisting to torture some living thing. He was never so satisfied as when planning to take life. A year previous to the time when General Custer was ordered West to begin a vigorous campaign against the Indi ms, the Apaches were in their glory, and they boasted that they could defeutany force of soldiers sent against them. I was scouting and m .il-earry-ing in Texas for the Government, and after many close shaves was finally captured by the red devils. It is of that incident 1 am going to write. A month before my capture I was out on a scout on the Rio Pecos, our party numbering eighteen men. We were well mounted and moving quickly from point to point. One day at noon we went into camp in a grove of cotton woods, and before I hud unsaddled the Lieutenant in command informed me, that he had lost his revolver from its holster during the last mile of our ride, and asked me to ride back in search. Instead of riding I returned on foot, and had the luck to find the weapon only about a quarter of a mile away. I then cut across an elbow to reach the grove, and when within stone’s throw came suddenly upon an Indian pony in a dry gulch, and at the same instant discovered his owner crouched behind a blouider with his back to me and his face to the grove; I had him under my rifle before he could turn his head. Indeed, my finger was on the trigger when I saw that he was a boy. He had a rifle in his hands, but I called out to him to lay it down or I would fire, and after a moment’s hesitation he obeyed. Then, as I kept him covered at a distance of only seven or eight feet, I called to the men in the grove, and several of them came hurrying down in response. I had captured a son of Black Cloud, chief of one of the Apache bands, and the boy was named after his father. He was only 14-years old, and his presence there exemplified the ruling traits of Apache character. Three hours before he had discovered our party while out hunting with a party of his own. They dared not make an open attack, but the young chief had sent his people away and then cut across the country to the grove, planning that he would halt there. Single-handed and alone be was going to pick off the Lieutenant, and then make his escape to boast of it. We had splendid horses and were all old campaigners, and the boy would not have had one chance in ten to get away. He must have realized it. and yet he was willing to run the risks. He was greatly chagrined and cast down by his capture. We had finished our seout and were on our way back to Fort" McKavett, and were determined to carry him in prisoner. When he was informed of this he earnestly begged me to kill him, saying that he' could never Tibld tip his head among his people again. H dhe been wounded and rendered helpless it would not have been so bad; but to be taken as he was would forever disgrace him. We bound him fast to his pony, secured the animal against a break for liberty, and set out for the fort. The boy was sullen and defiant for a time, refusing td answer any questions, but after a while, when I told him that he would not be harmed, and that his capture under the circumstances rebounded to his credit, he thawed out a little. Three hours after his capture we got sight of a single Indian a mile away to our right on a knoll, and as we halted young Black Cloud informed me that it was one of the tribe, who wanted to have a talk with us. Signals were exchanged be ween the two, and the stranger soon came galloping in. He was one of the hunting party, and had been dogging us for twenty miles to find out if the boy had been captured. He was a fine-looking fellow, and as'be halted in our midst, and saw the ignoble situation of the hoy his first thought was to fight for him. I called his attention to the fact that any move of his would result in the de th of both, and then explained how the youth was captured. Knowing the conceit of the tribe, I spread it on very thick, alleging th it it required our whole force to make the capture, and it was not accomplished then without a hard fight. This falsehood made the boy my friend for life, while it put the other in better humor, I stated that young Black Cloud would he taken to the fort and held prisoner until exchanged for some white captive, and gave my word that he would 'be well treated meanwhile. He sent a message to his father to the effect that he was not afraid, and hoped to be at .liberty in a few days, and two hours later we had him safely lodged in the guard house at the fort His capture was looked upon as a good thing, for we knew that his tribe would gladly exchange two or three white prisoners for him. /