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The Apache were, and still are, one of the most famed American Indian tribes. Noted for their bravery, ruthlessness, speed, daring, warrior qualities and ability to live anywhere off almost anything, they were feared by white settlers and neighboring tribes. In the last half of the 19th century the American military confronted them in a series of campaigns against their most famed leaders, Cochise and Geronomio. Cochise built a 'stronghold' deep in the Chirichua mountains, while Geronimo truly moved like the wind evading thousands of American soldiers and signal stations such as Fort Bowie, that were set up to find him. Geronimo always vowed vengeance against Mexico since it was the Mexican amry that had killed his family and thus he was tracked down in Mexico, in one of the last of his attempts at rebellion, and convinced to go as a prisoner to Florida.
The personalities on the American side were equally compelling, including General George Crook who later became an activist on behalf of Native-American rights, and Nelson Miles, both veterans fo the 1976 war against Sitting Bull.
In this wonderful wide ranging tale the author shows us the culture of the Apache and the tragedy of their destruction at the hands of modernity. There's was a world of freedom, but they were a small tribe who lived in the most inhospitable environment. Thus there's was the land last taken by the American government and they remained the last of the independent tribes of the Southwest. They also produced some of the greatest Native leaders of the 19th century, men such as Nana who were famed for evading capture.
Seth J. Frantzman
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Books such as this one are all guilty of the same thing, and in terms of educating the reader on the subject they deal with, this thing is significant. What I mean is, the author gives the reader HIS interpretations, conclusions, fantasies, etc. as if they are historic fact.
People like David Roberts, Dan L. Thrapp, Ed Sweeney, and others who write about AmerIndians of yesteryear take long-known details concerning the activities of various individual Indians, and in some cases, their bands in general, and use these details as a kind of framework upon which to hang their own notions, whims, and many imaginary attributes they personally WISH these Indians had. As a result, the reader is provided with a completely misleading perspective on the subject matter being dealt with.
In contrast to the highly biased and totally erroneous work of Roberts, Thrapp, and Sweeney, I offer T.R. Fehrenbach's Comanches (Pimlico Wild West). This book is a classic example of what a work on past history and a specific people should be, because Fehrenbach does not endeavor to sway the reader with information that has literally been pulled out of thin air, or out of his imagination. He does not focus on individual Indians in a manner where he writes about them as if he knew them, their intentions, their thoughts and feelings, person-to-person...as though he was present during their lifetimes. Instead, Fahrenbach offers the reader a clear, logically-presented set of known facts which provide truthful details about the people he is focused on.
Now, on the other hand, Roberts, Thrapp, and Sweeney go a different route - which is to embark on STORY TELLING generated from their imaginations and wishful thinking. Be aware that the formula which Roberts, Thrapp, Sweeney, and others follow is to assemble any and all sorts of tidbits of information from any and all SECOND HAND sources ( Indian informants speaking to anthropologists; statements made or written by various officials and Army officers; Government Indian Agents; etc. ) and then to ASSUME these tidbits to be utterly reliable, and after that, to piece them together in order to offer the reader THEIR ( Roberts', Thrapp's, Sweeney's ) interpretation of events and personalities of long passed history.
Consider the absurdity of this for a moment. How can any of these tidbits be verified in terms of authenticity or accuracy any way or sense? People can ( and do ) say anything for many reasons. Can Roberts, Thrapp, or Sweeney somehow know the motivations of the people who offered the various descriptions of these Indians, or provided descriptions about their activities? Can these authors accurately peg the thinking of the sources of all this SECOND HAND information in even the remotest way? Yet in books like this one, this sort of erroneous information forms the base upon which the author wants the reader to understand history!
It is one thing to write about some period in history and a specific people connected to it according to what is fact, but the content of this book of Roberts' ( or the books by Thrapp and Sweeney ) have an enormous amount of material that is simply the author's personal interpretation of SECOND HAND information that is impossible to corroborate. Equally absurd is the fact that the author is living NOW, not in the days of the people he is writing about, therefore he cannot possible make even a remotely accurate guess or interpretation of the thoughts, feelings, intelligence, hopes/fears, or anything else connected to these long deceased Indians.
Here is one perfect example of what I mean:
On page 185, Roberts utilizes material from Thrapp's "Victorio and the Mimbres Apaches". He terms Thrapp "Victorio's Biographer".
"From his breakout in 1879 until now Victorio had never been trapped, never been clearly defeated. But from this time forward his star was in decline. Although he would win his other engagements, until the final one, they would more and more resemble rear-guard actions of a force growing gradually weaker. Victorio was discovering what Cochise had learned before him; you could whip the soldiers time and again, but they were too many and so well supplied and reinforced the they would wear you out."
It is rather incredible to ponder the absolutely false elements contained in this one quote used by Roberts from Thrapp's book. First, how does Thrapp know what Victorio "discovered"? Or if this Indian actually discovered anything at all at anytime in his career? How does Thrapp know what this Indian's motivations were for taking the actions he did? Or what Cochise "discovered" at anytime either? Thrapp is offering as FACT his own conclusions, not facts! He cannot prove anything about Victorio's "discoveries" or thoughts or anything else. There is nothing hard and fast to validate anything Thrapp had DECIDED is true about this Indian or his life. Therefore, Thrapp is involved in mere STORY TELLING.
This is what I mean by "writing in" what the AUTHOR FEELS is appropriate, not what is verifiable or historically accurate. Also, there is blatantly false and very biased statements in this quote concerning supposed "victories" by Victorio over the US Army ( which never happened - and this IS verifiable! ). Also there is a certain "slant" a certain "flavor" offered to the reader in order to sway him/her into percieving Victorio in a specifically desired way - a way that Thrapp desires and is fond of, not a way that is historically accurate by any means.
This book of Roberts is filled with conclusions based on unverifiable, second-hand information from sources possibly having any and all kinds of motivations behind their statements. But the reader takes it all in as FACT, not the fantasy which it actually is.
Contrast this to Fehrenbach, who writes about the Comanche in a manner that offers the reader only what is truly known about them. Fehrenbach does not focus on specific individuals at any point in Comanche history because to do so would be utterly illogical. To offer the reader any sort of personality profile of long-dead individual Indians based on highly suspect and completely unverifiable information from sources which had little to no direct connection with them is not writing about history, it is offering speculation - telling a STORY! Instead, Fehrenbach tells the reader that the Comanche did "A" and this led to "B" and "C" as a result. This is clear, historically accurate writing, not STORY TELLING. He does not seek to glorify specific chiefs or attribute any sort of qualities to their personalities, nor does he try to make the reader believe that he can see inside their minds and hearts and has pulled all sorts of feelings and motives out for the reader to see. No STORY, only HISTORY in Fehrenbach's book!
But the reader of this review must also be aware that Roberts ( as well as Sweeney and Thrapp ) seek to minimize anything which castes their Apache Indian subjects in a light that is less than is favorable to the fantasy which these authors wish to construct about them. For example; in this book, Roberts mentions that "the Chiricahua fought the Comanche to the east" and leaves the reader with this more than bland piece of information, offering no further details. Yes, it is true, these Apaches did fight the Comanche in the east, but there's a lot more to it than that!
The Apaches originally occupied the central and southern plains from the Dismal River of what became Nebraska all the way south into northern Mexico and west to the mountains of what became western New Mexico. The Comanche eventually appeared and anihilated the Apaches root and branch, exterminating entire tribal groups and destroying others to such a point that they were mere fragments of what they once were and forced to flee the plains and hide in the mountains to the west. The Chiricahuas - all their bands - were not "tribes" or "tribal groups" at all, but merely fragments - bands which contained the survivors of the Comanche slaughter. These "fragment bands" are what most people think of as Apache "Tribes" in the days of Mangas Coloradas, Cochise, Victorio, Juh, Delgadito, etc. And, by not relating this information on the Comanche slaughter of Apaches to the reader, it is possible for Roberts, Thrapp, and Sweeney to offer the erroneous concept holding that the Apaches lived in the dessert mountains FOR AGES, and were valliantly defending their homeland against European invaders.
This is false. The truth is, the Apaches were in the mountains because the Comanches chased them there, and they stayed hidden and dared not venture east out onto the game-rich plains because the Comanche and Kiowa killed them on sight! So, the Apaches participated in raids on small settlements in order to obtain supplies and foodstuffs. They didn't want to live where they were, they had no choice! They weren't "defending" any homelands at all, they were holed up, hiding from Comanche and Kiowa enemies and raiding European settlements on both sides of the border while they were at it.
This is just one of the many inaccurate slants offered by authors like Roberts, Thrapp, and Sweeney. The list is too long to properly deal with in a review like this, but if you want to know what an accurate book on the history of an Indian tribe is, read Comanches (Pimlico Wild West) which will not only provide you with a very interesting look into the history of the Comanches, but also into the history of the Apaches! Read it and then read this one by Roberts, or any of the books by Thrapp or Sweeney, and you'll immediately see what I mean here by one being a true history book and the others being mere STORY BOOKS based on second-hand tidbits, slanted conclusions lacking proper detail, etc.
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I can't say enough how much I enjoyed this look at the final days of the Apache. I grew up in southern Arizona and am familiar with many of the places the book details. It brough the environment to life in a way I never had dreamed imaginable. A must read for anyone who loves the southwest.
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This is a fascinating and well written account of the Apache and their war against whites and Mexico from the 1860's to their total loss of freedom that ends with Geronimo and his final band's surrender and incarceration. Roberts writes in a very readable and flowing style providing insights and very first hand quotes from both sides of the conflicts. He also gives you both sides of any controversy, particularly letting the reader know the veracity of individuals with conflicting statements, which is very refreshing. Roberts is able to clearly differentiate between the different tribes that were identified generically as Apache and he presents a fascinating history involving the many chiefs that led their people during the conflict. The author covers extraordinary well the different chiefs and their roles, such as the great Cochise (Chokonen), Mangas Colorado (Chihenne), Victoria (Chihenne), Juh (Nednhi), Nana (Chihenne) and of course the infamous warrior Geronimo (Bedonkohe). The biographies and retelling of events are so descriptive and thorough that you get a genuine feel for the main characters, the conditions of the mountains and deserts and the people, white, Mexican and Indian. The very first chapter starts with Lt. Bascom's ill-fated effort to retrieve a child by holding hostages from the wrong tribe, Cochise's, which sets up a violent war against the whites and a distrust that lasts for decades. That, among several failures such as consolidating reservations and the killing of a medicine man (similar to the killing of Sitting Bull just a few years later), substantiates the Apache distrust of whites. The brutality between parties is evenly told by Roberts as women and children suffer during American and Mexican attacks on Apache villages while the violence towards whites, particularly Mexicans who the Apache loathe, is hard to fathom particularly towards the isolated ranchers and their young children. And the killing and torture is in extreme brutal fashion fueling hatred and fear among the Arizona population. One Apache explains the violence as emanating from a deep hated associated with the violent deaths of their own people by their enemies. Perhaps the best example of this is by when a chief eats lunch with his best white friend and then calmly executes him after dinner demonstrating his severance from trusting whites. Besides the Apache, Roberts covers the agents from the successful but slighted Jeffords to the young egocentric Clum called "strutting turkey" by the Apache to the various Generals that tried their hand in subduing the "renegade Apache", Stoneman, Howard, Crook and Miles. The eccentric Crook is most successful utilizing Apache scouts to go deep into the mountains of the difficult and isolated Sierre Madre to track Geronimo but he is finally undermined publicly by Geronimo's frequent escapes and changes of heart. Thankfully, Roberts recognizes the role of Lt. Gatewood who finally brings Geronimo's band in as the self centered General Miles provides Gatewood no record of accomplishment. At the end, Roberts provides details on the Chirichua's long imprisonment and isolation and Geronimo's post capture history, he with withstood numerous bullets living to an amazing 85. This is the best book on the Apache fight for independence, it is an exciting book to read and one of my all time favorites.
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very much to the point , well written , loved it.........thank you very much