Page:On the border with Crook - Bourke - 1892.djvu/166



CROOK'S FIRST MOVEMENTS AGAINST THE APACHES—THE SCOUTS—MIRAGES—THE FLORAL WEALTH OF ARIZONA—RUNNING IN UPON THE HOSTILE APACHES—AN ADVENTURE WITH BEARS—CROOK'S TALK WITH THE APACHES—THE GREAT MOGOLLON PLATEAU—THE TONTO BASIN—MONTEZUMA'S WELL—CLIFF DWELLINGS—THE PACK TRAINS.

How it all came about I never knew; no one ever knew. There were no railroads and no telegraphs in those days, and there were no messages flashed across the country telling just what was going to be done and when and how. But be all that as it may, before any officer or man knew what had happened, and while the good people in Tucson were still asking each other whether the new commander had a "policy" or not—he had not, but that's neither here nor there—we were out on the road, five full companies of cavalry, and a command of scouts and trailers gathered together from the best available sources, and the campaign had begun.

Rumors had reached Tucson—from what source no one could tell—that the Government would not permit Crook to carry on offensive operations against the Apaches, and there were officers in the Department, some even in our own command, who were inclined to lend an ear to them. They were enthusiasts, however, who based their views upon the fact that "Loco" and "Victorio," prominent chiefs of the Warm Springs band over in New Mexico, had been ever since September of the year 1869, a period of not quite two years, encamped within sight of old Fort Craig, New Mexico, on the Rio Grande, waiting to hear from the Great Father in regard to having a Reservation established for them where they and their children could live at peace.

The more conservative sadly shook their heads. They knew that there had not been time for the various documents and reports in the case to make the round of the various bureaus in