Page:Travels in Mexico and life among the Mexicans.djvu/650

642 people of Mexico and the United States from further outrages by these Indians. There were two methods of coming to this end. One was by means of a large command, capable of subdivision, which would move along with little attempt at concealment and forcibly drive the enemy before them out of their strongholds in succession, and eventually surround and destroy them. This would have required several thousand troops, and it would have taken at least a year to accomplish the result. In the mean time, the misery and suffering inflicted on the poor inhabitants of Sonora and Chihuahua would be almost incredible, were these savages compelled to leave their mountain retreats and subsist entirely on the country.

"The other method was by means of a smaller body of picked material, capable of moving rapidly and quietly, and thus having the power of surprising and 'jumping' the savages, and yet strong enough to demoralize them by its superiority, and insure to itself success in any open engagement.

"The first method was not to be thought of, for one reason if no other, that the Mexican authorities are jealous of their rights, and would never permit a foreign army to move upon its soil.

"The other, although in many respects a superior method, could not be expected to annihilate the enemy, unless resort was made to treachery. The most that could be hoped was one decisive victory, which would cause a surrender; and then the management of the Indians after they were placed on a reservation would have to be relied on. This in simple terms was the plan of the campaign and its execution, in every particular. The Chiricahuas are now on the San Carlos reservation, far removed from their stronghold, surrounded by all the available forces of the United States army and a thousand faithful Indian allies. The future of these Chiricahuas, who will henceforth disappear from the view of the world, can be fairly estimated by that of the other Apache Indians. Little over five years ago, the whole Apache race was at war with the whites; but six thousand of them were subdued by General Crook, and placed on the San Carlos reservation, since which time there have been few outbreaks, and these of short duration.