Stránka:book 1913.djvu/538

Si6 The Book of Woodcraft troops under Gen. George Crook, who was said by Gen. W. T. Sherman to be the greatest Indian fighter and manager that the Army of the United States had had. But, more than this, he was a man respected, admired and beloved by every one who knew him — friend or foe. All the wise ones felt that the solution was in sight when Crook took command. Throughout the history of the matter, we find the great General torn by two conflicting thoughts — first, "My duty as a soldier of my country"; and, second, "These Indians are in the right." In his own words, "The Ameri- can Indian commands respect for his rights, only so long as he inspires terror with his rifle." With characteristic sternness, energy and fortitude he began the campaign, as winter set in, just when his pred- ecessors had moved into comfortable quarters. To realize that the mountains were full of Apaches that swooped down at unexpected times, spreading fire and slaughter and fearful destruction — was one thing and an easy one, but to find them and strike back was a wholly different matter. The white soldiers under Crook would have been power- less, in spite of their far superior numbers, their superb equipment, abundance of food and ammunition, but for the fact that the Apaches themselves were divided, and the white soldiers had with them a large band of these red renegades, who did all the scouting, trailing and finer work of following and finding the foe, as well as guarding their white allies from surprise. Late in December, Major Brown, with three companies of the Fifth Cavalry, some forty Apache scouts, and about one hundred more from the Pima nation, under their Chief, Esquinosquizn or Bocon, set out to run down the band of Chief Chimtz, who was terrorizing those settlers that had