G'd afternoon IPUK That quote from G Miles "General Crook said, "we are facing the tigers of the human species."was in reference to their viciousness, Plus small bands could live in obscurity in the sierras of Mexico and
avoid an army which needed extensive supplies to operate. They seldom engaged in an open frontal fight, since they had learned of attrition rate - for every fighter they lost it took approx 18 plus years to replace. They were not the skilled tacticians often given credit for., but small groups that were highly mobile, similar to the american guerrillas in the islands occupied by the Japanese during WWII
You must differentiate between the bronco Apache and the majority of them, who were living in peace. . For over 400 years they raided into mexico, which never was their territory. They excelled in viscous torture for nothing except to torture, this caused the reprecussions in the form of peaceful Apache slaughters.
Here is a picture of typical Mexican Sierra territory, you can see how easily a small band of viscous Apache renegades can loose themselves, and how difficult it was for the military to move and supply . It is not like your Britland country side.
To enlarge picture to approx normal, double left click on picture
View attachment 1372615
Don,
I am fairly sure it, the quote from Crook that is, didn't refer to anything else other than the Chiricahua unwillingness to submit to reservation life and the end of their freedom as they knew it. They had actually lived in what is now northern Mexico, for pretty much as long as they had been living in Arizona and New Mexico. It was mainly the Chiricahua Apache southern bands. Also they were large enough initially and numbered in the low thousands for the best part of the mid - 19th century but the Mexican army could never make much headway against them.
I would say that training as an Apache warrior, was more rigorous than some of the training that the soldiers received that they came up against for the simple reason that it was a way of life for them. On the whole their mode of warfare enabled them to try and stay one step ahead of their enemies, of which there were plenty.
They killed for nothing but usually had seen their own killed or enslaved for nothing as well.
Of course there was those that had submitted to reservation life but to assume that apart from the very late 19th century it was only "bronco Apache", is erroneous.
The Chiricahua didn't manage to evade their captors for so long due to "the military moving and supplying", it was because they were the true experts of the land they inhabited and the only reason anyone came close to them was because of native scouts, usually the best results being achieved with Chiricahua ones even then.
The evidence from the time clearly shows that the Apache were a true force and menace that made their mark on both sides of the border in a way which far outweighed their numbers.
The books written by historians, ex-military men who campaigned against the Chiricahua and even civilians, attest to how other tribes were afraid of the Apache and a small band of warriors kept whole communities, villages, towns and even states in a constant state of fear and absolute terror.
In the final "Geronimo Campaign" of 1886, a full one-quarter of the US Army - 5,000 men - and the Mexican authorities of Sonora and Chihuahua, not to mention hundreds of scouts, trackers, bounty hunters and vigilantes, tried to apprehend a band of 40 'renegades' and the band still raided at will on both sides of the border.
Not an easy feat considering the pressure and constant fear of death they faced and having mostly women and children amongst their number.
Easy to see why the Apache and the Chiricahua in particular, were seen as masters of the mountains and deserts of the Southwest and northern Mexico for sooooo long....
IPUK
