General Crook, who was an acknowledged authority, has seen an Apache lope for fifteen hundred feet up the side of a mountain without showing any sign of fatigue, there being neither an increase of respiration or perspiration. A band of Apaches have been known to ambush a party of whites on an open plain, where there was neither tree, shrub, nor blade of grass growing. It was done by burrowing in the sand and covering their bodies, all but their eyes, and remaining motionless until the unsuspecting whites were within a hundred yards of them.
Capt. John G. Bourke, who served under Crook against the Apaches, thus describes those warriors: "Physically, he is perfect; he might be a trifle taller for artistic effect, but his apparent 'squattiness' is due more to great girth of chest than to diminutive stature. His muscles are hard as bone, and I have seen one light a match on the sole of his naked foot. Twenty years ago, when Crook took him in hand, the Apache had few wants and cared for no luxuries. War was his business, his life, and victory his dream. To attack a Mexican camp or isolated village, and run off a herd of cattle, mules or sheep, he would gladly travel hundreds of miles, incurring every risk and displaying a courage which would have been extolled in an historical novel if it had happened in a raid by Highlanders upon Southrons; but when it was your stock or your friends, it became quite a different matter. He wore no clothing whatever, save a narrow piece of calico or buckskin about the loins, a helmet, also of buckskin, plentifully crested with the plumage of the wild turkey and eagle, and long-legged moccasins, held to the waist by a string, and turned up at the toes in a shield which protected him from stones and 'cholla' cactus. If he felt thirsty he drank from the nearest brook; if there was no brook near by, he went without, and, putting a stone or twig in his mouth to induce a flow of saliva, journeyed on. When he desired to communicate with friends at home, or to put himself in correspondence with persons whose cooperation had been promised, he rubbed two sticks together, and dense signal smoke rolled to the zenith and was answered from peaks twenty and thirty miles away. By nightfall his bivouac was pitched at a distance from water, generally on the flank of a rocky mountain, along which no trail would be left, and up which no force of cavalry could hope to ascend without making a noise to awaken the dead."
The Apache had another practice which made it still more difficult to trail or capture a roving band. After striking a murderous blow, and when closely pursued, they would break up into small parties, which, if hard pressed, would continue to dissolve until each one was pursuing his way alone through the mountain fastnesses. When pursuit was suspended and the danger over, they reunited at some remote rendezvous well known to all.
Another great advantage which the Apache had over the soldier is the fact that these people were familiar with all the ravines, caverns, cañons, defiles, gorges and places inaccessible to horses, which are almost innumerable in the mountain ranges of Arizona, New Mexico and across the headwaters of the Rio Grande. The Apache, when on a raid, could live on rats, mice, terrapin and rabbits; and if all these failed and he was hard pressed, he would kill and eat his horse.
Among the arts possessed by these red men was that of concocting a beverage from the maguey plant, called "Tizwin," compared to which fusel oil and Jersey lightning are as mild and harmless as Jersey milk. But the Apaches are not at all squeamish as regards the flavor of their liquors; strength and results are all that is demanded, and "Tizwin" had plenty of both. So when they wished to indulge in a debauch they would drink copious draughts of this horrible concoction, which brought out all the latent demon in them, provided it had not already come to the surface.
Ellis, in his "Indian Wars," says: "The climate of Arizona and other parts of the Southwest, for weeks at a time, is like a furnace. Were not the air dry, life would be unbearable to the whites. If those who remained at home had any conception of the sufferings of our officers and soldiers when prosecuting their Indian campaigns, their lips, instead of speaking criticism, would utter expressions of wonder and admiration.
"When the troops were trying to run down the Apaches, the thermometer, day after day, marked one hundred and twenty degrees, and often more. The metalwork on their guns became so hot that it could not be touched with the bare hand. The air pulsated and the soil was baked under their feet. Sometimes, when aflame with thirst, they toiled mile after mile, cheered by the expectation of reaching some spring, they found the Apaches had been there ahead of them and befouled it beyond all use for man or beast."
Various reasons have been assigned to account for the Apache outbreak of the spring of 1885. Perhaps the following is the most probable of those mentioned. Rendered desperate by long-enforced temperance restrictions, the Apaches concocted a quantity of their native drink, "Tizwin," and the braves got uproariously drunk. With returning sobriety came repentance and a wholesome fear of General Crook, who was then in command of the forces in the Southwest and had supervision of the posts and reservations. Such sprees by his Indian charges were strictly forbidden, and surely punished. Lieutenant Davis, in command of the post, was interviewed regarding their offense and the probability of punishment. "I must report the matter to General Crook," replied the officer; "I can not say what steps he will see fit to take in the matter."
The braves withdrew anxious and fearful, but concealing their real feelings beneath a sullen gravity. The envoys reported the ominous reply of the lieutenant to the others of the band, and the matter was discussed at length. Among those who had the most to say was a woman, Huera, the squaw of Mangus, one of the principal chiefs of the Apaches, who possessed an influence over the braves seldom equaled by Indian women. More than once her intercession cast the balance in the fate of a captive, and meant death by torture or life and adoption into the tribe. She now addressed the warriors about as follows: "Are you men, old women or children? If old women and children you will stay here and wait to receive your punishment. But if you are warriors you will take the warpath, and then the 'Grey Fox' must catch you before you are punished. May-be-so you go to Sonora, and he no catch you. I have spoken."