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A GUIDE TO STUDYING HISTORY AT FORT HUACHUCA

Call (520) 533-3638, DSN 821-3638, FAX (520) 533-5736.

The American Army had usedIndians as guides ever since itsinception, but they were em-

ployed as civilians. It was not untilan Act of Congress in July 1866 thatIndians were actually enlisted and be-came an official unit of the U.S.Army. Brig. Gen. George Crookmade extensive use of Apache scoutsin Arizona territory to track downApache renegades. Crook wouldemphasize their worth in his officialreport: “I cannot too strongly assertthat there has never been any success

in operations against these Indians,unless Indian scouts were used. TheseChiricahua scouts...were of morevalue in hunting down and compel-ling the surrender of the renegadesthan all other troops...combined. Theuse of Indian scouts was dictated bythe soundest of military policy.”

Apache Scout companies weremade up of twenty-five Indians witha white officer in command and of-ten direction was given by a civilianchief of scouts. In 1877 and 1878there were as many as 600 Indian

Scouts in the U.S. Army. By the timeof the 1885-6 Geronimo campaigns,that number had dropped to 200.

First Lieutenant Augustin GabrielTassin was a commander of IndianScouts at Huachuca in 1879. He hadled a company of White MountainApaches on a scout with the unlikelydual mission of finding the renegadechief Juh, while at the same time pre-paring an illustrated report for theSmithsonian on the flora and faunaof Arizona. Later he wrote about thequalities and methods of Apache

General Crook aboard his mule, White Mountain scout Alchesay on the right, and an unknown Apache scout on the left. Taken inApache Pass near Fort Bowie. U.S. Army photo.

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Write Fort Huachuca Museums; U.S. Army Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca; ATTN: ATZS-PAM; Fort Huachuca, AZ 85613-6000.

scouts on the trail. ...I marched, knee-deep in the

Gila sands, ...to Camp Thomas,thirty-five miles above the agency,presented each man [scout] with aSpringfield rifle of the latest patternand forty rounds of ammunition onbehalf of the United States, and putthe whole concern into militaryuniform by purchasing twenty-fiveyards of coarse red flannel from thepost trader, which, being dividedamong them, they wrapped turban-wise around their foreheads in suchan artistic, business-like manner,that it transformed them withalmost miraculous rapidity from aset of rather mild-mannered cut-throats into as hard-looking a set ofblood-thirsty scoundrels as probablythe world had ever seen, —so much

so that I was afraid of them myself.* * *

On a trail, hot or cold, the scoutsgo first in single file, Indian fashion,followed by the rest of the com-mand....

Generally, however, theApaches march with no semblance ofregularity; individual fancy alone gov-erns. To the trained soldier, accus-tomed to the tactics of civilized war-fare, the loose, straggling, war-pathmethods of the Apache scouts appearat first sight startling, if not contempt-ible; but he soon realized that a moreperfect eclaireur does not exist.

On breaking up a bivouac totake up the march there is no falling-in single or double ranks, no break-ing of arms-stacks, roll-call, or otherdelaying formalities. The last mule

being packed and ready for the start,the chief of scouts gives a short, jerkyorder, ...”Get,” and the Apaches startas if shot from a gun, rapidly cover-ing the ground in a rough, shamblinggait, which in the long run abolishesdistance in a manner wonderful tobehold. They go by twos, by threes,scattered by clumps and groups toevery point of the compass; butwhether singly or in clusters, theymove onward indefatigably, with vi-sion as keen as a hawk’s tread as untir-ing and stealthy as a panther, and earsso sensitive that nothing escapesthem.

* * * Each wore a loosely fitting shirt ofred, white, or gray stuff, generally ofcalico, in some gaudy figure, or thewoolen one issued to white soldiers.

Company “G,” White Mountain Apache Scouts. Photo taken about 1882. Apache Scouts enlisted for six months service. SignalCorps Photo 111-SC-85773.

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This came down outside a pair ofloose cotton drawers, reaching to themoccasins, which last are the mostimportant articles of Apache apparel.In a fight or on a long march theydiscard all else, but always retain themoccasins. Before leaving [Fort] Tho-mas I had procured a lot of fresh raw-hides from the agency, and my scoutshad been hard at work at theshoemaking business. The Indian tobe fitted stands erect upon the

ground, while a companion traceswith a sharp knife the outlines of thesole of his foot upon a piece of raw-hide. The legging is made of softbuckskin attached to the sole andreaching to mid-thigh. For conve-nience in marching it is allowed tohang in folds below the knee. Therawhide sole is prolonged beyond thegreat toe, and turned upward in ashield, which protects from cactusand sharp stones.

In addition to his rifle the Indianscout carries a canteen full of water, abutcher knife, an awl in leather case,and a pair of tweezers; and a leatherbelt holding forty rounds of metallicammunition encircles his waist. Theawl is used for sewing moccasins orwork of that kind, and he uses thetweezers to pick out each and everyhair appearing upon his face. Many among them carry, strappedat the waist, little buckskin bags of

Apache Indian scouts at Huachuca in 1879. At the extreme left is sergeant Edward Murphy. Photo courtesy Mr. and Mrs. Leng.

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had-dentin, or sacred meal, withwhich to offer morning and eveningsacrifice to the sun or other deity.Others are provided with amulets oflightning-riven twigs, pieces of quartzcrystal, petrified wood, concretionarysandstone, galena, or chalchihuitls, orfetiches, representing some of theircountless planetary gods of kan,which are regarded as “dead medicine”for frustrating the designs of the en-

emy or warding off arrows and bul-lets in the heat of action, —fromwhich may be inferred that the ideaof a personal God is pre-eminent inApache mythology, for each has onepersonal to himself. The rate of speed attained by theApaches in marching is about an evenfour miles an hour on foot, or notquite fast enough to make a horsetrot. They keep this up for about fif-

teen miles, at the end of which dis-tance, if water be encountered, and noenemy be sighted, they congregate inbands of some ten or fifteen each, hidein some convenient ravine, sit down,smoke cigarettes, chat and joke, andstretch out in the sunlight, baskinglike lizards.

* * * All the scouts paint their faces whileon the march with red ocker, deer’s

Troop I, 4th Cavalry, with their Indian Scouts in the mouth of Bisbee Canyon, 1884. Sgt. Emil Pauly is standing on the right withstripes on arm. Photo courtesy Lt. Col. John H. Healy.

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blood, or the juice of roasted mescal,for the double purpose of protectingthem from the wind and sun, as wellas distinctive ornamentation. The or-namentation is a matter of taste andtribal obligation. The other part ofthe operation is one of necessity, forit is a well known fact that dirt andgrease protect the skin against inclem-ent weather. An Indian seldom washesunless he can grease himself afterwards;

and with him in many instances greasetakes the place of clothing, for heknows the necessity of an equality ofthe activity of the skin and the callsupon it, and why, when exposure isvery great, the pores should be de-fended. When the command reaches camp,the scouts build in a trice all kinds ofrude shelter. Those that have the armydog tents up them upon frameworks

of willow or cottonwood saplings;others less fortunate, improvise do-miciles of branches covered withgrass, or of stones and boards coveredwith gunny sacks. Before these arefinished, smoke curls gracefully to-wards the sky from crackling embers,in front of which, transfixed onwooden spits, are the heads, hearts,and livers of the choddi (deer) killedon the march.

Indian Scouts at Fort Apache in March 1918. From left to right: Jess Billy, Alejo Quintero, Ka-Gethl, Ka-Gethl’s baby, and wife.Photo courtesy Lt. H. B. Wharfield, 10th Cavalry, Indian Scout Commander in 1918.

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* * * ...My scouts were occupied in pre-paring their beds for the night. Grasswas pulled by handfuls, laid upon theground, and covered with one blan-ket, another serving as cover. Theygenerally sleep with their feet pointedtowards little fires, which they claimare warm, while the big ones built bythe white soldiers are so hot that theydrive people away from them, andbesides, attract the attention of a lurk-ing enemy. All this time scouts are posted onknolls commanding every possibleline of approach. The Apache dreadssurprise. It is his own private modeof destroying an enemy, and know-ing what he himself can do, he ascribesto his foe—no matter how insignifi-cant may be his numbers—the samedaring, recklessness, agility, andsubtlety possessed by himself.

The two great points of superior-ity of the savage soldier over the rep-resentative of civilized discipline arehis absolute knowledge of the coun-try, and his perfect ability to take careof himself at all times and under allcircumstances. Though the rays of thesun pour down from the zenith, orthe scorching sirocco blow from thesouth, the Apache scout trudges alongas unconcerned as he was when thecold rain or snow of winter chilledhis white comrade to the marrow. Hefinds food, and pretty good food, too,where the white man would starve.Knowing the habits of wild animalsfrom his earliest youth, he can catchturkeys, quail, rabbits, doves, or fieldmice, which supply him with meat,in addition to the flesh of a horse ormule that has dropped exhausted onthe march, and of which he is exceed-ingly fond.

The stunted oak growing on moun-tain slopes furnishes acorns; the Span-ish bayonet a fruit that, when roasted,looks and tastes something like thebanana. The whole region of South-ern Arizona and Northern Mexico ismarked with varieties of the cactus,producing fruit and seeds with whichhe varies his menu. The broad leavesand stalks of the mescal are roastedbetween hot stones, and the productis rich in saccharine matter, and ex-tremely pleasant to the taste. The wildpotato and the bulb of the tule arefound in the damp mountain mead-ows, and he raids the nest of theground bee for its store of honey incommon with the bear. Sunflowerseeds pounded between two stones arerich and nutritious.... He boils thesweet, soft inner bark of the pine withthe seeds of wild grasses and wildpumpkins and the gum of the mes-quite into savory stews, which maynot be very appetizing to an Anglo-Saxon’s vitiated taste, but are morethan welcome to an Indian. Thenimble cactus rat is very much thething in his...bills of fare, for the plea-sure it gives him in the primary catch-ing is enhanced in the subsequent eat-ing of the succulent, silver-robed littlerodent.1

On the reservation where many In-dian factions intrigued against eachother and the U.S. Army, a networkof “Confidential Indians” would re-port to the military any plans ordisatisfaction. This proved useful in1882 when informants alerted theArmy to the intentions of renegadesto attack the reservation at CampGoodwin and breakout Loco and hisWarm Springs people to join themin raiding. A Chiricahua named SamKenoi explained: At Fort Apache they said Geronimo

was always suspicious. There weretwo women and three men who weresecret service agents for LieutenantDavis. They were Western Apache.These are a different tribe. That iswhat caused many of the stories thatwere going around. The two womenwho were secret service agents wouldgo after midnight to these army offi-cials and tell them what had been said,what the Indians intended to do.Most of the trouble came through theWestern Apache. They told stories,mostly false. We don’t know who thesecret service people were. But I don’tthink the government officials candeny that they had secret agents, menand women.2

However, this information re-ceived from spys did not prevent therenegades from spurring Loco and hispeople from the reservation. AfterGeronimo’s surrender, there was lessof a need for Indian scouts and, in1891 the number of scouts appor-tioned to Arizona was limited to fifty.

In 1891 the Army experimentedwith enlisting scouts in units of theregular army. The number of scoutsauthorized Army-wide was reduced to150, fifty being allocated for Arizona.The General Orders, dated March 9,allowed for L Troop of each cavalryregiment and I Company of each regi-ment of infantry to be converted to55-man Indian units. The 9th and10th regiments of black cavalry wereexcepted as were the 6th, 11th, 15th,19th, 24th and 25th infantry regi-ments. In 1897 the provision wasdropped and the Indian companiesand troops were disbanded. The In-dian scout units were distinct how-ever, and were not affected. But theywere reduced so far in numbers thatthey were no longer functional ascompanies and were redesignated as

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detachments.By 1915 only 24 remained in ser-

vice. It appears that an additional 17Apache scouts were enlisted to joinBrig. Gen. John J. Pershing’s Puni-tive Expedition into Mexico becausein 1916 the number rose to 39, andin 1917 fell back to 22. Apachescouts from Fort Huachuca accom-panied the 10th Cavalry and othersfrom Fort Apache joined the 11thCavalry on their long scouts intoMexico in search of the bandit/revo-lutionary, Pancho Villa.

During the Punitive Expeditionin 1916, twenty Indian scouts weresent down from Fort Apache to jointhe 11th Cavalry. They arrived toolate to take part in the search for Villawhich had been suspended due to theprotests of the Carranza governmentabout the U. S. presence on Mexicansoil. But they did have ample oppor-tunity to show their tracking skills.Captain James A. Shannon with the11th wrote an article in the Journal ofthe U. S. Cavalry Association for April1917, entitled “With the ApacheScouts in Mexico.” He describedtheir cautious way of operating. The Indian cannot be beaten at hisown game. But in order to get re-sults, he must be allowed to play thatgame in his own way. You tell a troopof white soldiers there is an enemy athousand yards in your front and theywill go straight at him without ques-tions. The Indian under the same cir-cumstance wants to look it all overfirst. He wants to go to one side andtake a look. Then to the other sideand take a look. He is like a wildanimal stalking its prey. Before he ad-vances he wants to know just what isin his front. This extreme caution,which we don’t like to see in the whiteman, is one of the qualities that makes

him a perfect scout. It would be al-most impossible to surprise an outfitthat had a detachment of Apachescouts in its front. They do not lackcourage by any means. They havetaken part in some little affairs inMexico that required plenty of cour-age, but they must be allowed to dothings in their own way.

The Apaches had a centuries-oldhatred of Mexicans and it surfacedduring the expedition. Shannon re-called an evening when they encoun-tered some government troops. ...As we approached this outfit andopened a conversation with them,Sergeant Chicken (First Sergeant ofthe Scouts) fingered his gun nervouslyand gave vent in one sentence to theIndians whole idea of the Mexicansituation: “Heap much Mexican,shoot ‘em all!” There was no fine dis-tinctions in their minds betweenfriendly Mexicans and unfriendly,Carranzistas and Villistas, de factotroops and bandits. To their directminds there was only one line of con-duct—”Heap much Mexican, shoot‘em all!” They had to be watchedpretty carefully when out of camp tobe kept from putting this principleinto practice.

The Apache scouts proved usefulin tracking American deserters and onat least one occasion located some ofthe villistas. They picked up the trailof some stolen American horses thatwere two or three days old. Shannonwrites: They started off on the trail andafter going a short distance came to arocky stretch where the trail was hardto follow. They circled out like a packof hounds and soon one of them gavea grunt and all the rest went overwhere he was and started off again.After a while the trail seemed to di-

vide, so the detachment split up intotwo parties following the two trails.After about an hour or so, one of theseparties overtook the villistas in a verynarrow ravine. They shot two ofthem, and on account of the narrow-ness of the pass, unfortunately shottwo of the horses, one of whichproved to be the private horse of Lieu-tenant Ely of the Fifth Cavalry. Theyrecovered one government horse andgot some Mexican saddles, rifles, etc.3

New regulations were written togovern Indian Scouts in 1917. Themain change from previous regula-tions were the period of enlistment.Heretofore scouts had been enlistedfor at varying times for three months,six months or a year. Now theywould sign up for a seven-year hitchlike other soldiers. The new regula-tions provided:479. Indians employed as scouts un-der the provisions of section 1112,Revised Statutes, and Section 1, actof Congress approved February 2,1901, ...will be enlisted for periodsof seven years and discharged whenthe necessity for their services shallcease. While in service they will re-ceive the pay and allowances of cav-alry soldiers and an additional allow-ance of 40 cents per day, providedthey furnish their own horses andhorse equipments; but such addi-tional allowance will cease if they donot keep their horses and equipmentsin serviceable condition.480. Department commanders areauthorized to appoint sergeants andcorporals for the whole number ofenlisted Indian scouts serving in theirdepartments, but such appointmentsmust not exceed the proportion of 1first sergeant, 5 sergeants, and 4 cor-porals for 60 enlisted scouts.481. The number of Indian scouts

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allowed to military departments willbe announced from time to time inorders from the War Department.482. The enlistment and reenlistmentof Indian scouts will be made underthe direction of department com-manders. The appointment or mus-tering of farriers or horseshoers on therolls of Indian scouts is illegal.483. In all cases of enlistment of In-dians the full Indian name, and alsothe English interpretation of the same,will be inserted in the enlistment pa-pers and in all subsequent returns andreports concerning them. Colonel Wharfield, a lieutenantcommanding scouts in 1918, wouldlater describe how the Apaches wereexpected to be employed that year. The Apache scouts were not trainedor drilled to maneouver as the soldiersof the army. Their operations werein accordance with the Apache’s natu-ral habits of scouting and fighting.The only directions given by the mili-tary were general in nature for the re-quirements of the movements of thetroops. On the march small groupsof the scouts were out several mileson the flanks and in front, keepingoccasional contacts with the mainbody. At night most of them camein, leaving a few of the scouts postedas lookouts. An Apache never wantedto be surprised, and all of their move-ments were based on that principle.They approached ridges and highground with extreme caution, peek-ing around, looking as far ahead aspossible, using cover, and keeping ex-posure to the minimum. In a fightthey did not believe in charging andbattling against all odds, which wasthe quality of many of the Indians ofthe Plains. Always they sought foran advantage over the foe, and re-treated rather than expose themselves

to gun fire. These characteristics madethe Apache invaluable scouts in thefield for operations with troops. Like-wise it accounts for the fact that smallnumbers of hostile Apaches were ableto thwart the efforts of the army inso many instances.... During my service in 1918 at FortApache the scouts wore cavalry issueclothing, shoes and leggins, but someretained the wide cartridge belt oftheir own construction and design.An emblem U.S.S. for United StatesScouts was fastened on the front ofthe issue campaign hat. The regula-tion emblem was crossed arrows on adisc with the initials U.S.S.; but Inever saw such a design on the scouts’uniform nor in the Quartermastersupply room.4

Lieutenant Wharfield talkedabout some of the scouts who stoodout in his memory. At Fort Apache I had excellent re-lationships with Chicken. We huntedtogether for a few days on WillowCreek, a branch of the Black River.He was on a manhunt with me aftera trooper, who went AWOL and washiking southward toward Globe. Thescouts successfully tracked the soldier.We apprehended him near the lowerWhite River bridge, close to TomWanslee’s trading store. In additionto those trips together, there weremany other routine contacts at thefort. He, of course, did not handlethe first sergeant’s paperwork; that wasdone by white soldiers of the Quar-termaster Detachment, but I alwaysgave him the orders and other mat-ters regarding the scouts for him toexecute and pass along. He was a goodleader, and a highly respected man atthe fort.

* * * During my tour of duty at Fort

Apache in 1918..., old Billy was myfavorite scout. He could speak onlyApache and did not even understandpidgin-English. He lived by himselfin a tin shack on the scout row justoutside the east gate of the postproper. Frequently in the eveningswhen riding my mount around thepost, I stopped at his place for a visit.We would squat on the ground,smoke hand-rolled cigarettes, and gazeat the evening sky without a wordbetween us. When I got up to leave,it is my recollection that we alwaysshook hands.

* * * Upon retirement Charles Boneslocated in a little Indian settlementcalled Canyon Day, some four milessouthwest of old Fort Apache. Herehe opened a restaurant and served bigmeals for twenty-five cents. At thatprice many of the Indians ate thereinstead of purchasing more expensivefood at the trader’s store. Bones hada good trade but did not much morethan break even. The old scout alsokept a saddle horse and a good team.He exercised his horses by riding thesaddle animal in front of the teamhauling the wagon, using a lariat for alead-line. By this method the oldApache was again in the saddle insteadof jolting along on the wagon seatwith the pony tied behind. Of coursea stranger might wonder why thewagon was taken along, but Bonesprobably figured that was a methodof keeping his team wagon-broke. It is noted that the officer, whocommanded the scouts in 1932, failedto have Sergeant Charles Bones ad-vanced in grade upon retirement; suchas was the custom of the old army inrecognition of the long years of faith-ful service.5

The separate units of Indian

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Scouts which had existed since 1866were discontinued on June 30, 1921,and since that time the Apaches werecarried on the Detached EnlistedMen’s List.In 1922 the scouts were moved toFort Huachuca which would becometheir permanent home until the re-maining few retired in 1947. AtHuachuca they patrolled the bound-aries of the military reservation andtook part in ceremonial functions,stirring memories of a proud past.

On March 18, 1924, a first ser-geant of scouts with the colorful nameof Sergeant Chicken retired from theArmy at Fort Huachuca. His Apachename, all but unpronounceable to theAmericans served with, wasEskehnadestah. He had first joinedthe Army in 1893 and was a trailerfor General Pershing’s 1916 PunitiveExpedition after Pancho Villa. A lieu-tenant on the expedition had praisefor the senior scout. “First SergeantChicken is probably, all things con-sidered, the most valuable man in thedetachment. He is finishing his sev-enth enlistment period. He speakspretty fair English, is an excellenttrailer and scout, and an absolutelyreliable man.”

Chicken retired to Whiteriver onthe reservation where he lived to theage of 95, dying on February 3, 1955.Colonel Allen C. Miller II was aformer commander of Apache scoutsat Fort Huachuca and he rememberedwell when, in 1933, the Army builtnew quarters for them. The scouts remained rugged indi-vidualists to the end. Only one ofthe last twelve scouts spoke English.All were very large, well built men.Not only were they excellent horse-men, but foot marches of up to 85[?] miles in a single day are recorded.

Individually and as a unit they werefine soldiers, but they never gave upmany of their tribal ways. Until themid-thirties they lived with theirfamilies in tepees which were locatedin an area of the garrison some dis-tance apart from the other troops.When the WPA [Works ProjectsAdministration] offered to improvetheir housing conditions, the postcommander at Fort Huachucaenthusiastically set about buildingadobe houses for the Indians. Animpressive dedication was held to cele-brate the movement of the Indianfamilies into their new quarters. Greatwas his consternation to find soonthereafter that all the families hadmoved back into tepees and that thescouts’ horses were the only occupantsthe new quarters.6

David B. Stone was a 2d Lieut.with the 25th Infantry from 1935-7,and, like so many other veterans ofHuachuca, remembered vividly theApaches. The Apache Scouts were still ac-tive, and an integral part of the Fortgarrison. Their function was to pa-trol the Fort’s extensive boundaries,about 10 to 20 miles each side of arectangle. They lived in their brokendown little hogans and kept theirchickens and pigs in the quarters theArmy built for them.7

Other duties relegated to theApaches since their assignment to FortHuachuca was to appear in their tra-ditional dress in parades and reviews.If their traditional dress did not al-ways coincide with the expectationsof the press or movie directors, theywould embellish their costumes alittle, adding feathers and headdresses.After all they were representing notonly Apaches but all Indians who hadserved the Army as scouts. An April

6, 1938, article in the Arizona Repub-lic reported about an Army Day cel-ebration at the fort:One of the colorful events of the af-ternoon program was the appearanceof the Apache Indian scouts in a simu-lated attack on a covered wagon train.The Apaches were clad in colorful cer-emonial costumes and remained onthe field for about a quarter of an hourto pose for literally hundreds of can-did camera fans and amateur moviedirectors.

Wharfield reported that “Corpo-ral Alejo Quintero retired in 1941,Private Jess Billy in 1944, and Pri-vate Jim Lane in 1945. About thesame time Private Andrew Paxton wasthrown from his horse and died in theFort Huachuca hospital.”The Quartermaster Corps had to or-der twenty-five crossed arrow insig-nias in January 1941. These would befor the eight remaining Apache Scoutsstationed at Fort Huachuca. Thesemen were Sgt. Sinew Riley, 49; Cor-poral Ivan Antonio, 52; CorporalAlejo J. Quintero, 51; Private JessBilly, 47; Private Kessay, 43; PrivateJim Lane, 51; Private William Ma-jor, 39; and Private Andrew Paxton,53.

S. Sgt. Sinew Riley was the rank-ing Apache scout at Huachuca in the30s and 40s. From the WhiteriverReservation, Riley was a third genera-tion scout. His grandfather was DeadShot who had been hanged in 1883for the Cibicue mutiny. Riley, a 1910graduate of the Phoenix IndianSchool, lived with his second wife,known only as “Mamma,” and hissixteen children in the little Indianvillage on the northwest side ofHuachuca Creek just across from thehousing area which would becomeknown as Apache Flats. The village

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was off-limits for non-Indians and thescouts and their families lived justoutside of the mainstream of Armylife on the post.

For entertainment Riley lovedhunting with his Savage .30-.30, tak-ing in bullfights in Nogales, workingon his Ford truck, and typing letterson his old Remington to his sonLarrie who was serving in the Armyduring World War II. Much of thestory of his life is learned from theseletters which survive in the FortHuachuca Museum.

Lieut. Wharfield hired the young

son of scout John Riley to work forhim in the Quartermaster carpentershop in 1918 for $2 a day. He wascalled Luke then. He would laterenlist in 1920 as Sinew L. Riley.Wharfield remembered running acrosshim again in 1945. ...We talked about Fort Apacheand the old scouts. He was an edu-cated Apache and very talkative bynature; perhaps somewhat too in-clined to project a movie type of In-dian to strangers. On ceremonial oc-casions he adopted a feathered head-gear similar to the Sioux. The oldApaches used only a piece of cloth toprotect the head. Riley had a largefamily, reputedly seventeen children.Several are buried in the FortHuachuca cemetery.

Riley was a devout Christian, afamily man, and a teetotaler. He hadfully accepted the disciplined life of asoldier. During World War II when

Fort Huachuca was transformed intoa training base for black infantry di-visions, Riley encountered draftees forthe first time. He wrote to his sonLarrie, who had complained to himabout not getting a furlough: ...You remember that you are in theArmy now. ...Being upset will get younowhere. ...Most soldiers are that waywhen they get drafted in the Armynow days. Us Veteran Old Soldiersare different way about it. We take itwhatever it is. Whether we are get-ting Pass or not. ...A man must actlike a man when he get in the Army.He do not get upset because they turnhim down or cancelled his Furlough.They had to do that.... [A] veteranknows that, its an order. Thats partof the Army Regulation. If not, theArmy is not worth a Dam. ...It takesa good man to be a good soldier.

Although he was a soldier in awhite man’s army, Riley was acutely

conscious that he was an Indian. Inan interview which appeared in theTucson Daily Citizen on July 31, 1935,Riley was quoted as saying: Indian is just like a white man now.Once we obeyed God in all things.Our people were happy and healthy.They prayed and their prayers wereanswered—if not the first time, thenthe next.

Now we have learned to in-dulge in civilization’s luxuries. We eatfoods we cannot digest and which doour teeth no good. We stay up late atnight, and, like the white man, winkat moral laws which were once so holyto us. …We turn to doctors when illwhen once we invoked spiritual guid-ance and aid. The result is that dreadfuland unpleasant things happen to theIndian now the same as they do tothe white man.

Sergeant Riley knew that theApache scouts were at the end of their

Below: Sinew Riley and wife, Peela, at Fort Huachuca in 1935. Photo courtesy Rev. Arthur A. Guenther, Lutheran ApacheMission, Whiteriver, Arizona. Above: Sinew Riley as a Corporal at Fort Huachuca in the 1920s, aboard his horse“Peanuts.”

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usefulness as an Army unit. He re-gretted that he could not get in onthe fighting in Europe and the Pacific.He wrote, “As for me I am Old forService, only good for home Guard.”

The Apache scouts were gettingup in years in 1944. One lieutenantstationed at Huachuca in World WarII said they sometimes needed helpto mount their horses. But they stillrode the forts perimeters keeping thefences in repair, tended livestock, andacted as the post’s Service Company,doing odd jobs of carpentry andblacksmithing.And they alsoparticipated inp a r a d e s .Sinew Rileynoted that heand his com-rades werebuilding firebreaks in theH u a c h u c amountains in1944. Therewas always adanger of firesin these dryslopes, mostcaused bylightning. Butwith an entiredivision ma-n e u v e r i n garound theH u a c h u c afoothills, thedanger wasmul t ip l i ed .Riley wrote about fires caused by“Cannon Balls.”

The detachment of Indian scoutsat Fort Huachuca was disbanded bydirection of the Army on November30, 1943. That meant that the scouts

were carried only as a local FortHuachuca unit known as DetachmentIndian Scouts, Service CommandUnit 1922. With the closure of thepost in September 1947, there was noplace in the Army for the last of theApache scouts, so the detachment wasdisbanded on September 30, 1947,and the last four scouts officially re-tired in the grade of staff sergeant.

Wayne Spengler, the post histo-rian at Huachuca in 1958, paid a visitto the Fort Apache and San Carlos res-ervation in September of that year to

find and interview the remainingscouts. He found three of them—S.Sgts. Sinew Riley, William Major andJoe Kessay. He reported: Sgt. Riley, now 67 years old, isfriendly, talkative, and still in vigor-

ous health. Though he runs a few beefcattle on the tribal range, he spendsmost of his time taking part in In-dian ceremonial exhibitions and ex-plaining Apache customs and lan-guage. His father, John Riley, was alsoan Indian scout, as was the sergeant’sgrandfather, Dead Shot, one of theoriginals enlisted by General Crookin 1870 [1871]. Sgt. Riley tells in aquite matter-of-fact way—but insiststhey got the wrong Indians—the storyof hanging of Dead Shot along withtwo other scouts for going over from

t h e i rdetach-m e n tof the6 t hC a v -alry tothe sideof theiro w ntribe int h eBatt leo fCibicueCreek.[Rileydied ofappen-dicitisi n1960.] Sgt.Major,t h eyoung-est of

the remaining scouts, speaks beauti-ful English and was delighted to re-late experiences at Ft. Huachuca,where he spent his boyhood days, aswell as 24 years in service, and wherehis father had been a scout before him.

A colorized postcard from World War II era which depicts the Apache Scouts in their costumes theyoften wor for public appearances.

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APACHE SCOUTS


He recalled hearing his father tellabout taking part in a cavalry fightwith Geronimo in the DragoonMountains and of followingGeronimo’s trail up through theHuachuca Mountains and as far downtowards the border as Lochiel. Thesergeant’s wife, Mary, hospitable vi-vacious, and very well groomed kepta simple but spotlessly clean house,having adopted the ways of whitewomen during many years at Fort

Huachuca. Sgt. Kessay, born in 1889 and olderthan the other two, told of being aranger while on duty at FortHuachuca—which all the other scoutsof that time were too—of lookingafter the range animals at the Fort, ofsearching out and reporting fires, andof watching for desperadoes and straypersons who often came onto theFort reservation from Mexico. Joe is about five feet eight inches

in height, tall for an Apache, and avery genial old man. The fourth ofthe Apache scouts, Sgt. Quintero,though around 85 years of age, wasstill rugged enough to be out on therange acting as cook for the Apachecowboys in their current round-up.He could not be contacted.

Over the subsequent years all ofthe Apache scouts would pass awayat their Whiteriver Reservation. OnJanuary 18, 1988, 80-year-old JuliusColelay was the last to die. He had

With Fort Huachuca finally closing in 1947, the scouts had no home station and they were disbanded. Here, in 1944, they answerquestions for school children on the parade field.

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Call (520) 533-3638, DSN 821-3638, FAX (520) 533-5736.

enlisted in the U. S. Army at the ageof 15 and served at Huachuca from1923 to 1929 when he was honor-ably discharged.

Apache Sergeant Sinew Riley, inhis retirement speech, spoke for all theIndian Scouts: “We were recruited from the war-riors of many famous nations. Weare the last of the Army’s IndianScouts. In a few years we shall havegone to join our comrades . . . be-yond the sunset, for our need here isno more. There we shall always re-main very proud of our Indian peopleand of the United States Army, forwe were truly the first Americans andyou in the Army are now our war-riors.”

Bibliography

Ball, Eve, “The Apache Scouts: AChiricahua Appraisal,” Arizona andthe West, 7 (1965), 315-28.Doerner, Rita, “Sinew Riley: ApacheScout,” Journal of Arizona History, Vol.14, No. 4, Winter, 1973.Ellis, Richard N., “Copper-SkinnedSoldiers: The Apache Scouts,” GreatPlains Journal, 5 (1966), 51-67.Porter, Kenneth W., “The Seminole-Negro Indian Scouts, 1870-1881,”Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 55(1951-52), 358-77.Wharfield, Harold B., Apache IndianScouts, published by the author, 1964.

Notes

1. Tassin, A. G., “Reminiscences of IndianScouting,” Overland Monthly, Vol. XIV,Second Series, July-Dec 1889, San Fran-cisco, August, pp. 151-69.

2. Opler, Morris E., “A Chiricahua Apache’sAccount of the Geronimo Campaign of1886 by Samuel Kenoi,” New MexicoHistorical Review, 13 (1938), pp. 369-70.

3. Shannon, James A., “With the ApacheScouts in Mexico,” Journal of the U.S.Cavalry Association, April 1917.

4. Wharfield, Harold B., Apache IndianScouts, published by the author, 1964, 22-3.

5. Wharfield, Harold B., 1964, 86, 91-2.

6. Miller papers in FHM files.

7. Stone papers in FHM files.

scouts - wordpress.com · chief of scouts. in 1877 and 1878 there were as many as 600 indian scouts...

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