Wild West Photo Friday: Apache Scouts

The Apache gave the U.S. government no end of headaches with their raids and defiance of American expansion. Some Apache, however, joined forces with the government to fight against their own and other tribes.

The Apache scouts were some of the most valuable Native American scouts in the U.S. Army. The first all-Apache units were formed in 1871 by Lt-Col George Crook. He mostly recruited Apache who had peacefully settled on the reservation, but would also accept captured "renegades". As he put it, "the wilder the Apache was, the more he was likely to know the wiles and stratagems of those still out in the mountains."

The scouts soon proved their mettle, and in his annual report for 1876, Crook's successor, Col Augustus Kautz wrote,

"These scouts, supported by a small force of cavalry, are exceedingly efficient, and have succeeded, with one or two exceptions, in finding every party of Indians they have gone in pursuit of. They are a great terror to the runaways from the Reservations, and for such work are much more efficient than double the number of soldiers."

Jump the cut to see a closeup of these guys.

The Apache way of war

"You want us to ride around your wagon circle making perfect targets while you shoot at us? I don't think so, paleface!"

In the movies we're told that the Apache were pretty dumb. As soon as our heroes, the settlers, put their wagons in a circle, the Apaches would ride around it, whopping and waving their guns over their heads, making perfect targets.

Not likely. The Apache defied the U.S. government for a century despite the Americans having greater numbers and better weapons. They did this by launching a classic guerrilla campaign.

The Apache offset their numerical inferiority by focusing their forces on isolated army detachments, giving them a localized superiority in numbers. They were also quick to adopt the latest weaponry, whether through illegal trading or by capturing guns from the enemy.

Their greatest ally was the land itself. Arizona and New Mexico, where the greatest number of Apache lived in the 19th century, is a rugged place, with scarce water and countless mountains and ravines in which to hide. The Apache knew the land well and could strike fast from unexpected directions and disappear into the wilderness.

A practical joke in the Wild West

The Wild West was a tough place to live. Fun was hard to come by and people resorted to such strange diversions as anvil artillery. Practical jokes were popular too.

In Tombstone, Arizona, a tenderfoot was sure to come in for some ribbing. One popular trick was to take him out "Apache hunting". The guys in on the joke would slip the bullets out of his gun. Once they got out in the desert, they'd ditch him (a bit like snipe hunting) and then some other forntiersmen dressed up as Apaches would leap out from behind some rocks and charge at him, giving out blood-curdling war whoops.

The tenderfoot would try to fire, only to find he didn't have any ammunition! This was all good fun until one newcomer in Tombstone pulled out a holdout weapon and blazed away at the dressed up cowboys. Luckily nobody was hurt. The game kind of lost popularity after that.

Image of The Apache by Henry Farny courtesy Wikipedia.