Product Description

Using first-person accounts in historical archives, David Roberts presents many sides of the Indian rebellion that began in the mid-1800s. Here is the epic and tragic story of Indian heroes--men and women--fighting for their land, their lives, and their freedom. 16 pages of photographs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #53643 in Books
• Published on: 1994-07-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

From Publishers Weekly
During the westward settlement, for more than 20 years Apache tribes eluded both U.S. and Mexican armies, and by 1886 an estimated 9000 armed men were in pursuit. Roberts ( Deborah: A Wilderness Narrative ) presents a moving account of the end of the Indian Wars in the Southwest. He portrays the great Apache leaders--Cochise, Nana, Juh, Geronimo, the woman warrior Lozen--and U.S. generals George Crock and Nelson Miles. Drawing on contemporary American and Mexican sources, he weaves a somber story of treachery and misunderstanding. After Geronimo's surrender in 1886, the Apaches were sent to Florida, then to Alabama where many succumbed to malaria, tuberculosis and malnutrition and finally in 1894 to Oklahoma, remaining prisoners of war until 1913. The book is history at its most engrossing. Photos not seen by PW .
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Roberts, whose previous books have focused on mountaineering and travel, tells the story of the Chiricahua Apache resistance to the encroachments of the whites in post-Civil War frontier America. Using contemporary letters and reminiscences, he relates the story from the Apache point of view, focusing on the leadership of Cochise and Geronimo. Rather than emphasizing troop deployments and Apache raids, Roberts explains why the principals on both sides acted as they did and shows how misunderstandings led to tragedy and warfare. He has mined the available sources and woven them neatly into his well-written tapestry. Best suited for lay readers and undergraduates, this worthy reexamination of the topic is recommended for all libraries.
- Stephen H. Peters, Northern Michigan Univ. Lib., Marquette
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
An absorbing account of a quarter century of conflict: the Apache resistance to the ``White Eye'' settlers encroaching on their Arizona lands. Clashes between US troops and Apaches broke out in 1861, but it was only after the Civil War that the army turned its attention fully to these skirmishes in the Southwest. Roberts (Jean Stafford: A Biography, 1988, etc.) sifts through contradictory memoirs and letters from the two sides to present a balanced version of why peace in the region was continually shattered--and why the outnumbered Apache were continually able to drive white settlers to hysteria. Complaints about Indian atrocities were sometimes valid, Roberts explains, but the Apache chief Cochise was often accused of crimes that he couldn't have committed. Meanwhile, the Apaches felt betrayed when agreements with troops were cavalierly broken by Indian land agents. Roberts's narrative is considerably enhanced by its briskly written portraits--including those of the fierce, and fiercely honest, Cochise; of General George Crook, the army's best Indian fighter, who found the key to ending the Apaches' flight (to catch an Apache, use Apache scouts); of John Clum, an Indian land agent whom the Apaches nicknamed ``Turkey Gobbler'' for his arrogance; Lozen, the woman warrior who could equal any man in riding and shooting; and Juh, the chief afflicted with a terrible stutter but gifted with military genius. And, above all, there is the presence of Geronimo, vengeful, untrustworthy, and vacillating, but also capable of leading a band of 34 men, women, and children that, before it surrendered in 1886, managed to elude five thousand American troops and another three thousand Mexican soldiers. Geronimo rightly feared the fate in store for his people: They were deported on sealed railroad cars to Florida, where they remained POWs for 27 years, never to see their homelands again. A history that never loses its sense of drama even as it separates myth from truth. (Sixteen pages of b&w photographs--not seen) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

excellent history of the Apache wars.
This is by far and away one of the best books I have ever read about the history of native Americans. Roberts clearly portrays the full complexity of the individual characters involved, it seems, both honestly, and with great respect for the Native American values, traditions and lifestyle he describes. While clearly aware of the horrific sacrifice that was exacted from the Apache, Roberts consistently refuses to idealize these victims of European westward expansion, prefering instead to show them as the remarkable and complex individuals they were. He spares no punches in describing the violence and cruelty that existed on both sides of the equation -- European and Native American -- yet he does so without letting White Americans off the hook. What emerges is a text, rich in historical detail, that neither idealizes nor denigrates the Native Americans it depicts. Instead, Cochise, Geronimo, and their ilk are seen each as individuals grappling each in their respective ways -- sometimes wisely profound, sometimes petty and mean -- to maintain a remarkable and admirable lifestyle that was sadly and cruelly destroyed. A highly recommended read for anyone interested in a richly detailed, apparently accurate, and remarkably individualized account of this time in American History.

The definitive work on this subject
This is perhaps the definitive account of the Apache conflicts in the American Southwest and northern Mexico, particularly in the period from the time of Mangas Coloradas through Cochise, Victorio and Geronimo. Personally I think it could have been even more interesting if Roberts had started earlier in Apache history and included the Apache interactions with the Spaniards, Pueblo Indians, and so on. Roberts would be the ideal author to incorporate that early history, as some of his other writings (such as "In Search of the Old Ones") demonstrate his interest and expertise in the ancient Indian civilations of the Southwest and Mexico. In any case, anyone who wishes to learn more about the late 19th century Apache conflicts and the personalities involved will certainly appreciate the scholarship and flowing writing style of this book. And the comprehensive bibliography provides plenty of leads for those who may wish to read the original source materials. After finishing this book I was inspired to revisit some of the sites in southeastern Arizona such as Cochise Stronghold, the Chiricahua Mountains and Fort Bowie, and they came to life for me in a way they never had before.

Dirty Wars and Quirky Personalities
A fascinating, balanced, and extraordinarily detailed account of the brutal conquest of a proud warrior tribe, Once They Moved Like the Wind provides rare insights into the Southwest's most violent era.

Author Roberts recreates the "profound distrust" and layers of "cultural misunderstanding" that lead to the intense racial hatred between the Apaches, the Mexicans, and American settlers. Roberts' powerful narrative doesn't idealize the sometimes brutal Apache traditions (cutting off a wife's nose if she was suspected of adultery, etc). Yet, it seems to me, that the real villains clearly remain the Mexican troops who purchased Indian scalps and casually murdered Apaches for fun and profit. The American settlers, who seem to be hysterical, are likewise committed to Manifest Destiny and seizing the Apaches' traditional lands. The federal government and U.S. Cavalry, to my surprise, played the role of both hunting Apaches and protecting them from the local settler population.

This book details some real quirky personalities from General Cook to Geromino and documents a few forgotten dirty wars. (Cochise still comes across a great chief who almost forced the federal government to abandon New Mexico and Arizona to the Apache during the Civil War.)

An almost perfect gift for history teachers, relatives living in the Southwest, or addicts of 19th Century American history. Don't be surprised if a clever travel agent uses this book for organizing tours in Arizona and New Mexico one day!!!