The Apache Wars

February 29, 2016
Hutton (Phil Sheridan and His Army), a professor of history at the University of New Mexico, relates a sprawling, fascinating tale of conflict in the late 19th-century American southwest. In January 1861,
a band of Apache raiders hit Johnny Ward’s 160-acre ranch in Arizona’s Sonoita Valley, carrying away 20 head of cattle and Ward’s 11-year-old stepson, Felix. The kidnapping was part of escalating hostilities in an area riven with violence. Apaches attacked American and Mexican settlements, stealing property and resisting the growing authority of the U.S. government. Warfare continued for 25 years. Hutton moves beyond standard descriptions of battles between Apache warriors and American troops (though there are plenty of those) to paint a larger, more detailed picture of Southwestern life: slavery, gold mining, territorial politics, and the creation of reservations. Fascinating people flit in and out of the story, including the Apache warriors Mangas Coloradas, Cochise, Lozen, Victorio, and Geronimo, and American scouts Kit Carson and Al Sieber. What happened to Felix Ward is less important to the larger historical picture than how the situation with the Apaches was resolved, but Hutton provides an unexpected twist that keeps the story fresh until the end. Illus. Agent: Jim Donovan, Jim Donovan Literary.

March 1, 2016
Cultural historian Hutton (History/Univ. of New Mexico; Phil Sheridan and His Army, 1985, etc.) presents the sorry history of white America's persecution of the ferocious tribe that consistently returned their ill treatment measure for measure. The story can be quickly summarized. In the early 1860s, a band of reservation Apaches was infuriated by yet another venal betrayal by genocidal white authorities. Under a series of leaders, they slipped away to roam the canyons of Arizona and New and Old Mexico, stealing livestock and gruesomely torturing and killing settlers. The U.S. Army pursued them, both sides suffered casualties, and the surviving Apaches, weary of the chase, surrendered to return to the reservation. Repeat periodically for 35 years until much of the tribe was exiled to Oklahoma. Felix Ward, the Irish/Mexican "captive boy" later known as Mickey Free, is the thread that runs throughout the narrative. Raised as an Apache, he spent much of his adult life working as a reservation policeman and scout for the Army, in which capacities he appears during much of this history without disclosing any sense of his personality. This is equally true of Hutton's vast cast of characters--native, Hispanic, and Anglo--who largely fail to emerge as distinct individuals. The accounts of armed conflict are stirringly told and often read like a Western thriller, but there are too many, with no sense of proportion; it seems there is no raid, patrol, or skirmish too minor to draw Hutton's attention. Furthermore, the author explains little of the culture of the geographically fragmented Apache people. The narrative unfolds almost entirely from an Anglo perspective, but very few individuals of any ethnicity emerge in a favorable light, with the possible exception of those Apaches who wished only to live quietly in whatever wasteland the whites most recently assigned to them. A thoroughly researched but plodding account of the clash of two implacably incompatible cultures.

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March 15, 2016

Hutton (Distinguished Professor of History, Univ. of New Mexico) presents an outstanding, comprehensive overview of the Apache Wars of Arizona and New Mexico between 1861 and 1886. The life of Apache scout and bounty hunter Mickey Free serves as a touchstone throughout, as it was his capture during an Apache raid that started the chain of events that quickly changed the nature of relations between the Apache and the U.S. government, as they transitioned from trading partners to bitter enemies by 1861. The resulting military engagements and war of attrition made legends of Apache leaders such as Mangas Coloradas, Cochise, Victorio, Geronimo, and the Apache Kid. Also profiled are frontiersman Kit Carson, Gens. George Crook and Oliver O. Howard, and scouts Al Sieber and Tom Horn. During the decades-long conflict, many were active in both Apache and U.S. cultures, including Apache scouts working for the U.S. Army as well as captive children such as the Apache Kid's infant daughter. Woven tightly into this epic story are the accounts of several lesser-known participants such as Lozen, a skilled Apache warrior and sister of Victorio. VERDICT This recounting of the Southwestern battles for Apacheria will be valued by general readers and researchers alike for its colorful personalities and strong representation of the cultural context of historical events. [See Prepub Alert, 11/2/15.]--Nathan Bender, Albany Cty. P.L., Laramie, WY

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