The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 44, July 1940 - April, 1941 Page: 401
546 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Book Reviews
one towards the others. First were the Indian-hating frontiers-
men (notably reckless miners and prospectors) who entered the
Indian country at will and were a law unto themselves. Their
cause was well championed by rabid frontier journalists. Sec-
ond, there were the Indian agents, working under the commis-
sioner of Indian affairs in the Department of the Interior. Most
of them were well-meaning; but a few practiced graft of the
meanest sort. Perhaps only one, John P. Clum, could be rated
as of superior ability; and Clum at times was stubborn, if not
pig-headed. The third group-the military exercised the con-
trolling power, save when the agents, working through Wash-
ington, managed to restrain them. Refusal to cooperate, bicker-
ing, and backbiting characterize the relations between the
military and the civil Indian service throughout the history of
the American frontier; and nowhere are they better illustrated
than in the Apache country.
With the white people thus divided, and with a series of pro-
grams (there was no policy) alternating between peace and war,
punishment and conciliation, extermination and kindness, the
story of Apache relations is sad and sordid. The soldiers, aided
by swarms of Apache scouts, finally wore out the offenders.
General Nelson A. Miles with five thousand men ran down the
last of the renegades. With the surrender of Geronimo, on
September 4, 1886, three centuries of Indian warfare were
brought to an end. Meanwhile the more docile bands had made
some progress on the reservations under the tutelage of their
agents.
Dr. Ogle has recognized the problems that confront the his-
torian of Indian relations. The Indians made no written rec-
ords, and the accounts of white men are inadequate and biased.
He has searched far and wide and has sifted almost every con-
ceivable written source of consequence. The accounts of some
of the old Indians might have added spice to the narrative,
but probably they would not have added any important facts.
The work bristles with details and grows tedious at times. More
comments, summaries, and interpretations would have added
to its value, and one or more maps should have been included.
It is a thorough study, the most satisfactory and comprehensive
that has yet appeared on the Apaches, and it promises to take
a place in the enduring literature of the Southwestern frontier.RUPERT N. RICHARDSON.
Hardin-Simmons University.
401
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 44, July 1940 - April, 1941, periodical, 1941; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146052/m1/440/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.