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Miles, Nelson Appleton, 1839-1925 / Personal recollections and observations of General Nelson A. Miles embracing a brief view of the Civil War, or, From New England to the Golden Gate: and the story of his Indian campaigns, with comments on the exploration, development and progress of our great western empire
(1896)
Chapter XXXV. The Apache and the soldier, pp. 445-449
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Page 446
PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF At another time during Indian hostilities lie captured an unfortunate wNite man and buried him, all but his head, in close proximity to a large blaclk ant hill such as are found in that country, sometimes two feet high and from one to three feet in diamneter. The 11- happy victim lived f'es two days, suffering the uiost excruciating tor- ture while the ants slowly ate away the flesh from his head. Another i n c i d e n t showing the heartless- ness of this people was related to me by one personally cognizant of the facts, and of un- d o u b t e d trustworthi- ness. A renegade, or outlaw Indian, had coin- mitted several murders A I L__-- - 41 -,-- - ACCE 11U vvaS Wa1lUu TO all- swer for his numerous crimes, but the official at the agency had found it impossible to arrest him, as he rarely appeared there, and kept himself concealed in some safe moun- tain retreat. Seeing no other way of securing the criniminal the officer in charge called up a dissolute Indiami, a cousin of the outlaw, and told hinm that if he would go out into the miountains and bring in the culprit alive, or if -that was impossible, a proof of his death, he would give hini a certain horse, -which was pointed out to him. One morning not long afterward, the officer -was in his quarters seated at the breakfast table,, when this Indian appeared before him carrying a sack over his shoulder. He advanced to where the officer was sitting and remarked with much apparent satisfaction that he had coiie for the horse, at the same time shaking the head of his relative from the sack to the floor at the officer's feet; and the lindian received his fat gray horse. A short time after this, as the officer was going about the agency, the same Indiani motioned to him to coiie round the corner of the agency building that lie might speak to hiimi in private. The officer naturally iot 446
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