Who is closer to the Turks, Sioux or Apaches. Apache or Comanche? Which Indians should you be afraid of and why? New Apache Chief

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Knowledge is hidden in every thing. Once upon a time the world was a library (wisdom of the old Indians).

In modern American studies, the Apaches are usually classified as one of the groups of southwestern Indians - nomads who speak Athabaskan (Athapan) languages. This large group of Native American languages ​​and dialects of North America belongs to the Na-Dene language family. Includes about 40 languages. The current level of study of this group of languages ​​does not allow us to draw a conclusion about what is considered a language and what is a dialect.
The Athabascans (Athabaskan) group of indigenous peoples of the Americas settled over a large area from Alaska to Mexico, both on the Pacific coast and in the interior. In the north, their range reaches the Arctic Circle, where the Eskimos neighbor them, and in the south it reaches the steppe zone. The Athabaskans are divided into three groups: Northern (Athabascans of the subarctic zone, Athabaskans of the Cordillera and Athabaskans of interior Alaska), Pacific Athabaskans and Southern, which include the Apaches and Navajos, who settled in the states of Arizona and New Mexico.
The ancestors of the Apaches moved to the Southwest as a result of the so-called passionary push from the territory of the northwestern part of Canada around 850-1000 AD. Then, by the 14th–15th centuries, the Apaches migrated from the Mackenzie River basin to the South and reached the areas of modern South -western USA and northern Mexico, where they occupied the desert regions of Sonora and Chihuahua (now Mexican states), and by the beginning of the 18th century their ethnic differentiation occurred.
This research hypothesis is my favorite. Its author is Lev Nikolaevich Gumilev. The full name of the theory - passionary theory of ethnogenesis - describes the historical process as the interaction of developing ethnic groups with changes in the landscape of their habitat and other ethnic groups. This theory, unfortunately, did not meet with understanding either among the Soviet and the modern Russian historical science that inherited it, or among the international scientific community. Currently it is not generally accepted and has not received further development. I will not go into the details of Gumilev’s theory, but I will explain, in the broad sense of the word, passionarity is an inherited quantitative characteristic that determines the ability of an individual (and a group of individuals) to make extreme efforts. Passionary push - mass mutations that occur from time to time that contribute to passionarity. They last no longer than several years, affecting an area of ​​no more than 200 km, located along the geodetic line of the Earth stretching several thousand kilometers. Passionary tremors operate, most likely, if I understand Gumilev correctly, with the help of the Earth’s electromagnetic field, and, therefore, the cause of the tremors is an external energy source, with the radiation of which this field interacts. Thus, the transition of the Apache ancestors from North to South across almost all of North America may have taken place under the influence of mass mutations independent of them, i.e. during those periods when their ethnic group was most active in the survival and reproduction of its population. The Eskimos did not move to the South, which means that at that time they were not exposed to the Earth’s electromagnetic field and were not in the area of ​​the geometry of the geodetic line. There are other scientific explanations for the mass migration of the Atababan tribes from Sèvres to the South, but one thing is indisputable - the ancestors of the Apaches previously inhabited the Northwestern part of Canada, bordering Alaska.
The word "Apache" comes from the Yuma (Yumano) language of the Na-Dene branch of the Atabacan language family and translates as "fighting man." According to another version, experts in the field of Atabacan languages, this word in the Zuni language means “enemy.” At least this was established by early studies of the Spaniards from New Mexico. The Apaches themselves called themselves “Ndey”, “Dene”, which meant “people” and was consonant with the European name “Inde” or Nide. Therefore, the Spanish and English name "Indian" for the Apaches was not offensive. The Soviet cyclopedic dictionary gives the following: Apaches (self-name - Dene - “people”) belong to the Athabaskan language group.
The Apaches are divided into six regional groups:
– Western Apaches – Coyoteros – are found in eastern Arizona and include the White Mountains, Sibecu, San Carlos, Northern and Southern Tonto Apaches.
-Apaches - Chiricahuas (Chiricahuas) - inhabit southwestern New Mexico, southeastern Arizona and the adjacent Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora. Eastern Chiricahuas are also called "Mimbreños" or "Warm Spring Apaches". The Chiricahuas represent an unconventional union between a leader and his followers. The unconventionality was that the Chiricahuas had no chiefs, no tribal council, no council of elders. The social structure of the Chiricahuas consisted primarily of family clans. The name “Chiricahua” comes from the name of a local species of cactus, from which the Apaches made food, drink, and fiber for fabrics and ropes.
-The Mescalero Apaches (also called “Pharaoh”) settled in the south of New Mexico east of the Rio Grande, to the Pecos River.
-Apache - Jicarilla (Jiralilla or Jicariya) - Tynde lived in southeastern Colorado, northern New Mexico and northwest Texas. During their heyday, the Jicarilla Apache groups were known in the Southwest - Llanero (Llanero) - lowland and Hoyero - mountain. Please note that local names are pronounced in two ways, for example, both “jicarilla” and “jicarilla” would be correct. The same thing applies to Llanero-Llanero in the Spanish manner.
The Jicarilla roamed central and eastern Colorado, western Oklahoma, and throughout New Mexico south to Estancia. As a result of contact with the Plains Indians to the east, the Jicarillas adopted their basic cultural characteristics, as did the Mescaleros, who also migrated to the eastern plains.
The Lipan Apaches inhabited the east of the Jicarillas. Their name comes from the word “Ipa-nde”, where “Ipa” is a certain personal name, “nde” - the Lipans themselves called themselves “nanzhan”, which means “ours” or “of our kind”. Until the mid-nineteenth century, they were considered perhaps the most ferocious and cruel people on the Southern Plains. “The numerous murders they committed on both sides of the Rio Grande River caused all the inhabitants of these lands to hate them... Their cruelty is so disgusting that it will never be accepted as a historical fact,” a contemporary wrote about them in 1828. The Lipan always maintained friendly relations with their kindred Mescaleros and fought with the Jicarillas and their allied Utes. They were in a state of constant war with the Comanches until the end of their days of freedom.
-Apache-Kiowa - Gataka (as they were called back in 1837 in official US government documents) - Plains Indians, roamed the southern plains of Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas. In American studies, there is a fairly widespread opinion that the Kiowa Apaches were Kiowa Indians, but were nicknamed the white “Apaches” for their bandit attacks, so to speak. This is not correct, because... in fact, the Kiowa Apaches, both linguistically and anthropologically, are directly related to and are Apaches, but in many ways they have adopted the culture of the Kiowa people, that is, the culture of the lowland tribes. In terms of ferocity from the description of a contemporary, they were not inferior to the Lipans. By 1805 their total number was 300, of whom 75 were warriors.
Also, many Indian studies researchers associate the Apaches with the Navajos. Like, Navajos are the same as Apaches. In this science, it is generally accepted that the Navajo are a separate people, although perhaps the closest relative to the Apaches. These largest divisions of the Apache people, in turn, were subdivided into small tribal organizations: Tonto, Yovane, Kibek, Whom Springs, Aravaipa, Pinala, Mogollon, Mimbreño, Chilecona, etc.
It must be said that in general the Apaches were a warlike nomadic settlement of the Southwestern North America that never settled in any specific territory. The primitive Apache is a wandering son of nature, born with a thirst for the military path, with courage and endurance like no other and a cunning that cannot be measured. The character of the Apache is an explosive mixture of courage and cruelty. But at the same time, in everyday life the Apaches are generous and gentle towards relatives, especially towards their children. (Yu. Stukalin)
Among the agricultural tribes of Indians (Pueblos) neighboring the Apaches, the latter are known as “savage Indians” who fought with all the tribes living next to them, and then with the American colonialists, and in this regard, they justify the Navaho or Zunni nickname “Apache” (enemy) . The Apaches practically did not master agriculture and lived mainly by hunting and raiding other tribes. Apache bandit tactics were in their blood and were considered unsurpassed. The main means of survival of the entire Apache tribe living on the plains and adjacent territories was hunting bison (buffalo). Since this animal provided the Apaches with everything necessary for life, it was considered a totemic animal, i.e. sacred. Thanks to their nomadic lifestyle, the Apaches quickly appreciated the advantage of the horses brought by the first settlers and soon not only used them themselves as a means of transportation, but also taught others a special type of riding. However, the disadvantages of the nomadic life of the Apaches began to appear quite clearly when the Apaches began to move further south and invaded the possessions of the Comanches. This cost them huge losses and forced them to move further into Texas and Mexico.
The first conflict between the Apaches and Europeans occurred in 1540. They were the Spaniards, who invaded the territory of the Apaches and, as they moved north, destroyed their trade relations with neighboring tribes.
When New Mexico became a Spanish colony in 1598, the Apache's wars with the Spanish intensified. And the retaliatory arrival of the Comanche into Apache territory in the early 1700s forced the Lipan Apache and some of their other tribal groups to move south, leaving their main food source - bison. As a result of this, the Apaches begin to raid Spanish and subsequently American settlers in order to get food for themselves. Initially, the war with the Spaniards until 1730 almost completely destroyed the already small Apache tribes. The feud ended only in 1743, when the leader of the Spanish settlers, exhausted by the losses inflicted on him by the Apaches, agreed to sign an act transferring the lands of Texas to the ownership of the Apaches. The “hatchet” with the Spaniards was buried deep in the ground. But from 1840 to 1886, the Apaches fought for their lands with the American colonialists represented by settlers and the American government, which naturally ended in the defeat of the Indians. The Apaches are the last of the Indians to lay down their arms in a 300-year ongoing war against white invaders. Neither the Spaniards, who crushed the empires of the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas, nor their successors the Mexicans were able to break the spirit of the desperate Apache warriors and defeat them. It took the Americans almost half a century to force the Apaches to lay down their arms.
Who are these Indians - Apaches? “Tigers in the guise of a man” was called by the fighter against the Indians, General D. Crook, who did not hide his admiration for the Apaches. Although it is very difficult to call the Apaches innocent victims, because... their hands are up to their elbows in blood, but this is the blood of their enemies, guilty and innocent, shed in order to live on their land according to the laws of Mother Earth, and not to rot in reservations in a barren desert, where there was only wind and sand. They tried to survive there, but how long can a person survive without food, seeing how his relatives are dying of hunger and disease - an Apache who knows how to hold a weapon? The Apaches earned such a brutal reputation because, in defending themselves, they clearly demonstrated to the white invaders that, being more cunning, more skillful, more determined and more dangerous fighters than most other Indians. (Yu. Stukalin)
The Apaches were fierce enemies, but no one ever questioned their military qualities. Mexican and American settlers frightened their children with them as evil evil spirits, not out of fantasy. Apache warriors are ghosts that appear suddenly and also disappear suddenly. “If you notice signs of the presence of Apaches, be on your guard,” white contemporaries said about them. “When you don’t notice them at all, be doubly on guard.” They were considered by the regular US Army soldiers of that time period to be the best fighters the earth had ever seen. Apache valor in battle became legendary. It was said that an Apache warrior could run 50 miles without stopping and travel faster than a platoon of mounted soldiers.

Language Religion Racial type Related peoples Ethnic groups

Demography

Languages

Apache languages ​​include:

  • western: Navajo, Western Apache, Mescalero-Chiricahua Apache
  • eastern: Jicaria Apache, Lipan Apache
  • Plains (Kiowa) Apache

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Notes

Links

  • // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.

An excerpt characterizing the Apaches

“Filez, filez, [Come in, come in.],” Dolokhov said, having learned this expression from the French, and, meeting the eyes of passing prisoners, his gaze flashed with a cruel brilliance.
Denisov, with a gloomy face, having taken off his hat, walked behind the Cossacks, who were carrying the body of Petya Rostov to a hole dug in the garden.

From October 28, when frosts began, the flight of the French only took on a more tragic character: people freezing and roasting to death at the fires and continuing to ride in fur coats and carriages with the looted goods of the emperor, kings and dukes; but in essence, the process of flight and disintegration of the French army has not changed at all since the speech from Moscow.
From Moscow to Vyazma, out of the seventy-three thousand strong French army, not counting the guards (which throughout the war did nothing but plunder), out of seventy-three thousand, thirty-six thousand remained (of this number, no more than five thousand died in battles). Here is the first term of the progression, which mathematically correctly determines the subsequent ones.
The French army in the same proportion melted and was destroyed from Moscow to Vyazma, from Vyazma to Smolensk, from Smolensk to Berezina, from Berezina to Vilna, regardless of the greater or lesser degree of cold, persecution, blocking the path and all other conditions taken separately. After Vyazma, the French troops, instead of three columns, huddled together in one heap and continued like this until the end. Berthier wrote to his sovereign (it is known how far from the truth the commanders allow themselves to describe the situation of the army). He wrote:
“Je crois devoir faire connaitre a Votre Majeste l"etat de ses troupes dans les differents corps d"annee que j"ai ete a meme d"observer depuis deux ou trois jours dans differents passages. Elles sont presque debandees. Le nombre des soldats qui suivent les drapeaux est en proportion du quart au plus dans presque tous les regiments, les autres marchent isolement dans differentes directions et pour leur compte, dans l "esperance de trouver des subsistances et pour se debarrasser de la discipline. En general ils regardent Smolensk comme le point ou ils doivent se refaire. Ces derniers jours on a remarque que beaucoup de soldats jettent leurs cartouches et leurs armes. Dans cet etat de choses, l "interet du service de Votre Majeste exige, quelles que soient ses vues ulterieures qu"on rallie l"armee a Smolensk en commencant a la debarrasser des non combattans, tels que hommes demontes et des bagages inutiles et du materiel de l"artillerie qui n"est plus en proportion avec les forces actuelles. En outre les jours de repos, des subsistances sont necessaires aux soldats qui sont extenues par la faim et la fatigue; beaucoup sont morts ces derniers jours sur la route et dans les bivacs. Cet etat de choses va toujours en augmentant et donne lieu de craindre que si l"on n"y prete un prompt remede, on ne soit plus maitre des troupes dans un combat. Le 9 November, a 30 verstes de Smolensk.”
[It is my duty to inform Your Majesty about the condition of the corps that I examined on the march in the last three days. They are almost in complete disarray. Only a quarter of the soldiers remain with the banners; the rest go on their own in different directions, trying to find food and get rid of service. Everyone thinks only about Smolensk, where they hope to relax. In recent days, many soldiers have thrown away their cartridges and guns. Whatever your further intentions, the benefit of Your Majesty’s service requires gathering corps in Smolensk and separating from them dismounted cavalrymen, unarmed ones, excess convoys and part of the artillery, since it is now not in proportion to the number of troops. Food and a few days of rest are needed; the soldiers are exhausted by hunger and fatigue; In recent days, many have died on the road and in bivouacs. This distress is continually increasing, and gives rise to the fear that, unless prompt measures are taken to prevent the evil, we will soon have no troops at our command in the event of a battle. November 9, 30 versts from Smolenko.]

When you were born, you cried and the world laughed. Live so that when you die, you laugh and the world cries (Indian wisdom).

The Apaches lived primarily by hunting various game and collecting the fruits of cacti and many other wild plants. Apaches hunted deer, wild turkeys, bison, bears, and mountain lions. Unlike their Athabascan ancestors, they did not engage in fishing, not because they did not know it, but because the area where they lived and roamed did not spoil them with bodies of water. In addition, they skillfully hunted eagles, whose feathers they used in everyday life. They exchanged tanned buffalo skins, fat and meat, as well as bones from which they could make needles and scrapers for hides, salt they mined in the desert for ceramics, wool, turquoise, grain and other goods from the Pueblo Indians, who had crafts are developed. Some researchers - Americanists argue that crafts were also known to the Apaches, which later, with the arrival of Europeans, became useless to them and gradually the skills of crafts were lost, because The Apaches could exchange everything they needed for life with a white man for hunting booty.
From a small cactus, which they called “peyote,” the Apaches prepared a kind of medicine. In the dried tops of this cactus, four alkaloids are formed: lofforin, angolodin, angolodinin and messalin, which gives this cactus its devilish power. Peyote was taken by the Apaches during ritual ecstatic dances, and also played the role of a drug that stimulated the physical and mental state. Often the Apaches took it before battle and thereby received magical power that protected the warrior from enemy arrows and bullets.
Some Apache groups neighbored the Pueblo Indians and maintained generally peaceful relations with them. But everything changed with the arrival of the Spaniards. The source of friction was usually the Spanish slave trade, who hunted their victims to work in the silver mines of Chihuahua, in northern Mexico. In response, the Apaches raided Spanish settlements, stealing dishes, horses, firearms and slaves for themselves. This is what distinguished the Jicarilla Apaches. Their culture, unlike other Apache groups, was based on agriculture, which was carried out by captives, and their women collected grains, berries, and fruits. The Jicarillas also pursued huge herds of bison on horses stolen from the Spaniards.
The tribes of the southern plains - the Kiowas, Comanches and Cheyennes - visited the Jicarilla Apaches to stock up on spruce and cedar poles for tipis (dwellings). For this they left horses and women who had the skills to weave amazingly beautiful baskets for storing dried meat and food supplies.
The Lipan Apache raised dogs for their meat, as did many Mexican tribes to their south. In addition, there are many references to the practice of cannibalism among them in the 18th century. They killed their captives with the most terrible tortures. Their women, in particular, competed with each other in inventing ever new torments for the unfortunates who fell into their hands during the war.
In general, the Apaches were hunter-gatherers. Anything in their territory could be their prey - especially deer and rabbits. When necessary, they lived by collecting wild berries, roots, cactus fruits and mesquite seeds. They also grew beans and squash (most likely Apache-Aravaipa-Coyotero). The Apaches were extremely hardy before the arrival of European diseases and could withstand freezing temperatures virtually naked.
The Apache Indians, as was said, were nomadic tribes and therefore moved long distances, usually following herds of wild animals - bison (Plains Apaches), deer. During the period of decline in the number of bison, a reduction in their population as a result of predation (shooting) by white settlers of this rare species of animal, the Apaches produced reserves of dried deer meat. Drying meat, or making "pimmican" (Plains Apache) a special procedure of the Apaches, was that they cut thin, small pieces of meat, rubbed it with salt and herbs and hung it out to dry in the air at moderate temperatures, mainly in the evening and at night, because on The heat spoiled the meat. When the meat dried, it was lightly smoked in the smoke over the fire. One part of ground fat was added to two parts of dried meat, after which the Apaches put it in leather bags and could roam with this kind of canned food for a long time, without hunting, because. the provisions were kept in this form for at least four years. The shelf life of dried meat was up to one and a half months.
A favorite dish of the Chiricahua Apaches is stuffed deer stomach stuffed with wild onions.
The clothing of Apache men consisted of a shirt made of deerskin, soft leather shoes - moccasins connected to leggings - a kind of pants made of leather and a loincloth tied around the hips. Apache fashion also included a deerskin hat with a beautiful symbolic ornament. A piece of cloth or a leather strip was tied over the forehead to prevent sweat from dripping onto the eyes and face (Mezcalero, Chiricahua, Coyotero). Between the forehead and the bandage, a feather or feathers were inserted, mostly from an eagle, sometimes from a turkey (very rarely among the Chiricahuas, Mescalero, Tonto). It is generally accepted that feathers served as decoration or a symbol of Apache valor, this may be true, but in fact, logically, the feather could and should have served as a visor to protect the Apache, if necessary, from the glare of the sun, for example, when shooting with a bow or a gun and so on. Apache women wore short deerskin skirts and high moccasins.
After meeting the Spaniards, cotton fabric replaced leather clothing. Western Apaches (coyoteros), such as the San Carlos Apaches, adopted much of their clothing from their related neighboring groups of Pueblo and Navajo Indians.
Among ethnographic specialists, there is an opinion that the leather shoes of the Moors, which were worn by some Spanish soldiers, influenced the cut of moccasins of both the Apaches and other peoples of the Southwestern United States. But many ethnographers still defend the Indian origin of high moccasins, putting into the high toes of these shoes such concepts as respect for the earth so as not to accidentally injure it with a sharp toe (the cult of Mother Earth was highly revered by the Apaches).
With the advent of sheep breeding among the Navajos, the Western Apaches decorated their life with woven wool blankets, and later, according to many Americanists, they themselves adopted the craft of weaving. Western Apaches, imitating the Navajo and Pueblo Indians, wore silver jewelry. Eastern Apaches, such as the Jicarilla and Mescalero, were more prairie Indians and harmoniously combined the culture of the South-West and the Prairies. Something similar is noted in the fashion of the Kiowa-Apache, who were also a prairie people. The eastern Apaches (Chiricahua-Mimbreños) wore clothing not much different from the clothing of the southern Cheyenne, Blackfeet, and Kiowa Indians.
Apache tribes that roamed the same area may have had different cultures. Thus, the Jicarillas, who lived in northeastern New Mexico, hunted bison on the plains and grew corn in the mountains. Southern Mescaleros were hunters and gatherers who enjoyed roasting wild mezcal heads. The Chiricahuas, the most bloodthirsty of all Apaches, raided along the Mexican border. The more peaceful Western Arizona Apaches spent part of the year farming. Two other tribal groups of the Lipan Apache and the Kiowa Apache lived a prairie life in western Kansas and Texas.
Apache dwellings consisted of a dome-shaped frame made of branches and covered with grass. The house itself was called “cova”, and the grass covering was called “pi”. The most common type of dwelling among the Apaches was “wikiyup” - a dome-shaped structure made of wooden poles covered with branches, grass or grass mats. It had a fireplace and a smoke hole. In addition to the Wikiyup, the Jicarilla and Kiowa Apaches who roamed the plains lived in a “teepee” - a tent made of buffalo skin, or leather, stretched over a frame of wooden poles, conical in shape with a fireplace and a hole for smoke. For the Chiricahua Apaches, the main shelter was a wikiyup made of branches.
Apache camps (sites) could be as small as 5 to 20 tipis or wikiyups, or as large (up to several hundred) tents. As a rule, they were installed in a circle; independent areas - sectors of the circle - were occupied by tipis of individual related clans. The construction of a tipi required 7 to 10 buffalo hides. The leather walls of the tipi were decorated with drawings. Installing a tipi and caring for the home, and even owning it, was considered the exclusive prerogative of women.
The social structure of the Apaches is quite democratic. Each group consisted of large families or clans, where kinship was determined along the maternal line. The groups operated independently, under the guidance of a respected leader, they managed their own affairs and did not answer to anyone. The main law for the Apaches was loyalty to their family. The main social, economic and political unions had women as their leaders, and this leadership was inherited. Inheritance went from the mother to her children and then to her grandchildren. But also in American studies there is an opposite opinion regarding the role of women in Apache society. Some researchers assign, as indicated above, the Apache woman a primary role, others a secondary one - she prepared food, sewed clothes, tanned skins and performed other hard housekeeping work. Marriage between members of the same clan was prohibited. When a son married, he was given responsibilities towards his mother-in-law's family.
The woman was called a "squaw", a common name for many prairie Indian tribes. It comes from the Nara-Ganset dialect and simply means “woman.”
During wartime, neighboring groups united together in the fight against a common enemy. Unlike raids, where the main goal was food and property, war involved killing - avenging the deaths of group members in previous raids or battles.
The leaders of the military clans gathered together to choose a military leader. The tribe, made up of communities, was governed either by a paramount chief or a council of chiefs. An Apache leader could become the leader of not only a community, but also a tribe. The Apaches said: “No one elected him, he simply became one.” although this expression is also attributed to the Comanches. and other plains tribes. A very important quality, of course, was the personal courage of the Apache leader. Not a single Apache would follow a cowardly leader, no matter how rich and generous he was by Indian standards. Before an Apache leader became a chief, he had to prove himself in many battles, as well as in times of peace. The tactical victories of the leader, his ability to steal (steal) horses, and snatch a bow or gun from the hands of the enemy were highly valued. Thus, a leader who had at least one of the above merits was included in the elite of the tribe and the community council.
But if any group preferred to follow their leader rather than the leader of the united groups, they were free to do so. The leader was elected at a council, for example, among the Kiowas - Apaches. Sometimes a small group separated from the community, which, if led by an influential person, was gradually joined by other families. If the leader lost authority, the followers left him and the community ceased to exist. The obligations imposed on the leader were quite severe, so many rejected offers to take up this honorable post. I do not agree with some authoritative opinions of a number of Americanists regarding the fact that the Apaches had a division into peaceful and military leaders. The institution of a permanent military leader did not exist at all. For Apache warriors, during a military campaign, there was always a military leader in their detachment; after returning to the camp (place of deployment of the tribe), he resigned his powers and became an ordinary community member with the status of an authoritative leader of the clan (community). In addition to chiefs and leaders, shamans, who were experts in ceremonies and possessed paranomal abilities, occupied a significant place in the tribal hierarchy. Shamans served as a link between the Great Spirit and their fellow tribesmen.
The Mescalero group of Apaches consisted of a leader and his followers. They had no formal leader, such as a tribal chief or council, and there were no tribal meetings. Family clans could not necessarily include only relatives. “They moved freely, wintering on the Rio Grande, or moving further south, raiding the buffalo plains in the summer, always following the sun and their food. They had nothing and had everything. They acted as they wanted and did not obey anyone. Their women were chaste. Their leaders kept their word. These were more powerful warriors who relied only on their luck, when carrying out raids, they could be incredibly cruel to their enemies - bloodthirsty and vindictive towards traitors,” a contemporary wrote about them.
The Kiowa Apache tribal organization was somewhat different from other Apache groups, but the basic principles were the same. They have a certain structure in their tribal organization. The smallest unit among the Kiowa-Apache was the extended family, the kuskae, which consisted of a group of relatives uniting several tipis, each of which housed a family that included parents, children, and sometimes paternal grandparents. The children felt at home in any teepee that was part of this group. They roamed together, but kept separate households and ate separately. Families united into more significant structural formations - communities (races) for protection from enemy attacks. The size of the community depended on the prestige of their leaders. The composition of the races did not change for years, although each Apache was free to decide for himself which race he would participate in today. The races were united in turn into a tribe.
In communities, relationships were built on the principle of mutual assistance. Crippled, lazy, mentally ill, etc. he was always full if the Apaches had food. If one of the Apaches lost horses, his fellow tribesmen always made up for his loss. Everyone understood that his life and safety depended on his relatives, who would help in difficult times for you, if you live and act according to the laws of the tribe, and you will behave in the same way towards each member of the community, unless you are possessed by the spirits of betrayal .
Speaking of betrayal among the Apaches, if an Apache allowed his parents to starve or become homeless, if he offended the weak, or desecrated religion, or betrayed someone's trust, he was expelled from the tribe. The Apaches did not have prisons like the whites, and the guilty, lazy, cowards, and deceivers were simply kicked out. And exiles from one tribe could not be accepted into other tribes. And there was no leniency towards them from the tribal laws.
Often, Apaches who found themselves outside the tribal law gathered together and committed robberies and raids on their native tribes. Often these Apaches broke with all traditions and showed no mercy either to the white settlers or to their Indian brothers. The bands of exiles included not only Apaches, but also Indians of similar status from other tribes, and they were joined by white rogues and criminals. A clearly expressed plot of this kind can be observed in our favorite western, “The Gold of Makena.” The services of bandit Apaches and other similar Indians were used by detachments of gold miners, white industrialists and businessmen, as well as regular troops of the Confederacy, and later the US Army, which from among them formed scout units to work as trackers. But for the most part, the American Army Scouts were respectable warriors who had come to terms with the presence of white settlers on their land.
Either way, the life of an exile was hard, and these bands never grew too large, and they often incurred the wrath of the tribe, which again did not serve to increase their numbers.
The Apache value system consisted of relative indifference to material goods, wealth, and hoarding. The attitude towards material values ​​was the main “watershed” in their culture and European mentality. Apache society was built on the principles, as we see, of equality of justice and democracy. The concept of property was poorly developed among most groups. The hunting grounds belonged equally to all members of the tribe; the land and agricultural products were owned by the community that grew the crops. The Apaches had a primitive but lively trade with neighbors and white settlers, but its purpose was for the Apaches to mutually beneficial exchange of labor products between the tribes, and not for profit. Their needs were so modest that they had no idea what enrichment was. In the public consciousness of the Apaches, hoarding was perceived as a shameful activity, unworthy of a real warrior, despite the modifications made to this system by the European mentality. Among the Apaches, a miser who hid expensive things in the corners was despised by all his fellow tribesmen, young and old, and expelled from the tribe. Apache leaders and chiefs were often poor because tradition dictated that they be generous. If an Apache wanted to become a leader, it was not enough for him to have military merit and oratorical abilities. He was obliged to personally help widows and orphans and share his property with his fellow tribesmen in need. If an Apache child is prone to greed or grasps at his small property, they begin to tell him a legend about the contempt and shame that covers a stingy and bad person. The Apaches in their prostate give everything they have to relatives, guests from other tribes or clans, but most of all to the poor and old, from whom they do not expect return.
Undoubtedly, the Apaches valued good things (utensils, harness, horse weapons, etc.), but it was not becoming for an Apache warrior to show that he valued his property above his friends, luck in the hunt or military glory. The Apaches were naturally elusive and skilled horse thieves; in comparison with them, the gypsies were not even close. But not because of enrichment, but because going after horses was their favorite pastime and they valued the very fact of capturing horses from the enemy and the valor shown at the same time, rather than the size of the herd. A warrior, who was considered a poor man based on the number of horses, was no lower in social status than someone who owned entire herds. If the poor man had a reputation as a brave warrior or a good speaker, in the eyes of his fellow tribesmen he was much higher than the one who could only boast of horses. And, on the contrary, as soon as the “rich man” even once faltered in battle or said something stupid at a council around the fire, no amount of wealth could save his reputation.
The appearance of the horse was a decisive factor that changed the life of the Apache nomads. If earlier they slowly wandered behind herds of bison, transporting their small property on themselves or on dogs, then with the advent of horses the distance of military expeditions increased, hunting became easier, and the amount of household utensils became easier to transport from place to place.
The first horses were brought to America by Spanish conquistadors. Many of them went wild and turned into wild mustangs. Among the Indians, horses initially caused surprise and horror. And they perceived the rider on the horse as a single whole, as a monster. But soon, with a shot from a bow, they quickly figured out their mistake and began to master horse riding. The mustangs used by the Apaches differed from American horses in their small stature, speed and endurance, and did not know any other food other than grass. For this reason, Apache horses, and one might say all prairie Indians, are more adapted to long journeys than American horses. For the Apache, the color of the horse was very important, since it spoke of speed qualities, which were given a primary role. The Chiricahua Apaches considered white horses to be the slowest, and black horses, on the contrary, to be the fastest, suitable for war. The Kiowa Apaches chose a red horse as a war horse, not accepting a black one. The Jicarilla Apaches believed that a black horse with a white spot on its forehead was distinguished by intelligence, speed and strength and was less susceptible to fatigue in battle. The Mimbreño Apaches preferred horses to mares for fighting. The Lipan Apaches generally castrated horses, believing that after this they would be more resilient.
There were three ways to replenish the herd: buying, capturing wild horses, and stealing from other tribes. Since the Apaches had no money, and catching wild mustangs required skill and luck, the most likely option was theft. An Apache could take away several horses at once. Unlike a mustang, a stolen horse was certainly broken and the theft itself was considered a feat, which I intend to talk about below.
In addition to linguistic speech, the Apache Indians communicated in sign language when necessary. This was convenient when communicating with each other during a hunt, or in a combat situation, and made it possible to understand Indians belonging to other language groups. The message was conveyed by them using gestures of one or both hands. These gestures and movements, the exact meaning of which every Indian knew, helped the partner convey rather complex information. When the Indian finishes his speech, he says “how” - I said everything. This is how they lived.

Arapahos, Assinboins, Oglalas and Cheyennes - warriors, their wives and children eked out a miserable existence behind the invisible bars of reservations, and their wide, endless prairies, where so many bison once lived, were lost forever.

Did the Indians still have land in America? In the east, beyond the Mississippi, the Indians no longer lived. Between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi, on the prairies, the Indians vegetated on reservations. All that remained was the semi-desert region of the so-called southwest, which until the end of the forties formally belonged to the Mexican Republic, and before that to Spain as part of the kingdom of New Spain.

However, whites almost never appeared in this part of New Spain. After all, it was here, in the New Mexican pueblo, that the shaman Pope once led the uprising. The shadow of this shaman seemed to lie on this land and scare away whites from expeditions to New Mexico.

In neighboring Arizona, there were even fewer whites. Arizona and the adjacent part of the current American state of New Mexico were home to five warlike Apache tribes, which had the most disreputable reputation among the Spanish colonial administration and then among the Mexicans.

Continuous Apache Wars

Since the end of the seventeenth century, the Apaches waged continuous wars with Spain, and later with Republican Mexico. But they did not fight to protect their Arizona. They raided far to the south, beyond the borders of today's Mexico, into the states of Sonora and Chihuahua, burned Spanish settlements and stole horses, which were the highest value for the Indians.

Over the course of a century and a half, the Apaches drove the Spaniards out of the southwestern territories of North America, which subsequently indirectly helped the United States take possession of these almost uninhabited territories. The unopposed offensive war brought certain benefits to the Arizona Apaches. The Apaches always fought outside the borders of their territory, which distinguished them from the Dakotas, who ultimately lacked the rear to conduct military operations.

Copper mining in Apache land

In 1822, the Apaches changed their principles for the first time. On their own lands, in Arizona, fur hunters (the Apaches did not consider them enemies and later allowed them into their territories) found copper in a town later called Santa Rita. A wealthy merchant from the neighboring state of Chihuahua, Don Francisco Manuel Algua, received the right to build copper mines on Apache land.

Don Francisco was well aware that government permission would not help him extract a foot of copper unless he simultaneously secured the consent of the Arizona and New Mexican Apaches and their main leader, whom the Mexicans called Juan Jose in Spanish.

Don Francisco offered Juan Jose vodka, which the Apaches liked so much, fabrics, horses and even weapons, a lot of weapons in exchange for the right to mine copper in Santa Rita and free passage of caravans in Chihuahua. Juan José accepted the terms. And with the weapons that the Algua miner paid for the opportunity to exploit his mines, part of the tribe, led by Black Knife, attacked the Sonoran haciendas, since these Indians were not satisfied with the peaceful proximity to the copper mines. However, the territories where the haciendas were located did not belong to Don Francisco.

For fifteen years this strange situation persisted. The Apaches did not touch the mines of the Chihuahuan trader, who extracted copper directly from the heart of their land, but at the same time they monthly attacked his home state, the haciendas and ranches located south of Chihuahua.

The cowardly murder of an Apache chief

The Chihuahua junta passed legislation and developed a plan to combat the Apaches. According to the inhumane law of 1837, one hundred dollars was paid for the scalp of an Indian man, fifty for a woman’s scalp, and twenty-five for a child’s scalp.

One hundred dollars! At that time this was a huge amount. Despite this, the Chihuahuan authorities received very few scalps, and among them children predominated, although the highest reward was promised for the scalps of the leaders. This is exactly what one of the few whites, whom the Mimbreño Apaches completely trusted, was flattered by. It was the American hunter Johnson.

Johnson knew he had a lucky break. Hunting Apaches in one season will give him as much as hunting animals in several years. His weapon was the trust of the Apaches, and above all of Juan José himself, who, after the Americans declared war, dug up the hatchet.

Johnson formed a detachment - mainly hunters. All that remained was to stock up on ammunition, assemble a light cannon, which the hunters carried disassembled, and invite Juan Jose’s friend with several hundred Mimbreño Indians to a friendly meeting.

Then Johnson was to present his Indian friend with gifts: “fire water” and pinola - fried corn cakes, the largest delicacy for the Apaches.

The Indians accepted the invitation. Johnson led his guests to a pre-selected location. Soon all the trappers left, supposedly for the promised pinola and whiskey. Then Johnson gave the sign, and the “celebration” began with a terrible fireworks display.

A shot from a cannon loaded with nails and pieces of iron killed most of the Indians present. Others were killed by the first volleys from hunting rifles. Until the morning, Johnson’s hunters “worked” in the sweat of their brows: they took scalp after scalp. They earned more than ten thousand dollars in one night.

New Apache Chief

The new leader of the Mimbreños in Santa Rita was the forty-year-old Mangas Coloradas, a two-meter giant. Special mention should be made about him. One day he compromised with Apache traditions and married a beautiful white Mexican woman, whom the warring Mimbreño Apache (then led by Black Knife) captured during an attack on Chihuahua.

If Mangas Coloradas had made a white woman his mistress, no one would have seen anything strange in it. However, the Apaches, following their customs and morals, could not forgive him for marrying a beautiful Creole woman. Mangas's two Indian wives opposed this. And the Apache law gave them the right to turn to their relatives with a request for help and protection of their honor.

The brothers of Mangas' wives at the tribal council gave the leader the last choice: either he refuses to marry a white woman and makes her one of his mistresses, or, according to Apache law, he will face a duel with anyone who wants to stand up for the insulted Indian wives.

Mangas accepted the challenge. He stripped naked and won the first fight with a knife in his hand. He defeated one of his brothers-in-law and killed him (in an Apache duel the defeated must be killed), and on the same day he won several more duels. So Mangas Coloradas was the first in the history of the Apache tribe to marry a white woman.

However, his love for his Creole wife, who later bore him three daughters, as beautiful as she was, did not prevent the new main leader from starting a brutal war against the whites in Arizona.

Mangas Coloradas first found the killers of his tribal brothers. The situation changed: the Indians were now hunting Apache scalp hunters. On the Gil River, the Apaches overtook two groups of trappers who still remained in Apache Country. The first, of twenty people, led by Charles Kemp, they completely destroyed; from the second group, a certain Benjamin Wilson survived, who reached California, where later, when these lands passed to the United States, he became the mayor of Los Angeles.

Now that there was not a single trapper left in Arizona, and Johnson had promptly disappeared and turned the scalps so easily obtained into money, there was a danger that the Apache revenge would spread to Don Francisco’s mines in Santa Rita. The Apaches no longer allowed caravans of mules with food to pass here, so the miners soon left the “copper” city and moved to the borders of Chihuahua. They still managed to see the corpses of Kemp's hunters and Wilson's friends hanging on the Gil River, until they themselves suffered the same fate. There is not a single white person left in Apache Country. Except for Mangas's wife.

Americans are back in Apache land

The Indians lived in these vast territories of North America for ten years without any contact with whites. Ten years later, Americans reappeared in Apache Country. However, now these were not trappers, but the large regular North American army of General Kern. But they did not go with the Arizona Indians, but with the main enemies of the Apaches - Mexicans from Sonora, Chihuahua and California. Mangas Coloradas was pleased. He told Kern: “Take everything from them: Durango, Sonora, California!” The Apaches allowed Kern's army into their lands.

Mangas Coloradas did not yet know that ten years later the Americans’ weapons would turn against them, that the state that would wrest California and Nevada from Mexico, and before that Texas, would not allow the existence of an independent Indian state in the very center of the newly acquired North American territories.

Gold Rush in Apache Land

However, the gold rush would begin much earlier in California. The most courageous diggers will penetrate into Apache Country, discovering gold not far from the place where Mexicans mined copper in the time of Juan Jose - in Pinos Altos.

At this time, it was here, near Pinos Altos, that numerous American units outlined new boundaries for the newly conquered territories that had previously belonged to Mexico. Therefore, gold miners unexpectedly found themselves under the protection of American troops, to whom the Apaches, who complied with the treaty, were quite peaceful.

Mangas Coloradas decided to get rid of unexpected guests using cunning. He visited the camp of American diggers, told them that he knew places where gold could be found in nuggets, and promised to take them there for a bottle of whiskey. Surprisingly, the gold miners figured out Mangas’s trick and decided to settle accounts with the Apache leader. They tied him to a tree and beat him unconscious with cowboy lasses. But Mangas Coloradas remained alive after this massacre and again set out on the warpath, this time against the Americans.

Uniting all Apache tribes

Mangas Coloradas was forced to unite all the independent Apache tribes: the Mescalera Apaches led by Chief Gyan-Na-Te, the White Mountain Apaches led by Chief Piah, and the famous Chiricahua Apaches with their legendary leader Cochise.

However, let's return to Mangas's wife, a beautiful Creole, because of whom he once fought to the death with the best warriors of the tribe. Although by this time she was already old, she passed on her beauty to her three daughters. Mangas Coloradas married them to the leaders of the main Apache tribes, so that now he was not only on friendly terms with them, but also on family relations.

Chiricahua Apache Chief Cochise

The most famous of the sons-in-law of Mangas Coloradas, the husband of his most beautiful and most beloved daughter, the Chiricahua Apache leader Cochis, famous for his courage, still did not fulfill his father-in-law’s wishes and lived in peace with the Americans. This was beneficial for him, since it was through his lands that the Chiricahua Trail passed, along which stagecoaches from the eastern regions of Unia moved.

On Chiricahua land there was also the final stagecoach station - the so-called Apache Pass. The stationmaster was Postmaster William Wallace. Twelve miles from the station, the Americans, with the consent of Chief Cochise, built a fortress at Fort Buchanan. Another white settlement was located on the pass - the estate of Ira John Ward. John Ward lived here with his Mexican wife, who was once kidnapped by Apaches and who had a son in captivity - an Indian on his father's side. The Apaches allowed her to leave the camp, and she and her son found shelter on the Ira estate.

One day, when Ward was visiting the postmaster with his wife, the boy's father entered the estate and took his son. Upon returning, Ayre discovered the disappearance of the child and turned to the commandant of the fortress, Colonel Pitcairn Morrison, for help. The colonel entrusted the search for the boy to the inexperienced lieutenant George Wesky.

The lieutenant with sixty horsemen rode out of the fortress and headed to the Cochise camp, located near sources of drinking water, which were the sources of life on this sun-scorched land. Veskom burst into the chief's apartment and without ceremony ordered Cochise to immediately return the kidnapped boy, threatening otherwise to keep the chief and all his warriors under arrest until the boy was found.

Kochis honestly admitted that he knew nothing about the kidnapping of the boy. The leader reminded the lieutenant that he was a friend of the Americans and had hitherto lived in peace with them. But Vescom did not pay attention to his words. He ordered the soldiers to surround the chief's tent and declared Cochise a prisoner. Kochis pulled out a knife with lightning speed, cut the tent and ran away. (True, several members of his squad remained in the tent.)

Chiricahua Apaches dig up the hatchet

That evening, at Apache Pass, Cochise and his men attacked a stagecoach from California, the only passenger was killed, the coachman managed to unharness one of the horses and escape from the Apaches. When Wescom, having taken several prisoners, left the Chiricahua site, the Apaches captured the post station at the pass, its chief Walls and his assistants Lyens and Jordan.

The next day, Chiricahua Apaches captured five stagecoaches and a small convoy that were going up Apache Pass. Kochis invited the Americans to exchange his soldiers for employees of the postal station and passengers of five stagecoaches. The Americans refused. Then, in front of the envoys, the postmaster Walls was tied to the tail of Cochise's horse. Walls died in terrible agony.

The imprudent Vescom responded with massacres: he ordered all the Apache prisoners to be hanged. Then the Chiricahua Apaches dug up the hatchet and joined the warring tribes.

Mangas Coloradas and his sons-in-law struck at Pinos Altos: there were gold miners with whom Coloradas had not yet “settled” in previous years. The seventy-year-old giant attacked the Digger city from all sides and captured it within a few hours.

Gradually, Mangas Coloradas captured other cities in Apache Country, where Americans had previously lived, so that during the Civil War, power in Arizona again passed into the hands of the Apaches. And their enemies were again forced to resort to cunning.

Murder of Mangas Coloradas

The Americans invited the great nan-tan (chief) to peace talks. However, with one condition: Nan-tan will come alone and without weapons. Incredibly, Mangas Coloradas agreed. After fifty years of continuous fighting, he probably wished for peace and quiet for the Apaches.

The meeting took place on January 17, 1863 in the town of McLane. It was night. The detachment commander, Colonel J.R. West, suggested that negotiations be postponed until the next day. He assured Mangas that he would be completely safe in the military camp, since he allocated two soldiers for his personal protection. These soldiers were given clear instructions to protect the main chief of the united Apaches.

The instructions (according to one of the Californian soldiers from the colonel’s detachment) were indeed clear:

“Guys, I need him dead, you know. I need him dead!”

After a heartfelt farewell to his guest, West left. It was a cold night, and the chief lay down by the fire, and Collier's guard thrust the point of his bayonet into the fire and plunged the red-hot steel into Mangas's calf. The leader tried to jump up, but the Colt of his second “guard,” soldier Meade, was used. Collier immediately fired. The severely wounded giant, Nan-tan of the Apaches, collapsed into the flames of the fire.

By morning the fire went out, and the life of the famous Apache leader faded away in the gray ashes.

It is difficult to say definitively what the life pattern of the Plains Apaches was like in the pre-horse period. There is no doubt that buffalo hunting played a major role, but as for any type of agriculture, it is therefore difficult to say anything about it. Early Spanish sources generally did not distinguish between Navajo-Apache and other Apache groups. However, one of the messages made by Benavides clearly points to Navajo Apache, although it sounds in such a way that it seems as if the information could also be attributed to the Plains Apache of eastern New Mexico. If this is true, then it should be concluded that not only the traditional sedentary Navajo Apaches, but also the eastern Steppe Apaches in the pre-horse era practiced gardening in addition to hunting. Other equally ancient Spanish sources say that the Plains Apaches were exclusively nomadic, devoting themselves to bison hunting and gathering and using dogs as beasts of burden. This is a serious argument against agriculture. However, it can be assumed that to some extent agricultural work was familiar to the steppe Apaches, but they were engaged in them exclusively in the summer and in areas very remote from Pueblo, while the rest of the time was spent on migrations and hunting. Trade and other contacts with the Pueblo Indians and the Spaniards occurred during the nomadic period, when the annual exchange of goods began, which can be called part of the Apache economic cycle. If the hypothesis that the Apaches were partially employed in agriculture is correct, then this means that the introduction of the horse into their lives only strengthened what eventually became the “economy” of the Plains Apaches. If the account of their agricultural work is incorrect, then the appearance of the horse in some inexplicable way made possible the addition of agriculture to a purely hunting and gathering “economy.”

One way or another, it is now well known that with the advent of the horse, the Apaches of the plains led a semi-nomadic, semi-sedentary lifestyle, which was based on a strict annual cycle. They chose the rancherias that most attracted them, where they worked from spring until the harvest. Of course, hunting and military campaigns distracted the bulk of the male population, but the remaining people devoted themselves entirely to agriculture. After the harvest, the populations of several rancherias came together into one group for the fall and winter buffalo hunts. They carried tents made of leather and used horses for transportation. Nomadic life continued until spring.

In the early eighteenth century, when the Plains Apache's holdings were at their most extensive, their farmlands were located in the river valleys of what is now eastern New Mexico, Colorado, western Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Some evidence of these agricultural settlements is documented by the Ulibarri expedition in 1706.

After a four-day march northeast of what is now Cimarron, New Mexico, the Spaniards encountered friendly Apaches who “lived in their rancherias and, like truly pious people, grew cereals, maize, beans and squash.” Arriving in El Quartelejo (either eastern Colorado or western Kansas), they were amazed by the fertility of the soil, “which bore ears of corn, melons, pumpkins and beans...” The Apaches invited them to take part in a planned raid against the Pawnees and the French, which was undertaken as retaliation for the Pawnee attacks on El Quartelejo while the Apache warriors were out hunting.

Other evidence remains from Hurtado's 1715 expedition against the so-called Faraones Apache. The nearest settlement was ten days' journey east (from Santa Fe), where there were thirty wooden huts on the banks of the river. The Pueblo Indians told the Spaniards that the best time to fight was mid-August, when the Pharaohs were busy with the harvest, since at other times they were not in the settlement until April or May, because they went hunting or to the Pueblo for grain. In 1719, when Valverde set out on an expedition against the Comanches and arrived in the vicinity of El Quartelejo, an Indian from the Paloma Apache tribe rode up to him and reported that his people were attacked by a joint detachment of Pawnees and French and fired at them while they were planting grain. ”

The combination of maize, bison and horse into a single whole led to favorable conditions for population growth. The Apache population increased significantly in just a few generations. This population explosion led to Apache expansion, greatly facilitated by the presence of large numbers of horses.

The Apache advance went east along a front with an angle of almost one hundred and eighty degrees, that is, almost in a straight line from north to south. Their advance brought them into conflict with the tribes of the eastern and southern plains, which in turn led to the emergence of a new model of warfare. The new form of military art was based on the use of a large number of horses and the constant need to replenish their number. The new form of warfare also incorporated many elements from the culture of the Spaniards and Pueblo Indians.

The Apache offensive could not turn around 360 degrees only for the reason that in some areas there were not suitable conditions for their just emerging new “economy”. The Rocky Mountain Barrier did not extend north and west from New Mexico, and there were few bison in the south. In addition to this, New Mexico itself was occupied by the militarily powerful Pueblo tribe and the Spanish. The territory to the north, that is, on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains (the so-called High Plains), was accessible country, full of buffalo, and sparsely populated by foot nomads. But beyond the High Plains, to the northwest and southeast of New Mexico, the lands were quite densely populated by agricultural Caddo-speaking peoples.

Some of these tribes penetrated into the so-called “transit” territory to the north and east, between the plains and prairie (the Caddos of Nebraska), and to the east and south, between the plains and the southeastern Woodlands (the Caddos of Oklahoma and Texas). This “transit” belt provided the Indians with the opportunity to hunt bison and allowed them to engage in farming in numerous green river valleys. For example, the Caddo tribes used both, although they paid special attention to agriculture, since they led a sedentary life. For them, buffalo hunting was only a seasonal affair, a short trek on foot accompanied by many dogs that served as pack transport. Many farmers did not disdain hunting. So in 1724, Burgmont met 100 percent Kansa farmers when they went on a buffalo hunt somewhere in eastern Kansas. Women and dogs carried all the luggage, while men took care of the protection and hunting itself. These Kansa Indians longed for peace with the Paducahs (Apaches), dreaming of getting horses through them.

Obviously, this “transit” belt seemed like a tasty morsel to the Apaches, since it promised everything they needed to meet the needs of their cyclical “economic” rhythm. Spurred by the constant growth of population and attracted by the delights of the new region, the Apache became embroiled in conflict with the Cadd frontier tribes, thus starting a war for possession of that territory. Their new style of martial art grew directly from this struggle.

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