|
GENERAL CROOK WITH ONE OF HIS APACHE SCOUTS
ALCHESAY – AN
UNPUBLISHED CABINET CARD IMAGE – PHOTOGRAPHER ANDREW
MILLER, GLOBE ARIZONA – VERY RARE IMAGE: In
excellent condition, this is a heretofore unpublished
image of General George Crook with one of his Apache
scouts – believed to be his favorite, Alchesay, a White
Mountain Apache.
General Crook, one of the most well known military
commanders on the post-Civil War frontier, spent a
considerable amount of his career in the Arizona
Territory – so much so that the Apaches became
sufficiently familiar with him to name him “Nantan
Lupan”, Gray Wolf.
In 1871 President Ulysses
S. Grant appointed Crook to command the Arizona
Territory, directing him to bring an end to the conflict
between the Apaches and the white settlers. It was
during this first assignment in Arizona that Crook
established his well known relationship with, and
dependence on, Apache scouts, employing large numbers to
successfully track and negotiate with the hostile
elements of the tribe. By the fall of 1872 Crook had
conducted successful campaigns which brought the Tonto
Apache onto a reservation and he negotiated a treaty
with Cochise which would last until the leader’s death
two years later. In contrast his disciplined and
unwavering commitment to bringing peace to the territory
and controlling the violence between the whites and
Apaches, Crook remained a very active and vocal advocate
for the Apaches, as well as all the tribes in Arizona.
He promised, and delivered,
many improvements to the reservations, and opposed such
measures as sending the Indian children to schools in
the east.
Crook, promoted to Brigadier General and transferred to
the Department of the Platte, held the northern command
through the height of the Plains Wars, to include the
summer campaigns of 1876 which included the Battle of
the Little Big Horn.
In 1882, Crook was ordered back to command the
Department of Arizona due to the Apache break out from
their reservations, resuming their raids against the
settlers. Over the next four years Crook again employed
his Apache Scouts in repeated efforts to bring the
Chiricahua Apache leader Geronimo and his followers to
bay. Any resemblance of peace in the territory was
fleeting at best, as Geronimo would surrender for a time
until the next provocation caused him to flee into the
mountains or across the border into Mexico. The
failure to bring this ongoing problem to a permanent end
resulted in Crook being replaced by his long-time rival
General Nelson Miles in 1886. Miles effectively
resolved the issue by forcing Geronimo’s surrender and
then shipping him and his followers to Florida,
permanently removing them from their home land. In a
final twist of ignominy, Miles not only included the
hostile Apache in this exile, but also many of the
Apache Scouts who had served the army – and both Crook
and Miles - so faithfully, and were arguably the very
reason for Miles’ eventual success. Crook was furious
over the treatment of the scouts, and reportedly never
forgave Miles or the U.S. Government for this act of
betrayal.
Crook returned as the Commander of the Department of the
Platte from 1886 to 1888, and he was serving as the
Commander of the Division of the Missouri when in 1890
he died suddenly of a heart attack in Chicago. General
Crook and his wife are buried at Arlington National
Cemetery.
The Apache in this image is believed to be Sergeant
William Alchesay [aka Alchisay], one of the most
prominent scouts who served the U.S. Army throughout the
Apache Wars, and who had a close relationship with Crook
– some say the General’s favorite. Born between Globe
and Show Low, Arizona in 1853, he enlisted in 1872 at
Camp Verde, Arizona, and became a Sergeant in A Company,
Indian Scouts, commanded by Lieutenant Charles B.
Gatewood, 6th US Cavalry. Sergeant Alchesay was one of
the Apache Scouts who guided Crook’s columns during the
Tonto Basin campaign of 1872-74, and was awarded the
Congressional Medal of Honor for his gallantry.
The esteem in which Alchesay was held was obviously not
restricted to Crook, as in 1871 then Lt. John Bourke, 3RD
US Cavalry described the scout as “a perfect Adonis in
figure, a mass of muscle and sinew, of wonderful
courage, great sagacity, and as faithful as an Irish
hound.”
Discharged at the end of the campaign in 1874, Alchesay
returned home. He was one of the Apaches arrested in
the wake of the Cibecue Mutiny in 1881, but was soon
released after it was determined he had no meaningful
role in the events leading up to the incident.
Upon Crook’s return to Arizona in 1882, he renewed his
contact with Alchesay who briefed the general, providing
insight into the situation with the Apaches and the
developments which had occurred during Crook’s absence.
Although Alchesay’s name does not appear on the known
roles, it is believe by some that he accompanied Crook
into Mexico and was present during the fights in the
Sierra Madre Mountains.
By
1885, then a prominent leader of the White Mountain
Apaches, Alchesay again served Crook as a principal
scout in the Geronimo campaign. In 1886, Crook
dispatched Alchesay into Geronimo’s camp during the
surrender negotiations to report on the activities of
the hostiles. Alchesay was present at the eventual
surrender, and Geronimo requested him to speak on their
behalf. Alchesay is reported to have said,
“They have all surrendered. There is nothing more to be
done… I don’t want you have any bad feelings about the
Chiricahuas. I am glad they have surrendered because
they are all one family with me.”
By the time he was discharged at the end of the Geronimo
Campaign, Alchesay had served more than fourteen years
in the Army, and after his return home, he eventually
became a chief of the White Mountain Apache Tribe. He
made several trips to Washington D.C., meeting with
officials from the Office of Indian Affairs, and
Presidents Cleveland, Roosevelt and Harding. Alchesay
retired from his leadership role in the tribe in 1925,
and in that same year he applied for his pension
benefits from the army under the name William Alchesay.
Alchesay died at his home in Forestdale, Arizona in
1928, and was buried near Little Round Top Peak.
The Apache in this image bears a strong resemblance to
other known, identified images of Alchesay (two of these
identified images are included below), so close that I
feel certain the Apache standing next to Crook is
indeed, Alchesay.
This bottom of the image is heavily embossed with the
photographer’s name, “A. Miller” for Andrew Miller, and
the photographer’s studio location of Globe, Arizona. I
was unable to find much detailed information about
Andrew Miller except that he was a contemporary of C.S.
Fly of Tombstone, moved to Globe from Silver City, New
Mexico, and was active in Globe ca. 1886, the same year
Crook and Alchesay were affecting the surrender of
Geronimo. As Crook left Arizona in 1886, this image
must have been taken before his departure.
Further, Forestdale – Alchesay’s home - is northeast of
Globe, in the same east-central part of Arizona, and
both are well within the area dominated by Ft. Apache
during the Apache Wars. This coincidence of timing and
local placed Miller in the same vicinity and moving
within the same population as General Crook and
Alchesay. That Miller would arrange to capture the
image of Crook and his stalwart scout, Alchesay was a
good business decision as this image would have had
significant value for the retail sales of his images.
Images by Miller are apparently relatively scarce
compared to other more prolific photographers of the
same period. This particular image is believed to be
quite rare and as far as I have been able to determine,
it has not been published.
The length of Miller’s stay in Globe is unknown, but his
death at the hands of Yaqui Indians in Sonora, Mexico
was recorded in 1899.
This cabinet card, measuring 6 ½” by 4 ¼”, is in
excellent condition with no damage or fading to the
image and the card is full form with no damage to the
edges.
This is a very historical image, likely taken
immediately after the surrender of Geronimo to Crook in
1886, when the general and his Apache Scouts were still
front page news and celebrities of the day. In
excellent condition, this cabinet card will be a
significant addition to your Indian Wars or Arizona
Territory collection. (0205) $2250
NOTE:
If you are interested in other Native American
pieces and artifacts related to the American West,
browse through those listings via this link:
CLICK HERE
|
