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1879 MESCALERO APACHE AGENCY RECORD OF RATION
ISSUES TO APACHE INDIANS – ROSTER INCLUDES FAMOUS APACHE
WAR LEADER “NANA” (BROKEN FOOT) - HAND WRITTEN RECORD
OF SUBSISTENCE ISSUES WITH LIST OF APACHES RECEIVING AND
THEIR SIGNATURES OR MARKS – A RARE HISTORICAL RECORD OF
THE PEOPLE PRESENT ON THE AGENCY DURING THE APACHE WARS
AND THE AGENCY SYSTEM: This very historical
document records the issue of rations to the Apache
people present on April 30, 1879 at the Mescalero Apache
Agency in New Mexico Territory. In addition to being a
rare offering of an early Apache Agency ration issue
return, the first recipient’s name entered in
handwritten script on this particular document is the
famous Apache leader, Nana, or “Broken Foot”.
The Mescalero Apache Agency was established in 1873 by
President Grant, headquartered at Ft. Stanton located in
Lincoln County, New Mexico Territory. The agency
headquarters was moved in 1883 to Blazer’s Mill, which
is now known as Mescalero, NM, in Otero County, and
where the tribal center exists today.
This return records Nana in residence on the Mescalero
Agency in the spring of 1879. While the entries of
issues of bacon, beans, beef, tobacco and other
commodities appear routine, four short months later Nana
and his people would break out of the agency to join
Victorio and embark on one of the most violent chapters
in the history of the New Mexico Territory, and the
neighboring regions of Arizona and northern Mexico.
“Broken Foot” (ca. 1800 – May 19, 1896), also commonly
known during the period by his Mexican-Spanish
name “Nana”, was a respected Apache warrior and leader.
While his tribal affiliation appears unclear, he is
reported to have been born in Mimbres Country in present
southern New Mexico. Married more than once, one of his
wives was Nah-dos-te, a Bedonkohe Apache and full sister
of Geronimo. The moniker “Broken Foot” referred to a
lame left foot, caused by rheumatism, however according
to the historical record, the foot did little to impede
his prowess in battle. Captain John G. Bourke described
Nana as having "a strong face marked with
intelligence, courage and good nature, but with an under
stratum of cruelty and vindictiveness", and it was
reported Nana wore gold watch chains in each ear lobe,
presumably taken from dead victims.
NANA
Nana’s personal history is lengthy and his exploits are
far too extensive to be recounted here. However, the
location where, and the date on which, this document was
executed, and that it bears his name and his mark,
places him on the threshold of one of his most notable
exploits in his continuing bitter conflict with those
who sought to conquer Apacheria.
Nana appears in the history of the Apache Wars fighting
alongside many of the principal, and most famous leaders
of the tribe such as Mangas Coloradas and Victorio,
serving the latter as one his most trusted lieutenants.
Victorio had ascended to the leadership of the
Chihenne-Bedonkohe band. The Chihenne were otherwise
known as the “Warm Springs” Apaches, referring to Ojo
Caliente, a natural hot spring located in the heart of
their ancestral homeland some 250 miles southwest of
Santa Fe.
From what I have been able to
piece together from a very fractured historical record,
Victorio had surrendered his band in 1877 with the
understanding they would be located at the Ojo Caliente
Agency, but instead they were sent to the San Carlos
Agency in southeastern Arizona Territory.
San Carlos was, and would be continue to be, one of the
worst solutions the U.S. Government ever applied to the
“Indian Problem”, combining the perfect storm of
inhospitable climate and barren land with an abject
misunderstanding of the Apache culture and inter-tribal
alliances when they forced the internment of different
bands of Apaches who were historic enemies onto the same
land. That various bands of Apaches would repeatedly
flee San Carlos in search of a better home - if only
temporarily until they were again forcibly returned -
was a surprise only to those who had no appreciation or
understanding of the situation.
In August of 1879, Victorio led approximately 200 men,
women and children out of San Carlos, destined for Ojo
Caliente. Nearing Ojo Caliente, Victorio’s column
encountered a patrol of 9TH Cavalry soldiers
under the command of Capt. Ambrose Hooker on September 4TH,
and in the ensuing fight, at least five of the solders
were killed and a large quantity of horses and mules
were captured by the Apaches. Victorio’s triumph was
enough to trigger a widespread flight from the agencies
across Apacheria, to include Nana leading his band out
of the Mescalero Agency to join Victorio. The combined
force raided down through New Mexico and Arizona
Territories, and finally into Mexico where in 1880, at
Cerro Tres Castillos, Victorio’s band was surrounded by
Mexican Army forces. Victorio was killed and a number
of women and children were captured and subsequently
sold into slavery in Mexico, but Nana and a small band
of warriors who had been on a scouting mission escaped.
Nana was able to recruit additional followers from the
ready supply of dissatisfied Apaches living on the
agencies and during of the following months effectively
conducted one of the more legendary Apache campaigns -
what would come to be well known as “Nana’s Raid” – and
mind you, at the ripe old age of 80. Targeting army
supply columns and isolated ranches, his band is
reported to have killed as many as 80 US and Mexican
citizens, captured in excess of 200 horses, and covered
more than 1,000 miles of rugged country while evading a
considerable military force sent into the field to
capture him. Following the Cibecue Creek Massacre in
August of 1881, Nana joined forces with Geronimo.
Lt. Charles B. Gatewood, famous for his later pursuit of
Geronimo, made this interesting observation of the raid
published in The Great Divide in April of 1894:
“From 1879 to 1881, New Mexico, northern Mexico,
and a part of Arizona were literally terrorized by
Apaches whose chief was supposed to be Victorio. The
real plotters of this mischief were Nana, Tomacito
and Turrivio. Victorio was a palsied, aged, and
decrepit chief, who was barely able to accompany the
squaws and children in their forays and who was
finally surprised and killed by the Mexicans in 1881[sic] along with many of the women and children of his
tribe. Tomacito and Turrivio were killed in 1879,
leaving Nana as the only surviving leader of ability
among the Warm Springs.”
Nana finally surrendered to Gen. Crook in March of 1886,
and like so many of the Apaches who had been at war with
the United States, he was sent into exile at Ft. Marion,
Florida. With many of his fellow Apaches, he was
returned west as far as Ft. Sill, Oklahoma in 1894, died
there of natural causes in 1896, and is buried in the
Beef Creek Apache Cemetery on the post.
This return is the standard format of so many government
records of the time. It is printed so it can be folded
for filing in a record “shoe”, the wooden boxes used to
store documents prior to the days of filing cabinets.
Folded, it measures 9 ½” long and 3 ½” wide, and is
printed with the title and various identifying record
entries. Once unfolded, it measures 19 ¾” long and 9 ½”
wide, with the ledger entries and names all on one
side. The document is solid with no tears or broken
folds, and with only very minor pin holes at some of the
fold corners.
While the names of the Apaches receiving the rations
were written in by the agent or his clerk, each
recipient made their “mark” – in all cases, an “X” –
next to their name, signifying he or she had received
the rations as described. In fact, each of these
Apaches handled this document in the course of the
issue, rendering it a very significant identified
artifact of the Apache Wars.
Also listed on this return is Tomacito, another Apache
leader of lesser renown, but apparently significant
enough in his leadership skills and accomplishments to
have been described by Lt. Gatewood in his article
quoted above as “one of the chief plotters of this
mischief”, referring to Nana’s Raid.
The Mescalero Agency agent, Samuel A. Russell, had
served as the agent at the Abiquiu Agency in northern
New Mexico from 1874 through September 1, 1878. A 62
year old native of Des Moines, Iowa, he began actively
seeking an appointment to the Indian Commissioner’s
office in Washington D.C. when he was offered the
agent’s position at the Mescalero Agency. He accepted
the offer in November of 1878, however he did not arrive
at his new posting until March 15, 1879. His tenure was
short, having reached a point of frustration and
exhaustion, he tenured his resignation on December 27,
1880. Although his time at Mescalero was short, it is
worthy of note that he was the only agent to serve in
that post since 1871 who departed without any
accusations of fraud being leveled against him – quite
an accomplishment in and of itself during that era.
Russell’s signature appears on this return, and based on
other examples of his writing from the same period that
I have been able to locate, I believe he completed all
of the entries on this form in his own hand, save for
the signatures of the other agency employees and the “X”
marks made by the Apaches.
The return bears the signature of Jose Carrillo, the
agency interpreter, certifying he had explained the
nature and scope of the ration issue provided to the
Apaches listed. The recorded issues of rations is
certified by the signatures of two witnesses, David O.
Maxwell, a twenty year old Iowan native who was employed
at the Mescalero Agency as a teamster,
and Charles N. Russell, the
agent’s twenty-one year old son who had accompanied the
senior Russell when he reported to the agency.
Although not mentioned in this particular document, it
is an interesting historical side bar that the beef
being sold to the agency was provided by many of the
principals in the “Lincoln County Wars” such as Chism,
McSween, Tunstall and Dolan. Cattle rustling and horse
theft were a significant concern to the agents and
Apache inhabitants alike at Mescalero, and there is
little doubt that William Bonney, Pat Garrett and the
other infamous characters of Lincoln County were regular
“visitors” to the agency.
A rare document in its own right which reflects the
issue of rations on a 19TH Century
reservation, this particular ledger could well be the
only government document in private hands which bears
the marks or signatures of two hostile Apache leaders of
such historical significance and note. This original
document, dated during the height of the Apache Wars,
is a valuable reference and
a significant record of some of the participants in a
well documented incident in the history of the New
Mexico Territory.
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