APACHE LAND Part 10. A WOMAN IN ARIZONA

.naiche son of cochise with wife

In 19th-century confrontations, the U.S. Army found the Apache to be fierce warriors and skillful strategists.It was hard for men but what about women, here is the personal account of a German woman married to a man in the Arizona Cavalry fighting the Indians or real Americans."BY THE fourth of October we had crossed the range, and began to see something which looked like roads. Our animals were fagged to a state of exhaustion, but the travelling was now much easier and there was good grazing, and after three more long days' marches, we arrived at Camp Apache. We were now at our journey's end, after two months' continuous travelling, and I felt reasonably, sure of shelter and a fireside for the winter at least. I knew that my husband's promotion was expected, but the immediate present was filled with an interest so absorbing, that a consideration of the future was out of the questionAt that time (it was the year of 1874) the officers' quarters at Camp Apache were log cabins, built near the edge of the deep cañon through which the White Mountain River flows, before its junction with Black River.

We were welcomed by the officers of the Fifth Cavalry, who were stationed there. It was altogether a picturesque and pretty post. In addition to the row of log cabins, there were enormous stables and Government buildings, and a sutler's store. We were entertained for a day of two, and then quarters were

assigned to us. The second lieutenants had rather a poor choice, as the quarters were scarce. We were assigned a half of a log cabin, which gave us one room, a small square hall, and a bare shed, the latter detached from the house, to be used for a kitchen. The room on the other side of the hall was occupied by the Post Surgeon, who was temporarily absent."Nothing any good came out of Texas" Robert Duvall in Geronimo

Our things were unloaded and brought to this cabin. I missed the barrel of china, and learned that it had been on the unfortunate wagon which rolled down the mountain-side. I had not attained that state of mind which came to me later in my army life. I cared then a good deal about my belongings, and the annoyance caused by the loss of our china was quite considerable. I knew there was none to be obtained at Camp Apache, as most of the merchandise came in by pack-train to that isolated place.(above Texan by Romeo)

Mrs. Dodge, of the , who was about to leave the post, heard of my predicament, and offered me some china plates and cups, which she thought not worth the trouble of packing (so she said), and I was glad to accept them, and thanked her, almost with tears in my eyes.

Bowen nailed down our one carpet over the poor. board floor (after having first sprinkled down a thick. layer of clean straw, which he brought from the, quartermaster stables). Two iron cots from the hospital were brought over, and two bed-sacks filled with

fresh, sweet straw, were laid upon them; over these were laid our mattresses. Woven-wire springs were then unheard of in that country. (above Jerome Arizona 1918)

We untied our folding chairs, built a fire on the hearth, captured an old broken-legged wash-stand and a round table from somewhere, and that was our living-room. A pine table was found for the small hall, which was to be our dining-room, and some chairs with raw-hide seats were brought from the barracks, some shelves knocked up against one wall, to serve as sideboard. Now for the kitchen!

A cooking-stove and various things were sent over from the Q. M. store-house, and Bowen (the wonder of it!) drove in nails, and hung up my Fort Russell (above) tin-ware, and put up shelves and stood my pans in rows, and polished the stove, and went out and stole a table somewhere (Bowen was invaluable in that way), polished the zinc under the stove, and lo! and behold, my army kitchen! above the 23rd back in arizona

Bowen was indeed a treasure; he said he would like to cook for us, for ten dollars a month. We readily accepted his offer. There were no persons to be obtained, in these distant places, who could do the cooking in the families of officers, so it was customary to employ a soldier; and the soldier often displayed remarkable ability in the way of cooking, in some cases, in fact, more than in the way of soldiering. They liked the little addition to their pay, if they were of frugal mind; they had also their own quiet room to sleep in, and I often thought theremington

family life, offering as it did a contrast to the bareness and desolation of the noisy barracks, appealed to the domestic instinct, so strong in some men's natures. At all events, it was always easy in those days to get a man from the company, and they sometimes remained for years with an officer's family; in some cases attending drills and roll-calls besides.infantry 1874

Now came the unpacking of the chests and trunks. In our one diminutive room, and small hall, was no closet, there were no hooks on the bare walls, no place to hang things of lay things, and what to do I did not know. I was in despair; Jack came in, to find me sitting on the edge of a chest, which was half unpacked, the contents on the floor. I was very mournful, and he did not see why.

‘‘“Oh! Jack! I've nowhere to put things!”’’

‘‘“What things?”’’ said this impossible man.(above Paragon by Gentile)

‘‘“Why, all our things,”’’ said I, losing my temper; ‘‘“can't you see them?”’’

‘‘“Put them back in the chests,—and get them out as you need them,”’’ said this son of Mars, and buckled on his sword. ‘‘“Do the best you can, Martha, I have to go to the barracks; be back again soon.”’’ I looked around me, and tried to solve the problem. There was no bureau, nothing; not a nook or corner where a thing might be stowed. I gazed at the motley collection of bed-linen, dust-pans, silver bottles, bootjacks, saddles, old uniforms, full dress military hats, sword-belts, riding-boots, cut glass, window-shades,below confeds ambush yankees in arizona

lamps, work-baskets, and books, and I gave it up in despair. You see, I was not an army girl, and I did not know how to manage.

There was nothing to be done, however, but to follow Jack's advice, so I threw the boots, saddles and equipments under the bed, and laid the other things back into the chests, closed the lids, and went out to take a look at the post. below my conversion of American cavalry in Arizona

Towards evening, a soldier came for orders for beef, and I learned how to manage that. I was told that we bought our meats direct from the contractor; I had to state how much and what cuts I wished.The U.S. Army infantry private pictured above marching through the Sonoran Desert of Arizona does not look like the typical Indian fighter that we have become familiar with through the films of John Ford or the paintings of Frederic Remington. This is definitely not John Wayne leading the cavalry to the rescue in Ford’s trilogy of Fort Apache (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)or Rio Grande (1950). Hollywood has made us forget the contribution made by the infantry foot soldier in the Plains Indian Wars of 1865-1891. We are also likely unaware of the variety of uniforms found among the soldiers of the post Civil War American Army. W. Britains release of WB 43015 Private US Regular Infantry Campaign Dress 1874 has addressed this situation and produced an interesting bit of history. Another soldier came to bring us milk, and I asked Jack who was the milkman, and he said, blessed if he knew; I learned, afterwards, that the soldiers roped some of the wild Texas cows that were kept in one of the Government corrals, and tied them securely to keep them from kicking; then milked them, and the milk was divided up among the officers' families, according to rank. 







The US Infantry of the Plains Indian Wars fought either independently or in conjunction with the cavalry. In the first half of the 1870s, the period represented by the W. Britain’s Bluecoat, the infantry participated in the Modoc War (1872-1874) , the Red River War (1874-1875), and the Black Hills War(1874-1875). The infantry along with the cavalry were an important presence in the post Civil War American West. This time period saw the expansion of Americans across the continent including settlers, trappers and traders, ranchers and farmers, gold and silver miners, and the railroad. The increased presence of these land hungry populations came into conflict with the region’s native inhabitants. The US Army in the West became a major source of protection for those involved in national expansion. The infantry played an important role in this policing function which supplemented its traditional military role.






The post Civil War Army in the West initially wore surplus Civil War uniforms. In July,1872, however, a new set of uniform regulations for the US Army was issued by the government. Among the new designs that were a result of the government’s revision of their soldiers’ dress regulations was the uniform worn by WB 43015. The detailed frontal view below (showing him amidst a Great Plains setting) illustrates its characteristics:

We received about a pint every night. I declared it was not enough; but I soon discovered that however much education, position and money might count in civil life, rank seemed to be the one and only thing in the army, and Jack had not much of that just then.

The question of getting settled comfortably still worried me, and after a day of two, I went over to see what Mrs. Bailey had done. To my surprise, I found her out playing tennis, her little boy asleep in the baby-carriage, which they had brought all the

way from San Francisco, near the court. I joined the group, and afterwards asked her advice about the matter. She laughed kindly, and said: ‘‘“Oh! you'll get used to it, and things will settle themselves. Of course it is troublesome, but you can have shelves and such things—you'll soon learn,”’’ and still smiling, she gave her ball a neat left-hander.