CHAPTER VIII.
Gold Mines.—Apache Raid.—Our Mules Stolen.—Unsuccessful Scout.—Another Apache Raid.—Fight with Delgadito's Band.—Recovery of Stolen Cattle.—Delgadito Wounded.—His Death. Traits of Apache Character.—Their Spartan Views.—Apache Idea of American Wisdom.—Adventure of Mr. Diaz with Cuchillo Negro.—Abandon the Copper Mines.—Sonora. Santa Cruz.—Bacuachi.—Arispe.—Ures.—Hermosillo.—Guaymas.—Return.—Santa Rita.—The Pimos and Maricopas.—Their Tradition.—Their Personal Appearance.—Strange Relations Between the Two Tribes.—Lucubrations on Indian Character.—Our Indian Policy Criticised.
The main object of the author is to relate such incidents as will give his readers an insight into Indian character; but in each case the relation will be of facts occurring within his own personal experience. It is too much the habit to give details received from hearsay evidence, from which the writer draws his conclusions and offers them to his readers as the results of personal investigation and knowledge. This fault, for I so consider it, will be avoided in the present work, and nothing described which was not actually witnessed or experienced by the author, who leaves his readers to form their own conclusions.
After the shooting of the Apache at the Copper Mines by Jesus Lopez, matters resumed a pacific appearance for some weeks; but the calm was only on the surface. The Apache mind had been deeply exercised by the recovery of Inez and the two boys, and by our invasion and long retention of their favorite haunt. Gold mines had been struck a few miles from the post, and this fact threatened the existence of a permanent colony of Amer-
