Page:Life among the Apaches.djvu/144

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LIFE AMONG THE APACHES.

and profit by the advice of others founded upon a larger and more matured experience. They want to know for themselves, and place the most abiding faith in their own judgment and readiness of resource. They seem to regard a warning as a sort of reflection upon their personal courage or skill, and frequently treat friendly counsel with somewhat of petulance. A most lamentable instance of this nature occurred to myself. After my second term of military service in Arizona, I was returning home via Fort Yuma, when I received an introduction to a Paymaster, with the rank of Major, in the Regular service. Dr. Tappan, Assistant Surgeon of Volunteers, was present at the time, and asked me to favor him with some instructions in reference to the marches, camping grounds, distances, and dangers to be met on their projected route up the Gila river to the place formerly known as Fort Breckinridge. It was clearly my duty, as well as my pleasure, to put him in possession of all the knowledge I had gleaned in reference to these points, and I closed my information by tracing a map of the route, and volunteering advice to the following effect.

You must never, said I, permit your zeal to outrun your discretion. Remember that a well appointed and careful party may travel through Arizona from one year's end to the other, without ever seeing an Apache, or any trace of his existence, and from this cause travelers frequently become careless and fall an easy prey to their sleepless watchfulness. Indeed, it is not difficult to point out many who have no faith in their apparent ubiquity, but believe that they must be sought in their strongholds. There are others again who will not be convinced that the eyes of these Indians are always upon them, because they see nothing to indicate that fact; but the truth is, every move you make, every step you ad-