The Apache Wars: The Hunt for Geronimo, the Apache Kid, and the Captive Boy Who Started the Longest War in American History . By Paul Andrew Hutton.
2016; Oxford University Press; Linguagem: Inglês
10.1093/whq/whw181
ISSN1939-8603
Autores Tópico(s)Archaeology and Natural History
ResumoNineteenth-century Apachería encompassed an enormous expanse of the desert and rugged mountain terrain of the American Southwest and northern Mexico, a landscape well suited to the guerrilla warfare strategies employed by independent and widely scattered Apache bands. The resulting wars consumed four bloody decades of raids and reprisals, more often resembling small skirmishes rather than decisive battles. Over time, however, relentless military pursuits and the burning of Indian encampments deprived the Apaches of their most remote sanctuaries and forced the last groups to surrender in 1886. Paul Andrew Hutton, professor of history at the University of New Mexico, attempts to provide a new synthesis of the Apache Wars for both the scholar and the discerning general reader. At first glance, another book on this fascinating subject appears to be unnecessary, considering the ready availability of excellent studies by Angie Debo, Dan L. Thrapp, Edwin R. Sweeney, and Robert M. Utley. On reconsideration, however, readers will discover that Hutton has framed the larger story within a different context than did his predecessors. He focuses on the life of a heretofore obscure borderland character known as Mickey Free, who was born to mixed-blood parents, adopted by an Anglo stepfather who renamed him Felix Ward, captured by Pinal Apaches, and lived among several Apache bands during his teenaged years. It was his 1861 abduction that led to the violent confrontation between Chiricahua Apache leader Cochise and Lt. George Bascom that set off the larger Apache Wars. Throughout the 1870s and 1880s, this bicultural young man was raised happily as an Apache, but he also periodically was employed by the army as a sergeant of Indian scouts. Unfortunately, while Free served as an important cultural broker between two competing worlds, he was never fully trusted by members of either group. He participated in the final campaign against Geronimo in 1886 and played a key role in the apprehension of the Apache Kid, which symbolized the conclusion of the Apache Wars.
Referência(s)