Howdy folks and greetings from the Great Plains of North Texas!
I'm in a new series about the Old West. We've been talking about a Texas boy who was kidnapped by an Apache raiding party in 1870.
The story was told by him when he was an old man in 1927 and was written down word for word and I'm retelling it in mine.
He told it in a raw, no-holds-barred fashion with gritty details so I am doing the same. This is the unapologetic, uncensored, unfiltered, non-politically correct version with some disturbing descriptions.
I believe it is a factual account of actual events and a rare glimpse into the culture of Apache and Comanche life which few white men have ever known.
Hermann's situation
That day when the Apache showed up and Hermann fought like a wild animal he didn't know it at the time but his fighting spirit greatly impressed the chief, Carnoviste, and the chief had it in his mind to start training him up to be a warrior from that very day.
In other words, while Hermann thought he could be killed at any moment he was actually a prized possession of the chief who immediately began to train him in the ways of the Apache. Killing and eating of that calf was the first lesson in survival.
Sunrise the second day
The group was riding as the sun rose and they continued for several hours, stopping on top of a hill. A large fire was built and they had raw and roasted bull for a meal. Another group of Indians approached and joined them. His brother Willie(age 8) was still with another group.
After the meal the chief took out his revolver and handed it over to Hermann after removing the bullets. He wanted to know if Hermann knew how to shoot and they played around with the pistol for a while.
Chief kept him off guard
Hermann couldn't understand the chief but at times he was starting to think that he wasn't a bad companion.
But then the chief would slap him around at any time and without warning. Obviously the chief didn't want the boy to get too comfortable. He wanted him not to forget his place.
There's no photos of the chief of course, but he was described as having leathery skin. I reckon he looked something like this:
They rode on after the meal, again sending two scouts back from where they came, to make sure they weren't followed. After some hours they came upon a water hole that was muddy with alot of bugs and insects. The braves cut clean grass and covered a large section of the water with it.
That acted as a filter that enabled them to drink clean water. Another survival technique, pretty interesting. Hermann crawled over and laid in the cool water and drank his fill.
The chief had a sense of humor
The chief snuck up on him and plunged him face down in the mud so his face was covered with mud and all the Indians had a good laugh, including old Carnoviste.
See, they had a sense of humor! Hermann was just starting to get initiated. Late in the afternoon before the sun went down they stopped at the top of another hill. They killed a steer and had another meal with cooked meat.
Hermann observed that they were very particular about the type of wood they used for the fire, wood that didn't create much smoke. Another good survival method.
Who needs cell phones?
The chief took out a polished piece of metal and flashed it in a certain direction and Hermann learned that's how they communicated from miles apart. He saw other flashes in the distance and from the chiefs' reactions he knew that everything was fine.
Willie comes back
Soon the other group of Indians with Willie showed up. Those kids looked pretty beat up because first of all, remember they stripped them naked when they first grabbed them? Well, they were still naked. The Apaches were known for being fully dressed most of the time.
Here's a photo of the famous Apache chief Geronimo with three of his braves, Geronimo is on the far right side. It's a good illustration of the way they dressed:
So anyway, they took the boys and washed them up and painted them like regular Apaches. Then they put them on horses and they went for a long ride. Which was brutal.
The kids were already blistered from the sun with no protection and with no clothing... they were worn raw on the insides of their legs from riding.
The Indian saddles, if they used them, weren't shaped like the white man's. Here's what a typical Indian saddle looked like:
It would have been better to ride bare back or with blankets but that wasn't the case here, yikes! Basically like riding naked on wood. There might have been a blanket covering it but still..
They were suffering a great deal from all that but neither dared to whine or whimper. Hermann felt really bad for little Willie but was also amazed at Willie's toughing it out with no crying!
In the next post the boys are separated and the long journey to the Apache emcampment continues.
Thanks for reading folks, God bless you all!
-jonboy
Texas
the gentleman redneck
PS- ya know...you might just be a redneck if:
Looking at you reminds people of the tv show Hee Haw!
