Tom Horn spent the majority of his life among the Apache
and the bulk of his autobiography is taken up with the campaign against
them in the late 1800's. He went west as did so many of the young men of
his day, and at sixteen Al Sieber, the chief of the cavalry scouts,
employed him:
I was young and active and could travel with him all
day and herd the horses at night, and do the cooking and tend to the
packs and clean his gun every night; and all of this was fun for me. The
San Carlos, or Apache, Reservation was 60 miles wide and 130 miles
long...Sieber was keeping an eye on the peace and conduct of the
Indians. Sieber spoke Apache and Mexican both, and as there were always
Indians with us, I began to learn the language very rapidly. That was a
glorious time for me, as I could hunt deer and turkey to my heart's
content, and if I would leave camp and be gone all night to some Indian
camp, Sieber never said a word against it...
What a wonderful way to live at that age! He became a
scout himself and when war was officially declared against the Apache, he
often tracked and fought them. He knew Geronimo, whom he described as the
"biggest chief, the best talker, and the biggest liar in the
world." Horn does give us a record of Geronimo's words, which enable
the reader to make up his own mind -- here is Geronimo's conversation with
a cavalry general in 1883:
"...I listened to your talk yesterday,"
said Geronimo, "and it made me feel that I had done some great
wrong. Perhaps I have done wrong, as a white man looks at my actions. I
know that a white man does not see as an Apache sees, and I know what is
life to a white man is death to an Apache. My influence with my people
is great, as you have said, but there are warriors here whom no one can
control... You complain of my people raiding and killing up in the
American's country. Do you not think I should complain of your war chief
killing my warriors?"
Horn became a deputy sheriff, tracked cattle rustlers and
worked for the Pinkertons.
Horn was later charged with the murder of a fourteen year
old boy (Horn claims he was framed) and hanged for the crime. Many
believed him innocent, and he became a legend in the west. In fact, this
autobiography and appended material is put forth as a vindication of
Horn's character. Although the original publisher, rancher John Cole,
claimed that "...no sentence has been added and no alterations have
been made, save to avoid ambiguity..." it's pretty clear that the
spoken dialogue has been edited to conform with standard usage.
Captivating nonetheless!
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