A Singular Story--the Apache Chief, Cochise, And His Father

In thefall of 1H70, while ntting on the poroh of the hotel in Santa Fe, New JIcxioo, a purty of twelvo horsnmen approachoi. Their horses were jaded and gaunt as from a long and difflcult JQurney. Tho riders were dressud in buo'.tskin overshirts, cavalry pauta, huavy boots and largo Ifexioan spurs. Dismounting at. the hotel, the horses and men wero eared lor. A tall, slim, hiokory-irou sort ot' a man, who seemed to be leader, made arraugements uside with thu landljrd. Aftur suppor, falling into conversation with tho Leader of the party, I learned, in tho courscof tho evening, that they were a purty of prospoctors sent out to the raountains iu tno northcrn part of New ilexioo and Arizoim, iu the interast of a eoin pany of St. Louis oauitalists. The caötaia, ts he provtd tu h ;iivl .su I slnll hereafter oa'.l hir.i, was au educated man, and a meuiber of the COnip my. an 1 went on this perilous and toilsouie expedición to satUty a roving and reatlosa dispositiuu. Tuey had goui: beyond thcir in tended limit at startinü:, and had penotettod iul'.j tbs édge of the Apaolie oountry. They ha,d nuinerous iights with the Indiana ; but, bcing ail old Ia.lin.ii ii;;liters, had brought all thcir number b.ifk, though not without soiae ugly snars. At ono time their wholo nnniber were taken prisonera by amidnight surprise nul donblo their number of Apiches, Thay were held prisonen two days, and marchad toWiiul tho Apache chief towu, where they wero to form the subject of a groat roast. But the seeond night they escaped by a strutagem, taking witli thein the leader of tho Apacho band, whoin they ufterwards released on oerlaiu oonaiüone. This Leader is the blood-thiwty Apaohe Chief, tho chief who murdura men, women and children. Tlie wliite party, before their escape, undorstanding something of their captor's language, unknown to them, learned from a word let f all here and there that the Indians had knowledge of somo very rich mines, which the speeiinena they had with them amply showed ; but, from the desultory charaoter of the remarks, they eould not learn the lucation of the treasure ; and it was to this fact that the chief owud hiá Life. This chief they spared when niakiug their escape, at which tiine they seut the rest ot the band to their long homes. They promised tho chief his lifo and liberty if uo would show them the " (jolden Muuutüiii," and teil them tho " Sacred legend of his father," whioh seemed lo be in .some way assouialud with the Golden Mountain. To this he linally assented, as the price of his life and liberty. The riches of tho Golden Mountain are even gveater thau tho extr.ivagant stories of the sa vagos had led them to bolieve ; but it is located in tho heart of the Apache country, and utterly iiiaccessiblo till the Apaches aro anodued. The guardingof this Gold Idtountain, the keeping of the whites out of gold flelds of absolutely inestimable wealth, hoardöd and piled up in tho niountains of Ari.ona, is the first and greatest cause of the implacable hostility of the Apaches, oven greater tban tha seuond cause, revengo. This ehief showed them this woalth, guardad by tho whole Apaohe uation, of whioh Captain i preparad to take possossion, with milis mul niiuing apparatus, ;is soon as the Apaches aro subdued. Tno chief gave them l)is logend, and they, as men of honor oven to a captivo savage, set him freo. " And tho legend," says the captain, "it being late, 1 11 give you in tbo njorning." " Üo, hero's to bed. Good night." In the morniug tho captain and I walkcd apart to the outskirts of tho town, to a grassy knoll, and sitting there he related to me tho followiug very strange, weird story : A party of Apaches, whilolyingin arabush ono uay iu the latter part oí L)ocí;iuber, 1826, in Chihuahua, Alexioo. on the Kio Grande, across tho river f re ia what is now tho town of El Paso, Texas, watching a traveling cavalcade as it passed a clump of small trees, saw oue of tlu ber spring from his horsc into tha dense ehapparal and disappear from tho view of the horsduien. The ouvalaade fired a few shots at or toward hiía, and hall' a dozun of them disinouuted and pursued in the direotion ho took, but of no avail. The escaping man ran direotly toward where tho Apaches lay in tho bushes, and run into their niidst. They seized and bound hiin, uioqntod and lashüd hira to a horso, and at onne took flight. They trftveled toward the Apache chief town by a circuitous and eoncealed route, and roachod it at'tersixdays' travel. The prisonor was much alarmad at first, but onding that his doath was uut to ba immediate, he seemod to put his mind to studying out sonio plan of escape ; but they kept him securely bound till they arrived in camp. Thon they deoided to koop him till a grand feto day, somo mouths ahoad, and tlien put him through tho gauntlet and end his life in a grand carnival. He for soiue tiuie was as restless as a captivo buar, walkod up and down his Bmall onclosuro, and talkod to hinisolf incessantly. But before the day arrived for his taking off - tilia ia tho captain"s term, not tho Indiana' - he had beeomo somewhat reaigned to his captivity, had learned gonjething of the Apache language, and gavo thoiu soinething of his history. Thoy got intorestcd in him, aud promised him his life in return for his solemn promise that ho would ucvor attempt to escapo. Ho uiarritsd tha ehiefs daughter, and on tho death of tho chief became chief hiruself. Ho had four sous and a daughter. Tho oldest son became chief in his turn, and ho is tho chief who is the subject of our story. Tho whito ohief taught thom whilo amoug thum the soorots of the üruat Spirit, and thoso scerots have enable 1 them to make tho Apaches tho strongo.t tribe in tho West ; to pass through the country of the whito man in safetv everywhere; to pbtain inl'ormation of thoir enemios and thuir movomeuts ftlways, and trom tho very onemies thamsolvus ; and by passwords and signs to know enemiea or friends asfar as soen. They have alv:iys kept, and still keep, an cducated halfbreed in the oamp Of tho whitos, and by tho socrets of this groat society he is always able to koop them informad of every movemont of any kind, and of overy plan of attaok on them, as soon as that plan is known to the Chiefa of the eaemy themsolves. And whon eaptured thoy are almo.st suro to effeotan esoape, roleaacd by somo meinbor of tho souioty among the enemy. Tho great white chiof told them tho society extonded all over the world; taught them all tho ceremonies connoctod with it ; taught the maideus to make the badgos and insignia worn by the initiatod, and on cortain days, the 2 Ith day of June, and some cth. is, fchey walked iu prooession, and hold a grana dance at night They believed hint to be tho son of tho Groit Spirit. Ho is buried at the Golden Mountaiu, and liiu gravo is walled and covured with old, and is thoir saored place of worsliip. They g;ith:r now evory yey,r ou tho l'Hh duy of Juae. , , Tho graat white chief told them ho was "moons" (months) on his journey from his starting point ; and ho was takun .i soner in Bata via, N. Y., and from thero taken to and e.onfined in Fort Niágara, in tho latter part of September of tho same yeav in which ha caino to the eho ; jiintry. Tho reason of his imprisoinnent was on account of his going fco publish a book divolging the seotéte of tho great society. He was kept prisonnr it Fort Miagara ïmtil September 19th, when. fie wai taken in a close carriage and driven via Buffivlo, X. Y., to Hennepin, 111., on tbe Illinois rivt-r, and tl taken in a flat hoat to tho [iamsippi i-i vi r, r.(,wn which hu floated to New Örleans. There he was plaool i a v and sai led to tho mouth of tho llio Granilo Kiver, and proeoodod op that iiv ■: on boraebrok to El Paso, whera the Ap foun.l hún. His oaptora intended to giro hun into the hands of gome Jesjut nriests auiong the Endians, neai where thej turod him. UU oaptora paesed down through Mexico, and eÍBosped. That great white Chief was the man BUppoeed to hare boen n.m-d v,..l l,y tho il WilUam Morgan, k. 1 tho subject cf thia story, his son, OoohiBe.