b'TURNING POINT IN amnesty and agreeing to be placed on reservations, accepting the rule of civilian Indian ARIZONA INDIAN WARS agents.Howard and Crook had worked well together. Howard had made peace with those Indianson yCamp Grant he could reason withT Pehand Crook had dealt fired a salvo of guns, arrows, and lances at the troops.decisively with those who would not reason. General When the soldiers answered with rifle fire, they noticedHoward returned to Washington with a great deal of that the bullets would ricochet off the slanted roof ofknowledge about the Indian troubles in the Arizona2nd Hand Storethe cave and splinter sending shrapnel raining amongTerritory and their root causes. He learned of the abuse the Indians. The cries coming from the cave soon madeon the reservations, profiteering at the expense of theWe Collect & Deliver it clear that the women and children were taking thereservation Indians by corrupt feral employees and shrapnel storms loosed by the bullets fired into thecontractors who conspired with them to cheat both theYour Merchandisecave roof. The troopers again called on the warriors toU.S. government and the reservation Indians. FREE LOCAL DELIVERY AVAILABLEsurrender. They refused. The onslaught continued. 662 W. Wickenburg Way Howard had learned from Crook that most of the After daylight, a detachment of troopers was sent toIndian troubles in Arizona were fanned by theseWickenburgOpen MondaySaturdaythe crest of the cliff above the cave. They proceededcorrupt federal agents and profiteers to feed theirthepony2ndhandstore.comto drop huge boulders down on the Indians in thegreed. As Crook said, the greed and rapacity of the928-231-2730928-232-2019cave. The boulders would shatter on impact and crashvultures that fatten on Indian wars has been a greater into the cave itself. Suddenly all was quiet. The troopsobstacle in the path of civilization than the ferocity ofWe Carry Quality 2nd Hand charged the cave about noon. There was no resistance.the wildest savages that have fought them.Despite& New MerchandiseThey found some 30 women and children alive, allHowards return to Washington with his objectiveYour Home Furniture Supplies Storethe rest were dead, the survivors shielding themselvesanalysis of the situation in the Arizona Territory, theSpecializing in Appliancesbehind the dead bodies. Some of the 15 survivors weregraft and corruption continued, particularly at San dying of their wounds. Of the nearly 100 in the cave,Carlos, partially defeating his and Crooks successes Jane and Peter Kibble75 had died. Only 18 women and children lived to bein 1872 and leading to further Indian outbreaks later pony2ndhandstore@outlook.com taken captive and transported to the Salt River canyonin the decade. as captives.Crooks Campaign ContinuesGeneral Crook kept the pressure on the Apache bands into 1873, routing hostile bands out of the Superstition Mountains and clearing a large group out of the Wickenburg area. The Apaches had been raising havoc around Wickenburg when a force of Crooks troops moved in earnest, forcing the Apaches to flee. The troops pursued them to Turret Peak. The Apaches had killed three whites near Wickenburg and torturedNear the end of December, one brutally before his death. With the troopers in hot pursuit, the Apaches fled to the peak, west of the Verdean advance party of troops River in Yavapai County, and took refuge at the top oflocated a band of Apaches on the circular, column-shaped mountain. a cliff edge on the southern The Apaches were confident no one would dare tryslopes of the Mazatals near to reach them up the 45-degree sides of the peak.the Salt River. After daylight, Major George Randall sent his troopers up the steep incline at night, crawling carefully and quietly ona detachment of troopers their stomachs. At sunrise the troopers charged thewas sent to the crest of theMarch 2021Volume 8Issue 5 FREE FREEastonished Apaches. Some of the Indians panickedcliff above the cave. TheyApril 2021Volume 8Issue 6 and jumped over the edge of the mountain top, crashing to their deaths on the rocks below. Theproceeded to drop huge Apache band was wiped out. boulders down on the Indians Skull Cave and Turret Peak marked the breaking pointin the cave. The boulders of the Tonto Apache resistance. Crooks troops hadwould shatter on impact and slaughtered them in what the Apaches consideredcrash into the cave itself.Sharon Harrell, Wickenburg AZimpenetrable strongholds. In April of 1873, most of the Apaches could be found near Camp Verde, requestingSuddenly all was quiet.PRCA ProRodeo Photo by Kent Soule AZ ROAD TRIP THE HANGING OFSO WAS HE, BASSTHE ARIZONA AUGUSTIN CHACONREEVES, THE REALBy Bill RobertsLONE RANGER? TRAILBy Alan RockmanArizonaRealCountry.com May 2021 21'