Once They Moved Like the Wind

Cochise, Geronimo, and the Apache Wars
by David Roberts

Dirty Wars and Quirky Personalities
September 4, 2000

A fascinating, balanced, and extraordinarily detailed account of the brutal conquest of a proud warrior tribe, Once They Moved Like the Wind provides rare insights into the Southwest's most violent era.

Author Roberts recreates the "profound distrust" and layers of "cultural misunderstanding" that lead to the intense racial hatred between the Apaches, the Mexicans, and American settlers. Roberts' powerful narrative doesn't idealize the sometimes brutal Apache traditions (cutting off a wife's nose if she was suspected of adultery, etc). Yet, it seems to me, that the real villains clearly remain the Mexican troops who purchased Indian scalps and casually murdered Apaches for fun and profit. The American settlers, who seem to be hysterical, are likewise committed to Manifest Destiny and seizing the Apaches' traditional lands. The federal government and U.S. Cavalry, to my surprise, played the role of both hunting Apaches and protecting them from the local settler population.

This book details some real quirky personalities from General Cook to Geromino and documents a few forgotten dirty wars. (Cochise still comes across a great chief who almost forced the federal government to abandon New Mexico and Arizona to the Apache during the Civil War.)

An almost perfect gift for history teachers, relatives living in the Southwest, or addicts of 19th Century American history. Don't be surprised if a clever travel agent uses this book for organizing tours in Arizona and New Mexico one day!!!

 

 

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