Life Among The Apaches

Originally published over 100 years ago, LIFE AMONG THE APACHES is John Cremony's absorbing eyewitness description of pre-reservation Apache life and culture. Through his years in the military Cremony fought in the war with Mexico and participated in many Indian campaigns in the southwest deserts. In 1848 he served as Spanish interpreter for the U. S. Mexico Boundary Commission where he learned to speak Apache and subsequently wrote a glossary and grammar of the language. Although he wrote this book with the intent to encourage more effective military suppression of the intimidating Apaches, this historical document has all of the fast-paced action and excitement of a Wild West novel.

The Apaches have gone down in history as one of the most legendary of all the Native American peoples. But who were they? They lived and roamed in the mountains and canyons in the Southwest of the United States and Northern Mexico. In 1847 John Cremony worked for the US government, translating for military personnel across treacherous parts of the country. It was then that he first came in contact with the Apache people, and went on to learn about their ways first hand for nine years. As a result of their time in Mexico, the tribesmen could speak Spanish with Cremony and he became the first white man to master the Apache language. Though not all their encounters were peaceful, death and uncertainty surrounded his relationship with them. Many Americans were terrified of the Apaches, especially following the massacre at the Copper Mines of Santa Rita. Though not unprovoked, Cremony tells the story of the Apaches clever and brutal reaction to settler's violence. Whilst Cremony learns from the Apaches, they are equally amazed by the things he shows them, from guns and medicine to photographs and the written language. In this insightful memoir, John Cremony talks about his time dealing with these incredible tribes. He delves in to their secret lives, revealing their highly intelligent and traditional ways. "Like most frontiersmen of the mid-nineteenth century, John C. Cremony looked on Indians as unredeemable savages. But he knew Apaches first hand and was a keen and highly literate observer. For all its ethnocentrism, his narrative remains unsurpassed for accuracy and vivid detail among contemporary views of the Apaches. In the literature of the American West Life among the Apaches endures as a classic." Robert M. Utley John Cremony (1815 - 1879) was an American journalist who joined the Massachusetts Volunteers in 1846, serving as a Spanish interpreter for the U.S Boundary Commission. After leaving the Volunteers, he went on to become the first editor for the San Francisco Sunday Times newspaper. Albion Press is an imprint of Endeavour Press, the UK's leading independent digital publisher. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.

John C. Cremony was a surveyor for the U.S. Boundary Commission charting the nation's frontier with Mexico in the 1850s when he first became fascinated with Apache culture. Over two decades he came to know them and their language like no other white man in history. Life Among the Apaches remains the first and foremost source on the Apache people - their beliefs, tribal life and fighting tactics.

Originally published: San Francisco: A. Roman and Company, 1868.

Life Among The Apaches - By J. C. Cremony

One of the original seventeenth-century historical accounts of the Apaches and the southwestern American Indians. John C. Cremony's first encounter with the Indians of the Southwest occurred in the early 1850s, when he accompanied John R. Bartlett's boundary commission surveying the United States-Mexican border. Some ten years later, as an officer of the California Volunteers, he renewed his acquaintance, particularly with the Apaches, whom he came to know as few white Americans before him had. Cremony was the first white man to become fluent in the Apache language, and he published the first dictionary of their language as a tool for the US Army... Major John C. Cremony (1815 - August 24, 1879) was an American newspaperman who enrolled in the Massachusetts Volunteers in 1846, serving as a lieutenant. He served as a Spanish-language interpreter for the U.S. Boundary Commission which laid out the Mexican and United States Border between 1849-1852. He went on to serve as captain in Company B, 2nd Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry a unit of California Volunteers, with the California Column in New Mexico Territory. He eventually achieved the rank of major in 1864 and commanded the 1st Battalion of Native Cavalry, California Volunteers until 1866. He was the first editor of San Francisco's Weekly Sunday Times newspaper

Excerpt from Life Among the Apaches Those who may favor the succeeding pages with their perusal, must not expect any attempt at fine writing or glowing description. The author's intention is, to furnish a plain, unvarnished tale of actual occurrences and facts illustrative of the various tribes Of In dians occupying that vast region which extends from the Colorado river on the west, to the settlements Of Texas on the east, and from Taos in New Mexico to Durango in the Mexican Republic. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.