First in keeping with his profession, as a University Professor were going to have a pop quiz. One question pass fail. Here is the question. What do jeff chandler, charles bronson, rock hudson and the incredibleably blueeyed Burt Lancaster all have in common . I think i hear the answer and the answer is all these hollywood leading men played Apache Indian leaders in the movies. Jeff chandler played cochise. Hock hudson played taza, son of cochise. Bronson want chato and burt was the warrior, masai. For extra credit, answer this, what made these roles so attractive to these actors in could it be the epic nature of their struggle . Keep those questions in mind. Also keep those names in mind. Maybe not the faces. The people may reappear as paul hutton tells us about our war with the apache tribes. Americas longest. It all began with an apache raid and the kidnapping of an arizona ranchers boy in 1861 and lasted more than a quarter after century. The fighting only ended with the 1886 surrender of ji ron know, who by the way, was played braille indian, the cherokee west in the 19 the 3 movie. Paul hutton looks back at this jarjly overlooked chapter in our countrys history. This is an epic storely by an accomplished narrator. Highly rated professor at university of mexico and Award Winning author and Television Personality who has been in more than 200 television documentaries. Pauls gift, its his ability to navigate the two great rivers of western history and Popular Culture of the west. As the former executive director of the western History Association and the western writers of america he has roped in many students like me to help tell the story of the american west. Now he has done so himself in his magnificent book, the apache wars, the hunt for gironimo and the captive kid and who started the longest war in american history. Please welcome, paul hutton. Thank you so much. It is great to be in kansas city. With all due respect for the great state of texas, there is no better barbecue. Not just in [ applause ] not just in United States or in the world but in the universe, right here. [ applause ] i understand theres contention amongst the citizens of this fine city which is the barbecue and i have very Firm Opinions on that which i will keep to myself. Since im here to make friends. The story of the apache wars is a story in which is hard to inject humor and i do say that often when i speak my talks tend to be humorous, but im afraid its difficult to have humor in this particular story and the story i will tell you tonight is a particularly grim and tragic episode of the apache wars. Folks often ask me how i got interested in this topic im interested in a lot of western history of course and have been all my life. I got hooked in 1955 by walt disney who converted a lot of children over to history and it was the program, Davy Crockett, that, yes, that hooked me. I still have my coon skin cap. And at the end of this program, i was thinking we could do all the versus of the song, if you would like to. Of course that was the great hay day of the western imprint and third of hollywoods product where westerns in the 1950s and 1960s and before wes dudy played gironimo and playing the blueeyed gironimo of the 1950s movie of the same name. And a lot of history is portr portrayed on the Silver Screen and in writing a lot of that writing is popular writing and so my challenge in writing the apache wars was different from what i had done in my career and a lot of television. And ive written for television and a lot of popular magazine articles but never a book for a broad popular audience and so this was a difference journey that i went on and it was very challenging, took four years to research and complete the book. Its doing very well. And im very proud of it, obviously. And relieved to have it done. Ill tell you in fact a little story about that. I was, of course i follow the numbers religiously and book sales and im waiting with baited breath for every review. And i knew the wall street journal was going to review my book. And wall street journal has a fabulous book session, i subscribe to the wall street journal and it arrives at my door. So that saturday morning when i knew it was coming, i got up at 6 00 in the morning. Paper hadnt been delivered yet. My bunny slippers on, which i only take off to teach my classes, then return. Went out and patted out my rope with my bunny slips. Got my cup of coffee. I was so nervous i couldnt even open the paper. Then i did. I saw the reviews by sc gwenn, the summer moon, which is about the ka manchys and the success of that book had gotten me my house to write my book. He was my hero. I never met him but wanted to take him out and get him a steak dinner aeb buy mix a few drinks. Thank you. I start reading the review and it a very positive review. And i must say all of the reviews have been very positive although academic reviews arent in yet. But the in it is a the third paragraph that begins terrier like. Hutton follows every sker mish and battle of the apache terrier like. Over years of my life. As can you see, im not as young as i used to be. Big years i gave up. Four years locked in a room all by myself pep im not really good company. Writing this book and im compared to small mammal. My pros, compared to and its worse because at christmas, just the christmas before, just seven, eight months ago we add choir from the albuquerque animal shelter, a little terrier. Who we named annie oakley. And she has cut a swath through every piece of furniture through our entire yard. Through our entire irrigation system. Through every possession we have. Through my books. She has a swath that would make attila the hun squash, otherwise known as chub ra could be ra. And being compared to one in my writing wounded me deeply so i still hope to take sc gwen out some day but he is getting an ice tea. I became interested in the story of the apaches, not long after i had become so fs nated by Davy Crockett and started really reading Popular Western history and childrens books on the west and the book that hooked me was a book by oliver called cochise of arizona. I remember it so distinctionly because it was october 1962, heist cube an missile crisis and we just returned from taiwan where we lived. My dad, a world war ii vet, retired from the air force. Just so you know, Veterans Affairs were the same in 1962 as they apparently are today. Air force lost all of our furniture and all of our goods. And also failed to process the old mans retirement. He needed the money because he add big thirst and needed to fuel that at all times and of course it was the cube an missile crisis. And that october, you know, kennedy put the embargo on the russian ships were coming and even as a child, i could sense the anxiety of adults who thought perhaps indeed that whole world was going to be blown to smithereens that october. Well, and also we were just impoverished. We had no money. We had no furniture. We werent living out of our car but were living in a big empty farm house in indian. And my mom couldnt afford anything for my birthday present. So she went to the kokomo public library. Now isnt that funny how, whats it been, 40 years and still, its a tough story to tell. She checked out that book. And wrapped it, gave it to me. Of course we had to take it back. Thats the best gift i ever got. And of course now i have a beautifully inscribed edition of that and later learned that oliver was a pulitzer prized winning writer on indians and bought my own copy for my book collection. Cochise was the great soninlaw and thats the story i will tell you tonight. His name was mangos colorados. Red sleeves. They say his name came by from the way he waded into the arm of his mexican enemies. He covered his arms in blood and thus he got his name. Apaches had been fighting the spanish and then the mexicans for hundreds of years before the americans arrived. And when general Steven Watts Kearny coming to conquer new mexico territory then go on to california, he joined with hip and fought with the mexicans and they made kmop war against a common enemy. Ckmop war against common enemy. Okmop war against common enemy. Mkmop war against common enemy. Mkmop war against a common enemy. Okmop war against a common enemy. Nkmop war against a common enemy. War against a common enemy. The Mexican Government that ruled over the american southwest for some 20 years is now very fragile. It really could not control its northern provinces and to do so they had higher bands of scout hunters. Many of whom were americans. Who roam throughout the southwest, taking apaches as slaves and killing them and selling their scalps to the mexican authorities so the apaches who are a great people for vengeance, had a great score to settle. Prs before he died at the beginning of the lat century they asked gironimo if he had any regrets. He said, no, except that i didnt kill more mexicans. Giron. He said, no, except that i didnt kill more mexicans. So these were not folks that were forgiving and forgetting. The apaches were resebt newcomers to the american southwest compared to the pueblo people of the Rio Grande River valley. Compared to the pimas, the other tribes in the area. Mohaves. And in fact for the western apaches, they may have reached what is now arizona about the same time that the spanish did. Time of the spanish an trada. And coronado. They preyed upon their neighbores. Vikings of america. They made no apologies for this and i dont believe historians should make apologies for them. If we celebrate the viking and what they did we can certainly celebrate the great warrior tribe of the apaches. Never numerous people. Perhaps at the time of the wars that ill be talking to about, there were 8,000, 9,000 at the most. They lived in a harsh unforgiving environment and knew it like they knew the back of their hands. Theyre not horse indians. They are a Mountain People and so they looked upon the horses that the spanish brought as food as much as they looked upon them as transportation but they did use them to carry their warriors deep into mexico for their raids. But by 1862, Mangas Colorados, great chief, who unlike any other chief had united all of the people together, he had grown weary of war. Since 1846 he tried to keep the peace with the americans thought the americans betrayed that peace. In 1861 when aravike, western apaches from the north. Mangas, led the cherakowas. And mangas had fought the americans after cochise was called into a peace conference. A young boy had been kidnapped from a ranch just south of tucson and eventually his name was mickey free. Set through character that runs through my whole book and his kidnapping set in motion this great war that goes on for 25 years and hes in the war the entire way. First as an apache warrior, then as an army scout. He was half irish, half mexican, redheaded frecklefaced one eye quite an ak centric and dangerous character. Only man that ji ron know ever feared. His kidnapping sent this young lieutenant to demand the return of the boy. And cochise says i dont have the boy but ill find him for you. And this young lieutenant said, im taking you prisoner and cochise had come in for lunch. He thought they were having a social gathering. He brought his whole family with him. He managed to cut his way out and escape but his brother and nephew were captured and a events followed which the apaches were hanged. This set in motion 25 years of war. Unrelenting brutal war. A war so brutal that in 1861 as union troops were withdrawn from arizona and new mexico to meet the confederate invasion of new mexico, arizona was completely depopulated and the american frontier was thrown back one of the few times in history that ever happened. And mangas waged a great war and soon american troops came, came from under california under general carlton. The soldiers might have been destroyed except they made a fortunate shot and shot colorados out of his horse and it took mangas who was nearing 70 years old a long time to recover from that wound. And he grew tired of war and that one gets older. One does get tired of all these incessant adventures and so he had, he wanted to make peace. He went to new mexico and sent out peace over to general carlton but peace was the last thing carlton wanted hp he arrived with his california troops, 2,000 of them. Too late it fight the rebels. Sew was determined to fight the indians and destroy the apaches and navajos once and for all. He would be successful against the navajos but not so against the apaches despite the event im about to describe. Well, colorado was about to end the rule over southwest so he sentd sent out a message to one of his coloneles. He said makas colorados send me word he want peace but i have no faith in him. And in response to mangas peace overtours, carlton organized and competition and take it against the apache was as they called the charikowa apaches who live in southwestern new mexico right around where silver city is in new mexico just north of lordsburg. In those mountains that Mangas Colorados was borp in those mountains that ji ron know was born. He told colonel west to launch a campaign against the charikowas and women and children were to be taken prisoner but all males, and by that they meant any boy over age 10, was to be killed. It was mid january before colonel west could get 250 troops up and they reoccupied ft. Mclane and these forts were abandoned and they were fighting rebels. And while he was there they sent out a message to find man named Jack Swilling. And carlton had told him about swilling. And they are at silver mines and he is available for service. And jack swill was a georgia native, veteran at mexican war. After deserting family and baby and leaving behind and they went to work with Butterfield Stage Company and one of the foupd founders of the express company in Business Today and he got the mail contract to run a mail route between the states and california and butterfield overland mail critical to Holding California in the union and cochise and mangas and warriors shut down the butterfield mail and ended all communication with california. Then followed the gold rush into the mountains of southwestern new mexico and had opened a saloon in pinos altos and judge roy bean would later become famous of course as law west of the pecos down in texas. And the man who laid out the town was named mills and he would later become a famous army officer in the indian wars but at that time he was a surveyor from indiana. And one of his brothers work for butterfield stage line and would be killed by the apaches during this time. Well, swilling prospered in the mines but apaches made life difficult for mine earns other form what were called arizona guards. R earns other form what were called arizona guards. S earns other form what were called arizona guards. Earns other form what were called arizona guards. A earns other form what were called arizona guards. N earns other form what were called arizona guards. D earns other form what were called arizona guards. Earns other form what were called arizona guards. Arns other form what were called arizona guards. Rns other form what were called arizona guards. Ns other form what were called arizona guards. S other form what were called arizona guards. Other form what were called arizona guards. And they are busy scouting for apaches and soon joined up with the con fed rates and they went forward and met up with met up with the yankees who were coming from california. Fed rate forward and met up with met up with the yankees who were coming from california. E rates forward and met up with met up with the yankees who were coming from california. Rates an forward and met up with met up with the yankees who were coming from california. Ates and forward and met up with met up with the yankees who were coming from california. Rates an forward and met up with met up with the yankees who were coming from california. And swilling caught the yankee guard and took him back to an area occupied by rebel troops. And as they are going back though, they are dogged by apaches who are all around them and just like in a hollywood movie and gives the captain back his gun and says were going to have to fight our way through. And they become pals. By the time they get to masia, rebels are in retreat and union army has won a big victory at gloery eta pass. So swilling switches sides and becomes a dispatch rider and scalp for the new victorious union troops. And so, hes there in hes there in pinot altos when colonel west needs it. So west hires swilling who is a great big guy with a real swagger to him and big sombrero and long black hair down to his shoulders and just a real swaush buckling character there in the southwest. He is highered and hired to meet with Mangas Colorados. So he sends him up, wes sends swilling up to pinot altos in 1863 and meets a Remarkable Group of adventurers who are camped there and these men are gold hunters and led by Joseph Walker and had led 20 men into new mexico into hopes of reaching Central Arizona where everyone suspected there is a mun tan of gold where prescott is now, prescott by wait, briefly the capital of territorial arizona. Onliter toral capital ever name ford a historian in the United States, which brings a tear to my eye. As i think about it. Walker though, couldnt make it into arizona with his men because the apaches were everywhere. Every pass through this rough broken country was guarded by apache warriors and they are like ghosts. You sense them. They were all around you but all you could see was their Smoke Signals and Smoke Signals werent really a means of communication but it was a signal you sent up to say, im here. Come. Im here. And these signals were all around the men as they tried to get through the passes and they camped near what is now the arizona line, place called cooks canyon and they saw some nearby fires and so they made their way over to them and they thought that maybe they were signals and that apaches wanted to