Once They Moved Like the Wind: Cochise, Geronimo, and the Apache Wars

During the westward settlement, for more than 20 years Apache tribes eluded both U.S. and Mexican armies, and by 1886 an estimated 9000 armed men were in pursuit. Roberts ( Deborah: A Wilderness Narrative ) presents a moving account of the end of the Indian Wars in the Southwest. He portrays the great Apache leaders--Cochise, Nana, Juh, Geronimo, the woman warrior Lozen--and U.S. generals George Crock and Nelson Miles. Drawing on contemporary American and Mexican sources, he weaves a somber story of treachery and misunderstanding. After Geronimo's surrender in 1886, the Apaches were sent to Florida, then to Alabama where many succumbed to malaria, tuberculosis and malnutrition and finally in 1894 to Oklahoma, remaining prisoners of war until 1913. The book is history at its most engrossing. Photos not seen by PW . (July)