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In the Days of Victorio; Recollections of a Warm Springs Apache
"Chief Victorio of the Warm Springs Apache has recounted the turbulent life of his people between 1876 and 1886. This eyewitness account . . . recalls not only the hunger, pursuit, and strife of those years, but also the thoughts, feelings, and culture of the hunted tribe. Recommended as general reading."— Library Journal
"This volume contains a great deal of interesting information."— Journal of the West
"The Apache point of view [is] presented with great clarity."— Books of the Southwest
"A valuable addition to the southwestern frontier shelf and long will be drawn upon and used."— Journal of Arizona History
"A genuine contribution to the story of the Apache wars, and a very readable book as well."— Westerners Brand Book
"Shining through every page is the unquenchable spirit that was the Apache. Inured, indeed trained, to suffering, Apaches stood strong beside Victorio, Nana, and finally Geronimo in a vain attempt to maintain those things they held more dear than life itself—freedom, homeland, dignity as human beings. A warm and vital people, the Apaches had, and have, a great deal to offer."— Arizona and the West
"This volume contains a great deal of interesting information."— Journal of the West
"The Apache point of view [is] presented with great clarity."— Books of the Southwest
"A valuable addition to the southwestern frontier shelf and long will be drawn upon and used."— Journal of Arizona History
"A genuine contribution to the story of the Apache wars, and a very readable book as well."— Westerners Brand Book
"Shining through every page is the unquenchable spirit that was the Apache. Inured, indeed trained, to suffering, Apaches stood strong beside Victorio, Nana, and finally Geronimo in a vain attempt to maintain those things they held more dear than life itself—freedom, homeland, dignity as human beings. A warm and vital people, the Apaches had, and have, a great deal to offer."— Arizona and the West
222 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1970
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218 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 8, 2018
Anything that has to do with the terrible faith of any native american tribes makes me extremely sad, makes me angry, makes me cry, makes me want to revolt. I think there is no better way to write a review on this book than by the own words of james Kaywaykla and other Apaches.
"She (Lozen) could ride, shoot, and fight (...) At the time I speak of, she had not married, she went on the warpath with men, which no woman other than the wives of the warriors was permitted to do; and she was held in the greatest respect by them, much as though she were a holy person."
"We had been robbed of land, freedom and lives! He who steals millions is a hero and almost sure to be elected to high political office, but he who teals a chicken to satisfy his hunger is sent to the penitentiary. There is another custom incomprehensible to the Apache: it is that by which a piece of paper can compel a man whose word is not good to adhere to his promises. Even more is he confused when words can be so twisted that even the paper is worthless. We have seen this happen in something called an Executive Order, made and signed by the President of the United States, only to be broken whenever it was found profitable to cancel the promise. Great and mysterious are the ways of civilization!"
"The white eyes are superstitious about gold. Their lust for it is insatiable. They lie, steal, kill, die, for it. If forced to choose between it and thing many times exceeding it in value they unhesitatingly choose gold. Little do they care that they incur the wrath of the Mountain Gods."
"We could live there without it. We lived well without it once. With no enemies we would not need it. We never went hungry in the old days before the White Eyes came. Up until that time we had never known hunger not attack - to any great extent. Since their coming we have known little less."
"We would dwell in a land such as our fathers had enjoyed, untouched by greed and cruelty."
"Perhaps it is true that our people crossed from Asia to Alaska centuries ago, though no Apache believes that they would have walked against the Sun. Always Indians of all tribes walked wiht it - never against it."
"Most captives did refuse to return after being with Apaches even for a short time."
"Each Apache decides for himself whether or not he fights. We are a free people. We do not force men to fight as the Mexicans do. Forced military service produces slaves, not warriors." - Nana
"My people feared that a reproduction of any natural object might displease Ussen who made no two things identically. many thought that if we ate the contents of a can we might be witched, though they knew that Apaches could not witch White Eyes. Whether the reverse was true they did not know."
"His little band had fled so often, starved so much, slept so little, and suffered so long that death had no terrors."
"We were accustomed to dry heat, but in Florida the dampness and the mosquitoes took toll of us until it seemed that none would be left. Perhaps we were taken to Florida for that purpose; from our point of view shooting would have been less cruel."
"Geronimo bitterly regretted having surrendered. In later years he said repeatedly that he should have stayed in his homeland though nobody but Nana remained there to die with him."
"A contemporary survey by psychologists indicated that the mixed breed of Mescalero, Chiricahua, Lipan and Warm Springs on the Mescalero Reservation is lacking in initiative. Lacking in initiative! Yet these are the third and fourth generations of some of the bravest and most daring people of which the world has record!"
"Kaytennae, from kah (arrow) means "fight without arrows". The name was used by Apaches to denote courage." - Thinking seriously of naming my future child Kaytennae.
"She (Lozen) could ride, shoot, and fight (...) At the time I speak of, she had not married, she went on the warpath with men, which no woman other than the wives of the warriors was permitted to do; and she was held in the greatest respect by them, much as though she were a holy person."
"We had been robbed of land, freedom and lives! He who steals millions is a hero and almost sure to be elected to high political office, but he who teals a chicken to satisfy his hunger is sent to the penitentiary. There is another custom incomprehensible to the Apache: it is that by which a piece of paper can compel a man whose word is not good to adhere to his promises. Even more is he confused when words can be so twisted that even the paper is worthless. We have seen this happen in something called an Executive Order, made and signed by the President of the United States, only to be broken whenever it was found profitable to cancel the promise. Great and mysterious are the ways of civilization!"
"The white eyes are superstitious about gold. Their lust for it is insatiable. They lie, steal, kill, die, for it. If forced to choose between it and thing many times exceeding it in value they unhesitatingly choose gold. Little do they care that they incur the wrath of the Mountain Gods."
"We could live there without it. We lived well without it once. With no enemies we would not need it. We never went hungry in the old days before the White Eyes came. Up until that time we had never known hunger not attack - to any great extent. Since their coming we have known little less."
"We would dwell in a land such as our fathers had enjoyed, untouched by greed and cruelty."
"Perhaps it is true that our people crossed from Asia to Alaska centuries ago, though no Apache believes that they would have walked against the Sun. Always Indians of all tribes walked wiht it - never against it."
"Most captives did refuse to return after being with Apaches even for a short time."
"Each Apache decides for himself whether or not he fights. We are a free people. We do not force men to fight as the Mexicans do. Forced military service produces slaves, not warriors." - Nana
"My people feared that a reproduction of any natural object might displease Ussen who made no two things identically. many thought that if we ate the contents of a can we might be witched, though they knew that Apaches could not witch White Eyes. Whether the reverse was true they did not know."
"His little band had fled so often, starved so much, slept so little, and suffered so long that death had no terrors."
"We were accustomed to dry heat, but in Florida the dampness and the mosquitoes took toll of us until it seemed that none would be left. Perhaps we were taken to Florida for that purpose; from our point of view shooting would have been less cruel."
"Geronimo bitterly regretted having surrendered. In later years he said repeatedly that he should have stayed in his homeland though nobody but Nana remained there to die with him."
"A contemporary survey by psychologists indicated that the mixed breed of Mescalero, Chiricahua, Lipan and Warm Springs on the Mescalero Reservation is lacking in initiative. Lacking in initiative! Yet these are the third and fourth generations of some of the bravest and most daring people of which the world has record!"
"Kaytennae, from kah (arrow) means "fight without arrows". The name was used by Apaches to denote courage." - Thinking seriously of naming my future child Kaytennae.
March 13, 2013
Offers a great glimpse of the lives of Native Americans who were evading and fighting the U.S. Army during the Indian Wars period of American Western History. Very much enjoyed the accounts of tracking, hunting, evading, and simply surviving. Sometimes hard to follow exactly what is going on in the story but a great account from the Native perspective nonetheless.
February 28, 2008
Vivid, effortless writing. Fascinating story. My very favorite of the Native American sagas.
October 15, 2024
An indicting narrative through the narration of James Kaywaykla, a member of the Warm Springs Apache from what many now call central western New Mexico. Kaywaykla was born into the chaotic final 10 years of the Apache Wars, and this story was the first narrative told by Apaches other than Geronimo (Ndenhi Apache) which was dubiously translated during his captivity and with his life and possibilities of returning to his homeland on the line.
Eve Ball interviewed many Warm Springs Apache elders in the Mescalero Reservation in the 1950s-1970s while living in nearby Ruidosa, NM and consulted with Kaywaykla and Asa Daklugie and other surviving fighters to co-create this rich, painful and deeply impactful counter-narratives to the dominant story at the time of Apache "war crimes," hostility, violence and aversion to piece.
Kaywaykla centers the Apache relationship to Ussen and sacred sites around the southwest as the core of Apache resistance and desires to live in peace on their ancestral lands. Deeply recommend to anyone looking to learn an alternative history the one many of us have been taught.
Eve Ball interviewed many Warm Springs Apache elders in the Mescalero Reservation in the 1950s-1970s while living in nearby Ruidosa, NM and consulted with Kaywaykla and Asa Daklugie and other surviving fighters to co-create this rich, painful and deeply impactful counter-narratives to the dominant story at the time of Apache "war crimes," hostility, violence and aversion to piece.
Kaywaykla centers the Apache relationship to Ussen and sacred sites around the southwest as the core of Apache resistance and desires to live in peace on their ancestral lands. Deeply recommend to anyone looking to learn an alternative history the one many of us have been taught.
March 23, 2024
The author and the narrator really succeeded in helping the reader see things from the narrator’s point of view, starting out when he was just a very young boy, escaping from a raid on his family’s village, up until the time when they surrendered and were shipped off to Florida. It’s amazing to read the words of these survivors — people who actually lived through these times, and these experiences. All the skills and knowledge and history — it’s mostly lost now, but at least some of it is preserved in books like this.
February 4, 2019
This book was a marvelous account of the lives of Native Americans from the viewpoint of an Apache himself. The author was a very young child at the beginning of his account. The Apaches were alternately evading and fighting the U.S. Army during the Indian Wars period from 1878 to 1886. I learned about the famous chiefs Victorio, Nana and Geronimo.
October 30, 2023
The Apache side, finally!
Eve Ball has done a wonderful work of preserving the memories of great Apaches. Men who as boys rode with Victorio and his warrior sister Lozen, Nana, Juh and his brother in law Geronimo among others. You see the world through their eyes. America has produced no finer fighting men and women. I had never heard of Ussen (God) and their great faith and spirituality. Her books give insight into the lives and thinking of a great people.
Eve Ball has done a wonderful work of preserving the memories of great Apaches. Men who as boys rode with Victorio and his warrior sister Lozen, Nana, Juh and his brother in law Geronimo among others. You see the world through their eyes. America has produced no finer fighting men and women. I had never heard of Ussen (God) and their great faith and spirituality. Her books give insight into the lives and thinking of a great people.
October 2, 2018
The Apaches as seen by a Apache not a Hollywood movie.
March 27, 2023
A phenomenal book!
October 8, 2011
...a haunting narrative of the history of the Apache and events that unfolded during the 1880s, as told to author, Eve Ball, by James Kawaykla. He lived longer to recount Apache history than any of his fellow tribesmen, and at the time of the events was a young child. Compelling and heartbreaking, this is a recommended read for anyone interested in Native American history and the saga of the Southwest.
July 4, 2007
Good story
July 17, 2009
A haunting story of a great people who were hounded out of their homeland like animals. A people who had much respect for each other.
Want to read
May 21, 2012Can't find this in the library!
August 28, 2013
Love it
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews