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When
Nochaydelklinne first came to the attention of the white man, he
was a kindly sort of herb doctor. The Apaches considered him an
ascetic, or holy man, but he wasn’t yet as powerful as he would soon
become. He stood about five feet, six inches tall and weighed somewhere
in the vicinity of 120 pounds. His complexion was very pale, almost
transparent, and he had a strange quality about him which defied
explanation. Cochise thought very highly of him and listened to his
council, as did Geronimo, albeit for different reasons. Nana apparently
had greater faith. He once visited the prophet, attended a prayer
session, and claimed (when he was later on the Fort Sill Military
Reservation) to have seen him call up Mangas Coloradas, Cochise, and
Victorio.
Nochaydelklinne
became a scout for General Crook when he was about 52 years old. He
went to Washington that same year (1871) to meet President Ulysses
Grant, received a silver medal, and returned telling of all the wonders
he had seen. It is known that at some point in his youth, he had been
to Santa Fe to attend school, where he learned all about Christianity.
He became infatuated with the story of the Resurrection, and when he
returned to his own people, he would withdraw periodically to the
mountains to fast and speculate upon religion. At no time was he ever
considered a dangerous man. He became widely known throughout Apacheria
as a healer and a mystic.
For
ten years, Nochaydelklinne dreamed his way into the subconscious of
his people, arousing them to a fervor of devotion and trust. He was
probably of the White Mountain band, although different scholars tell
different ancestry. It is know that he stayed among the San Carlos and
Fort Apache reservations, and he had become the center of revival-type
Apache gatherings which preached that the whites would soon be driven
away and that two chiefs would soon return from the dead. This caused
great excitement among the bands and led to the Ghost Dance, which
caused so much worry to the Army.
The
Apaches were not one tribe as in other cultures. They were
independent bands, and some of them were bitter enemies. The government
refused to recognize this distinction, and when it forced a number of
bands from Arizona and New Mexico together onto the San Carlos
Reservation, it was only a matter of time before hostilities erupted.
As the Apache watched in growing desperation, they became crowded with
their enemies, whites overran their lands, and dishonest agents sold
their rations, forcing them to go hungry. Apaches everywhere accepted
the promises of Nochaydelklinne.
By
1881, Nochaydelklinne was a full-fledged prophet attracting larger
and larger crowds. One Army officer who observed the enraptured Apache
moving like wooden figures to the monotonous drumbeats was Lieutenant
Thomas Cruse. In mid-August, he sent his chief of scouts, a Choctaw
named Sam Bowman, to observe the dances. On his return, Bowman was
gloomy and said only that it was time he visited relatives in Indian
Territory, that he was resigning. When pressed for details, Bowman
confessed that trouble was brewing. Cruse thought so, too. Already,
Apaches who had previously been mortal enemies were beginning to
fraternize. Scouts, who received passes from the Army to attend the
revivals, overstayed their time and returned to camp exhausted, surly,
and insubordinate, which was totally out of character because they had
been completely loyal and trustworthy.
It
came to a head when Nochaydelklinne moved his camp meetings to
Cibecue, on Cibecue Creek, about 40 miles west of Fort Apache. This was
in late August 1881, and the dancing and emotional fervor were at their
height at the very time that Nana was splashing blood over the map of
New Mexico. Officials responsible for good order on the reservation
were understandably nervous. When San Carlos Agent Joseph Tiffany
refused to grant passes for his Apaches to attend the dances, hundreds
of the more aggressive members of the various bands defiantly went
anyway.
Tiffany
called on Colonel Eugene Carr at Fort Apache for help. Carr
sent a message for Nochaydelklinne to come to the post for a talk. The
prophet refused, saying he would consider it at a later time. This
refusal prompted Carr to wire General Orlando Willcox at the Department
of Arizona, requesting two cavalry troops be sent from Fort Grant to
make a show of force that would cool off the hotheads among
Nochaydelklinne’s followers. Unfortunately, the telegraph line suffered
one of its frequent breakdowns after the wire was sent, and by August
28, when men were finally able to repair the line long enough for Carr
to receive a wire, it was the fatal "Capture or kill Nochaydelklinne,
or both" message.
On
29 August 1881, the 117-man Army column marched to Carrizo Creek.
Colonel Carr took one of the Apache scouts aside and explained that he
wanted only to talk to Nochaydelklinne. The scout, Sergeant Mose, took
two other scouts with him and headed for Cibecue a few hours after
midnight. His intentions were to make clear to Nochaydelklinne that the
march wasn’t with hostile intent and to warn the prophet to keep his
followers from firing on the troops. It didn’t work. The Battle of
Cibecue Creek turned into one of the biggest fiascoes in Southwestern
history.
Nochaydelklinne
was arrested by scouts Sergeant John McDonald and
Sergeant Mose, who had orders to shoot if there was any trouble. As
Nochaydelklinne’s wife ran ahead of him, doing an odd dance, scattering
sacred powder and chanting, dozens of armed and painted warriors
appeared out of ravines and began to follow. By the time the Army had
reached their camping site, the Apaches had them surrounded. At the
first shots, Sergeant McDonald shot Nochaydelklinne, as ordered. The
prophet’s wife threw herself over his body, and McDonald then went down
with a bullet in his leg. At that moment Nochaydelklinne’s young son
charged into camp on his father’s pony and was promptly shot down. His
mother saw him fall, and as she ran with a shriek, the nearest soldier
promptly shot her. Nochaydelklinne, who had not died at the first shot,
began to crawl away, but the bugler, William Benites, saw him and put
his pistol to the prophet’s head and pulled the trigger. By sunset, the
massacre was over. The Army dug a large grave and buried
Nochaydelklinne’s entire family and six soldiers. One dead soldier
couldn’t be found in the dark, and a wounded one died the next day.
General Willcox and Agent Tiffany both denied any responsibility for
the affair.
The
next day, the Apache charged the army post at Fort Apache
repeatedly, but were repulsed each time. Two days later, replacement
troops arrived from Fort Thomas, but the hostile Apache had gone into
hiding. By the time all hostilities had calmed, eighteen scouts had
been killed, and reinforcements had arrived from New Mexico and
California---cavalry, infantry, artillery---twenty-two companies in
all. At San Carlos, where several restless bands had been confined, the
sight of so many troops panicked Juh, Benito, and Naiche, and they
promptly fled into Mexico with all of their followers to join forces
with Geronimo. Loco and his people soon joined them. With the
disappearance of the peaceful Loco and his band, the War Department
became convinced that Apache affairs in Arizona were once again out of
hand. General Crook was finally called in to replace Willcox and
restore order.
--------------------
reprint
from High Chapparral Magazine
MESSIAH
[WOVOKA - STUDENT OF NOCHAYDELKLINNE] LETTER
When
the Sun died, I went up to Heaven and saw God and all the people
who had died a long time ago. God told me to come back and tell my
people they must be good and love
one
another, and not fight, or steal or lie. He gave me this dance to give
to my people.
When
you get home you must make a dance to continue five days. Dance
four successive nights, and the last night keep us the dance until the
morning of the fifth day, when all
must
bathe in the river and then disperse to their homes. You must all do in
the same way.
I,
Jack Wilson, love you all, and my heart is full of gladness for the
gifts you have brought me. When you get home I shall give you a good
cloud which will make you feel good. I
give
you a good spirit and give you all good paint. I want you to come
again in three months, some from each tribe there [Indian
Territory].
There will be a good deal of snow this year and some rain. In the fall
there will be such a rain as I have never given you before.
Grandfather
[a universal title of reverence among Indians and here
referring to the Apache Holy Man that led Wovoka through his rite]
says, when your friends die you must not cry. You must not hurt anybody
or do harm to anyone. You must not fight. Do right always. It will give
you satisfaction in life. This young man has a good father and
mother.
[This refers to Casper Edson, the young Arapaho who wrote down this
message of Wovoka for the delegation]
Do
not tell the white people about this. Jesus is now upon the earth.
He appears like a cloud. The dead are still alive again. I do not know
when they will be here; maybe this fall or in the spring. When the time
comes there will be no more sickness and everyone will be young again.
Do
not refuse to work for the whites and do not make any trouble with
them until you leave them. When the earth shakes [at the coming of the
new world] do not be afraid. It will not hurt you.
I
want you to dance every six weeks. Make a feast at the dance and have
food that everybody may eat. Then bathe in the water. That is all. You
will receive good words again from me some time. Do not tell lies.
––----------------
Wovoka,
Paiute Prophet responsible for Ghost Dance Religion
Known
to Apache as Nayokogal
Father
Tavibo (also a visionary) - Mother Wuti Nabiyetti - born in 1854 in
Esmeralda County, Nevada
Orphaned
at 14, raised and Christianized by white rancher David Wilson, who gave
him the name Jack Wilson.
Participated
in Peyote Ritual during Chajala with Apache Dreamer &
Prophet Nochaydelklinne, known to Paiute as Qui-am-i Wintook Poot-see |
