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Show ( JOHN P . , CLUM cujw , Apache Agent ) rr By ELMO SCOTT WATSON WATSONTHIS r a arr is the story of a "forgotten forgotten " hero/ hero heroJohn / of biNof the old frontier . His name was wasPhilip John air " tys : biN \ " . " ' ) " N w 2 2a 2t 2d1 t d1 d1died K THIS Philip Clum r ' , K"lrh "lrh lrh "lrhN wrs rs a T w hen he died on May 2 , 193ry . rt rtl rtk l k s , \ N Nk k / ! y + u unewspaper ' dt dta , b , ? recorded thetrs the \ " y # A Agait newspaper spaper thespaper dicpatches dispatches \trs trs M d dr r , , fact scry briefly . They said he had had14x 14x gait r + n been an agent for the Apache Indians Indiansr IndiansAYE s r AYE \ f fd fa d ? , . . a { b Sr Srand \ and 'caPtor/f 'caPtor caPtor f 'caPtorfof ' / of the notorious Chief Chiefr 7 7 7Sr r s hadGeronlmo 1 rec'rlled recrlled ' tl r t he had \ + fv d 3 Geronlmo They aF N Nr"e r"e re " s ss sA A lE # s a 1 s o been t Tombstonet he first m's ms ' y or of the tow n of Tombstone . , . a1 a1Q Q a , Ariz , in its wild old days and t tA tdk that he was the loon loonA loonof A dk A , , e l , k k 3 3der der and first editor of its famous ( and app ropri'ste ropriste ' 4 t t tssIisper We Epitaph Epitaphx x : aX a r I named vies ssIisper . r \ But the told only a fractional part of the story # + r yarty + " , a r rbj bj bjCdrs Cdrs t 1 of an authentic ' Wild Nest hero , ' A more com , w wr wv r A v " a a ' { a a ' y a af 1 1ten i yf in the book bookx ' # ' ' K K'CW'T 'CW'T CWT . ' y yfi fi fin n fete record of its career appears x ak * z , \ s Y PApache Agent-The Agent The AgentTheA AgentThed ent-The ent The - Story of John P . Clmnu Clmnuwrit , writ A \d d \ d"it "it it " C f \ + g gvr t ten by his son , Sloodwo ' rh t tthat C hum and P published re \vr vr \ , rs Away " S s cently by the Houghton Mifflin company . t tas r ' a Ny "t t "tJohn " \ < $ krc , d dn n John C1Um w wa as about the last man on earth you t qe x a ' eS s : would have picked tcked fora for a 1Wild 'Wild Wild ' 1 West i est hero1/ hero1 hero hero1if " / if You a , dkac , a could have seen ] Tim that day in the autumn of ofag ag agY ? > ? 1871 when he grits ed in the frontier country . lie Y " fr s Ry q $ _ _ _ _ _ M yklt ykltSakd Sakd Sakdb SakdYY tl tlYor ik b r YY . ! l adRV b A p 6t 6ta / a C b y z r ! 4 4s Z sZ t s\ s sr \ t Z a u R r d t tr ttl r Z e3 e3y e3h y h\ h h5 \ 5 , . 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" a t " "e e " u IE ax axf axa axay f a 13 /ay ay / ' was a slender , youngster oungster , just past pasthis pasthis ' his t\\ t twentieth tentleth \ entleth birthday blrthday , , "arrayed arrayed " In Instore instore instore store clothes , boiled bolled shirt and anll derby derbyhatIn derbyhat derbyhat hat-In hat In hat " ; - In other is \ words ords , the typical typicaleastern typicaleastern typicaleastern eastern tenderfoot tossed tocsed : into the theswIrling theswirling theswirling swIrling hurly burly burly of the South Southwest Southwest Southwest west . . westHe He had been born of or Holl'1.nd Holl1.nd Holl1nd Holland Holl'1.ndDutch HollandDutch HollandDutch ' . Dutch parentage near ne'lr nelr ' Claverach Claverack ClaverackN , I N . Y , in 1S31 18:51 1851 1551 : and had gro\\ gro grown gron \ ' n up upon upon upon on the farm At the age of stateen stateenlie s sixteenhe teen teenhe he lie entered the Hudson River niver Insti Institute institute institute tute in that th1t city and anll Immediatel\ Immediatel immediately Immediateljomed immediatelyjoined immediatelyjoined ' \ jomed joined the cadet c'1det c1det ' corps where he re reeeI"ed recelved recelved eeI\"ed eeI "ed ed celved \ " milIt'1r milIt1r military ' , ) training trunlng : which whlch would wouldprove \ wouldprove auld auldprove prove invaluable Invalu111le to Iiim huu him ' later l'1ter l1ter In the thef'lll thefall tliefall f'lll flll fall ' of 1S70 18iO 1870 he entered Rutgers nutgers collegeto col- col collegeto col college - lege-to lege to lege - - to study for the mmlstr ministry , Ius his Iusllalents hisparents hispaicnts llalents parents hoped But young Clum Clumthou Clumthought Clamthought thou thought ht differently dUTerently . 'At At "At ' " At Rutgers Hutgers he placed plajed played on the foot footb'111 football football b'111 b111 ball ' team te'1m te1m ' and took tool . part p1rt in tlie the first firstIntel firstIntercollegiate firstIntel Intercollegiate Intel collegiate collegmte game g'lme glme ' ever eer , played In Inthis inthis intills this countrv-bet\\een countrv bet een country-between country between country - between \ \ Rutgers nnd and nndPrinceton andPrinceton andPrinceton Princeton He also became bec'1me bec1me ' captaIn captainof captainof I Iat at of tlie the ciew Clew crew but Illness cut short hIs hiscollege hiscollege I Icollege college career c'Ireer cIreer ' He \ went ent back to the theI thefmm thefarm tliefaim I fmm farm but , soon realizing re1117lng re'shing reshing ' ? that th1t It Itwasn't itwasn't itwasn't itwasnt wasn't wasnt ' big enough to make m11.e m11e mike . a 1 ' s ll\"lng ll "lng lng living ll"lngfor livingfor livingfor \ " . for him hlm and anll his Ius fh fi\e fi e frse \ e brothers , , be he hedecided hedecided decided to go WestHe West WestHe He Goes WestHIS WestHis West WestHis His opportunity came C'lme Clme ' \ when hen he heread heread heread read In the village newspaper th'1t th1t that th'1tthe thatthe thatthe ' the War department dep'1rtment dep1rtment ' ' \ was as about to toorganIze toorganize toorganize organIze a meteorological service servicethroughout servicethroughout servicethroughout throughout the United Umtell States ( nowthe now nowthe nowthe the United States weather bureau bureauHe ) He Heent \ went \\ent ent \ to Washington , p pissed lssed issed theexamination the theexamination theexamination examination , \ was as appointed an ob obser"er observer observer ser\"er ser "er er server \ " sergeant sergennt in the United States StatesSIgnal StatesSignal StatesSignal SIgnal corps at Santa Santo re Te , N M . . During DurinJ the nest next two years , as aswether asweather asweather we\ther we ther weather ' \ observer at Santa Fe re , the thetenderfoot thetenderfoot thetenderfoot tenderfoot became better acquainted acquaintedwith acquaintedwith acquaintedwith with the West . But he was far from frombeing frombeing frombeing being a seasoned frontiersman frontlersm1n whenin \ when whenIn hen . > In November , 1873 1573 . , he received recehed recelsed from fromthe fromthe fromthe the Indian bureau in Washington an anoffer anoffer anoffer offer of the position of Indian Indmn agent agentat agentat agentat at the San Carlos reservation reser\"atlon reser "atlon atlon ' \ " In InArIzona inArizona inArizona ArIzona Why was he chosen for the thejob thejob thejob job ' ) "In In " those days d'1Ys d1Ys ' the several severalrellglOu severalreligious severalreligious rellglOu religious J < denominations denomlnatlOns were wereclmrged werecharged werecharged clmrged charged with wlth the supervision or of orthe ofthe ofthe the \ welfare \ elfare of or the " various "arlous arlous trIbes trIbesot tribesof tribesof ot of Indians , , including the recom recom- recommendation recommendation recommendation - mendation of suitable persons for forappointment forappointment forappointment appointment as Indian agents agentsThe agentsThe agentsThe The \ wild lid Apaches'had Apacheshad Apaches ' "had had " ' had been as assigned assigned assigned signed to the , very sery ery tame putch putchReformed putchReformed putchReformed Reformed church , , which denomnation denom denominatlon denomInntlon ! inatlon nation lr had h'1d h1d ' id been responsible for forthe forthe forthe the religious rellJlous guidance U1d'1nce U1d1nce ' of John JohnClum's JohnChum's JolmClum's JolmClums Clum's Clums Chum's Chums ' youtliful youthful footbteps foohteps footsteps , It so sohappened sohappened sohappened happened that th'1t th1t ' the Apaches Ap'lches Aplches ' neededan needed neededan neededan an agent ngent . at .It It this time , and nnd a vol volunteer volunteer volnnteer unteer " was "as as sought amoag nmo.g nmog nmoag . the stu- stu students students stu students - - dents at Rutgers Hutgers college . . Some of ofClam's ofClam's ofClum's ofClums Clam's Clams ' former classmates suggest sumest- sumest sumested suggested ; : - . ed that . , Inasmuch ID'1smuch ID1smuch ' as nq he was wa'3 wa3 ' nl al nlready already already ready in New Mexico Me"dco Medco " , , he might mightbe mightbe mightbe be . willing HUng to undertake the job . . " A Man-Size Man Size - JobA Job JobA A job Itas it \ was \\as as , . too , for a n t\\enty t enty twenty twentytssoyearold \ twentytwo tssoyearold \ \ 0 3 ear eJ.r eJr . old fresh from the Ca.t- Ca.t East- East Ca.tjust Eastjust East Eastjust : . - just a n matter of taking charge of of6,000 of6000 6,000 6000 5,000 5000 , India Indias Indians is \s s \ scattered all aU over 0er oser 0\ 0 \ er theterritory the theterfltor theterritory terfltor territory of or Arizona Moreover , these theseIndians theseIndians theseIndians Indians Indiansere \ were \\ere ere \ the "tenlble tenlble "terllblc terllblc "terrible terrible " Apaches Apachesto to " torrom "From From rrom from the das days da } s of at the Spanish con conQulstndOl conqulstndores conquistadoies qulstndores QulstndOl es they had learned learnell to lis dis distrust ( distrust listrust trust and hate the white m man : n and andI andtor andfor andfor I tor for 200 years every eery esery e\ e \ ery effort of the theSpanish theSpanish theSpanish Spanish and the tbe Mexicans Medcans : to con conQuer conquer conQuer Quer them , lad ad been In vain . . . After the Mexican \ war ar the tbe United Unitedstates UnitedStates UnitedStates states bad acquired , , , by conquest conquestnnd conquestand conquestand nnd and purchase , the Great Southwest SouthwestBut SouthwestBut SoutliwestBut But trentlo.s trentlos treatise treatl . s and such like llhe tike didn't didnt didn'tmenn didn'tmean didn'tmean didntmean ' ' menn mean a n thln thing to the tbe Apaches This Thiswas Thiswas Tillswas was Apache Ap'lche Aplche Ap'iche Apiche ' Innd 1nnd hand and they had never neveradmitted neveradmitted neveradmitted admitted the aovereicnty sovereignty of ot Mexico .AIt- .AIt . - - r rY _ Y _ u _ _ _ n . n 0 over oser . er it It . . Although they hated the thelIe.lcans theMexicans theMexicans l\Ie.lcans lIe.lcans l Ie.lcans Ielcans Mexicans \ . , they were willing wlIllng enough enoughto to be frIendlyVlth friendly \ with \Vlth Vlth the fust filSt fast Amer Amer- Americans Americans Americans - icanslth icans \ with \\lth lth lthhom \ whom \\hom hom they came luto into lutocontact intocontact intocontact contact . . contactBut But an act of tieachery tleachery treachery on the thepart thepart thepart part of an American Amerlcan trader tr'lder trlder ' and the thecold thecold thecold cold blooded murder of a party of ofApaches ofApaches ofApaches Apaches by his men In 1835 1335 h'ld hld had h'ldplanted hadplanted hadplanted ' planted the seed of suspicion suspkIon of ofAmericans ofAmericans ofAmericans Americans During the next 50 50years 50years 50years years that suspicion grew into a cer certatnty certarnty certainty tatnty tarnty that th'lt thlt ' these \ white hite men also alsowere alsowere were \ ere enemies to be mistrusted and andhated andhated andhated hated I r or there was ' ' a slelcnmg sickening slelcnmgserIes sickeningseries sickeningseries , serIes of broken brolen , promises prombes of ugly uglyh uglytrickeiies uglytilckenes h trickeiies icheues Chiefs Chlefs , Invited to con conference conference conference ference , were killed hl11ell Safe S1fe conducts conductswere conductswere conductswere were were'Iolatell ' \ violated \'Iolatell 'Iolatell Iolatell Oflicers Ofilcers broke brol.e brole . faith faithThe faithThe faithThe The American trappers , traders and andsoldlels andsoldrets andsoldieis soldlels soldrets a1\\ a1 a1aj always \ \ aj shad had difliculty dlfilCUlty difficulty In tell tellIng telllag tellIng Ing lag the difference between consIst consIstently consistently consistcntly ently hostile hostlle tribes , like lIhe the Chlrlca Chirica Chlrlcahu'ls Chiricahugs Clilricahuas hu'ls huls hugs ' , and peaceable tribes such as asthe asthe asthe the Arlvalpas Arivatpas " So thev they 1"llled 1llled killed 1"llledApaches killedApaches killedApaches " Apaches Indiscriminately Indlscrlmmately . and J.nd Jnd more morethan morethan morethan than once dro\e dro e droe drone dro\ dro \ e friendly tribes on onto onto onto to the warpathBy warpath warp1th warpathBy By 1862 the federal government governmenthad governmenthad governmenthad had decided upon a policy of exter- exter extermination extermination exter.mination extermination - . - mination of the Apaches From 1862 1862untal 1862until 1862until untal until 1871 it had spent $38,000000 38000000 $38,000000to 38000000to $ , , to do It and had actually succeeded succeededin In killing less than 100 Apaches , In Includlng ineluding ineluding cludlng eluding women , children and old oldmen oldmen oldmeni men ! "There There " were seven thousand thousandApaches thousandApaches thousandApaches Apaches In the United Unlled States when whenthat whenthat whenthat that war started and seventy one onehundred onehundred . hundred survived The Apache bIrth bIrthI bIrthrate birthrate birthrate I rate defeated the Grim Reaper and andUncle andUncle I IUncle Uncle Sam , combined , by one hun hundred hundred hundrcd dred headtt head tt " ttAll All of or these things thlnJs young Tohn Toha TohnClum TohaClum TohnClum Clum learned by digging Into officIal officIalreports officialreports officialreports reports when he went to Washing Washington Washington Washington ton to study stud ; up on his new duties'rhe duties dutiesThe 'rhe rhe ' ' -The The - deeper I dug Into these oft1 ofil oft1cial ofilcial ofllclal cial reports , the more be\\ be bewildered bellderell ' \ llderell I Ibec'1me Ibecame Ibecame bec'1me bec1me became ' . Could my government be beso beso beso so two faced as to presume to pro protect protect protect tect the Apaches through its clv11 civil clv11Ian civilfan civillan Ian fan Department of the Interior and andat andat andat at tlie the same time endeavor to exter ester extermlnate esterminate exterminate mlnate minate them thiough tluough through Its mllltary military mllltaryDepartment militaryDepartment militaryDepartment Department of War ? . . I deter deter- determlnell determined determined - mined mlnell that the Apaches would get geta a square deal from that th'1t th1t ' time on , If Iftheir iftheir iftheir their new agent had anything anytblng to tosay tosay tosay say about It . " Ominous PredictionsDespite Predictions PredictionsDespite Despite Desplte that honorable Intention Intentionthe Intentionthe Intentionthe the words word J < of or old timers in 1 ' 'lucson lucson lucsonwhen ucson , when \ hen he aulved arrived ai rived there on his way wayto wayto wayto to take up his new duties at San SanCarlos |