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“REPORT OF THE ACTING SURGEON WILLIAM H. CORBUSIER, United States Army.”
“This is a temporary camp at the Rio Verde agency; located two and a half miles west of the Rio Verde and sixteen miles north of Camp Verde. It is located on a small stream, which comes out of the rocks at about a hundred and fifty kilometers fifty yards west of the camp, and is the continuation of a stream that descends from the mountains, plunges into a canyon about two and a half miles west of this place, crosses the limestone and again appeared near the camp.The water has lime in solution, and is hotter at its point of exit than it is below, and has received from the Indians the name Hok-e- roo-ya, (hot water). [Haskell Spring near the college.] All the water for the use of the post is taken from this stream. “
“Since the beginning of 1874, fifteen to thirty men of Company K, Fifth Cavalry, and thirty to one hundred and twenty Indian scouts, under the command of Second Lieutenant WS Schuyler, Fifth Cavalry, have been stationed here. At this time (December 31, 1874), there were eighteen soldiers and forty scouts at the post. The soldiers have been changed from time to time, but the detail has always been of Company K. “
“Until last June 2, the camp was near the Rio Verde, and the men suffered a lot of intermittent fever. The Indian agency being there, the troops could not leave, and the agent could not be convinced to go. In June, Lt. Schuyler took over the agency and immediately left the bottom of the river for the current location, at the foot of the mountains, 300 feet above the river. “
“There are about one thousand five hundred Indians on the reservation, consisting of Apache, Yumas and Apache-Mojaves — two tribes, speaking two different languages. These Indians are under three principal chiefs, and are divided into fourteen bands, under little chiefs. Scouts are chosen from among the Indians and enlisted for six months. For a time they lived in shelter tents and camped two hundred meters behind the soldiers, but now they live with their people in shelters. brush of their own, to do, soldiers’ clothes are delivered to them.
“Until December, the men lived in old A tents or shelter tents, but by then they completed an adobe house, in which they now live entirely. The little stream in question is flowing. about one hundred and twenty-five feet north of the camp.There are many arpents of limestone deposit from this stream, covered with one or two feet of clay soil, and on this where there is a steep slope. ‘one foot in fifteen, the neighborhoods are built.
“The barracks face east, measuring 39 1/2 by 21 1/2 feet, with walls 6 feet high and 18 inches thick; has a canvas roof and a dirt floor, and has a door and two small windows in each of the walls, front and back. The doors and windows are canvas. There is a large fireplace at the south end, which heats the room and makes it very comfortable. The men sleep on single beds of raw wood, with ticks filled with grass, and plenty of blankets. The beds are arranged around the room with the head towards the walls. “
“To the north of this eighteen foot house is an adobe kitchen and dining room, 23 by 16 1/2 feet, with walls 8 inches thick. It is also covered with canvas, and contains a stove and kitchen utensils, a table, benches, etc. Outside, at the north end, is an oven in which the bread is baked. “
“The officers’ quarters are made up of framed and floored hospital tents, with fireplaces and adobe fireplaces.”
“The guardhouse is a wall tent. The place of detention for Indian prisoners is a sixteen square foot hole dug into the side of a steep hill. A ten foot high stone wall is built on each side, and it is covered with a dirt roof. While not to be recommended, it’s warm, well-ventilated, and secure, and it’s the best that can be designed for temporary use.
“As there is no hospital accommodation here, it is a temporary camp, men sick enough to go to hospital are usually sent to Camp Verde. A wall tent serves as a dispensary.”
“There is no stable for the horses; they are kept a hundred feet deep in the quarters. Further still is the sink; a new one is dug every two months. Indian prisoners are constantly cleaning; the garbage is burned, so the camp is kept very clean. “
“There is a strong growth of cedar on the hills all around, and it is the wood supplied by the contractors for fuel.”
“The tasks here are light, but in the mountains a lot of the scouting is done on foot; you have to bring three or four day rations, in addition to a blanket, a rifle and cartridges, and the tasks are very difficult. you have to climb mountains and cross deep rocky canyons under a blazing sun or through snow, in order to find hostile Indians. The thin air often adds a lot to fatigue, causing heart palpitations and exhaustion. “
According to the “Consolidated Illness Report, Rio Verde Indian Reservation, 1873-1874″, the “average strength” of soldiers included 1 officer and 21 enlisted men. The number of cases of “intermittent fever [malaria] was 26 years old.
(“A Report on the Hygiene of the United States Army with Description of Military Posts;” Circular No. 8; War Department, Surgeon-General’s Office; Washington, May 1, 1875; Washington, Government Printing Office, 1875.)
Because the Native Americans were declared “peaceful,” the War Department no longer had control over the reserve or its inhabitants. The Home Office took control through the Office of Indian Affairs.
1875: “Annual Report of the Indian Affairs Commission to the Secretary of the Interior”
According to Levi E. Dudley, Special Commissioner of Indian Affairs: “’General Crook assured me that neither he nor his officers would stand in the way of the trip, and he would give me all the help in his power EXCEPT FOR THE FORCE ON DISPLACEMENT BY MILITARY FORCE; and when it was decided to move, General Crook granted me full transport facilities at his command. . . . the movement was intended to place them in a healthier and better country, that the movement was to be peaceful, and that they were not to be led by troops, their consent was obtained. ‘”
“The number of agencies through which the Apaches are treated by the government was reduced during the year from 8 to 6 by the consolidation of the Verde with the agencies of White Mountain with the San Carlos, and the displacement of the Indians there. belonging to the San Carlos reserve … 1,400 du Verde arrived last March. “…
(US Indian Office; US Government Printing Office, 1875; pages 41-42; and Verde Independent; February 23, 2013)
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