Life among the Apaches

by John Carey Cremony

Book Overview

John C. Cremony was a surveyor for the U.S. Boundary Commission charting the nation's frontier with Mexico in the 1850s when he first became fascinated with Apache culture. Over two decades he came to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0880296526
• ISBN13: 9780880296526
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Indian Head Books (1991)
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

EXCELLENT!!

EXCELLENT BOOK TO KNOW THE AMERICAN HISTORY FIRST HAND INFO ABOUT THE REAL APACHES IN NEW MEXICO, ARIZONA,TEXAS,ETC YOU WON'T BE DISSAPOINTED

Apache Through the Eyes of a Calvary Man

Though this book was written well over a hundred year ago by a dedicated American calvary man, I couldn't help but be struck by the amazing relevance of fighting terror to today's current events! Many of Mr. Cremony's accounts of Indian terror are very similiar to the war we are fighting today. Including his lamenting of the huge cost the American government was spending to fight the Indian wars! Sound familiar about the war on terror today??? Unbeknownst to Mr. Cremony at that time also, the character of the Apaches as he described them are in many ways very similiar to the tactics and character of terrorist today. (This is not to say the Apache were terrorist, I just find the similiarities remarkable). One would think some of the things learned in his book could certainly be applied today. There is also much praise of the physical prowess, preserverance, and cunning of the Apache. If what he writes is true, I have come to respect the prowess of the Apache as nearly unmatched! There is even one amazing story of an Apache who took on a rampaging buffalo armed only with his large knife. My only regret with this book is he did not dwelve into the Apache diet enough. It was the perfect time to take a scientific look at their diet from this fading, but very active tribe. One gets the sense that he really didn't care, or didn't bother to write much more about it. He was after all, a tactical soldier, not a dietician. And what he writes about their diet certainly reflects that. I believe much precious knowledge was lost. One may not always have to read Spartan-Greek wars book to learn about fighting wars. (As if reading classics alludes one to some kind of sophistication.) A good simple cowboy-indian book may be all you need. I might add his story is also a good Western read when most of America's West was a no-man's land. Like any good life story it tells much more than the title suggest. It truly was another era that we will never see again.

Fascinating and Authentic

Life Among The Apaches is one of the most interesting and fascinating historical nonfiction works that I have ever come across. It's a first-hand account of John C. Cremony's personal adventures with Apache indians in the latter part of the 19th century, in particular the Chiricahua Apaches. I've never come across a better or more explanatory or descriptive account of Apache peoples, culture, or way of life in the 1800's than in Life Among The Apaches. This book was given to me as a present some years ago, and it has proven to be one of the most authentic Native American historical pieces of literature that has ever been abridged.

Unknown Treasure of the West and Indian Culture

A refreshingly open and objective look at the Apache culture before the reservations. Cremony wrote the first dictionary of the Apache language and earned their grudging respect. He shows admiration for their amazing courage, endurance, and skills of warfare and survival. But, since this was written a century before the political correctness Victorianism we now are censored by, Cremony is able to share his concerns about their interesting work ethic (it is dishonorable for a man to work besides hunting and stealing) and their cruelty. Cremony makes some polite comments about the extreme attractiveness of some of the Apache women which suggests, at a minimum, an emotional involvement -- which adds a touching romantic side to this well written account.

Fascinating, real life account of a rugged life.

This book sat on a dresser for years before I read it. Big mistake--it deserved to be read right away. All the wild episodes of the old cowboy and Indian movies are here, except they are real. Cremony demonstrates the prejudices of 19th Century White Americans, of course, but the realities of Apache as well as White behavior come through clearly, and the people who move through the story are more absorbing than many a best seller's characters. In the course of all this adventure, Cremony manages to shed considerable light both on history and human nature. It is truly a shame that this fascinating autobiography will be read by so few people