I was much gratified to receive the hearty support of General Hazen in sending me skilled men; and within a short time these stations were fixed on the high mountain peaks. It was remarkable what advantage they gave us in observing the movements of the Indians or of the troops in the valleys below, and in reporting it promptly to the central station or headquarters; also in communicating with the various commands, posts and stations in the field. At one time, when the system was in full operation, to test its efficiency a message of twenty-five words was sent from the extreme eastern to the extreme western station, over a zigzag course of four hundred miles, and the answer was received in four hours, the total distance traversed being about eight hundred miles. Between these two points for a part of the distance there was telegraphic communication, yet the message could not have been sent by telegraph and courier and answer received as quickly as it was by this method. The importance of the work done by the heliostat in the Apache campaign makes it worthy of a more extended notice than has as yet been accorded it. The method of signaling by it is very simple. By alternately interposing and removing some object in front of the mirror which forms the principal part of the instrument, long or short flashes of light are made which indicate words and letters to the eye in the same way the telegraph indicates them to the ear. The mirrors are usually mounted on a tripod, and the distance through which this method of communication may be carried depends on the clearness of the atmosphere and the size of the mirrors. At the beginning of the campaign, Lieutenant A. M. Fuller of the Second Cavalry was placed in charge of the division of Arizona, and Lieutenant E. E. Dravo of the Sixth Cavalry, in charge of the division of New Mexico for the purpose of establishing heliograph stations at suitable points, and the success of the system was largely due to the able and judicious manner in which these officers performed their duties. The stations were generally situated on high mountains, some of them being six or seven thousand feet above the level of the sea. They were manned by two or three operators according to the amount of work to be done, and were usually provided with from one to five guards, according to the dangers of the situation. Couriers were also furnished wherever needed. Sometimes it was necessary to establish these stations a mile or two from water, which in that case was brought to them on the backs of mules. Rations were usually supplied by the month from the most convenient military post. Besides the heliographs these stations were fitted out with field glasses, and usually also with a telescope, and all day long the lookout scanned the country for signals from undetermined points. Whenever possible the station was so situated as to afford a dark background, as it was found that a flash from such a station could be much more easily seen than from one where the sky formed the only background. In the division of New Mexico there were thirteen of these stations, and in that of Arizona there were fourteen. The work was systematized from the very beginning. All details, changes and instructions were made by regular orders, and each station was provided with the necessary material for keeping records. Weekly reports were rendered by each station as to the number of messages sent and received, and weekly reports of the weather were also required. As the number of members of the signal corps was limited, much work was performed by enlisted men, who proved themselves to be very intelligent and apt, some of them being competent to go on a station after but two weeks' instruction. Naturally, telegraph operators found it much easier to learn the system than others did. Some of these stations communicated with but one other, while some communicated with as many as five, as in the case of the one at Bowie Peak, Arizona Territory, or the one at the extreme northern point of the Swisshelm Mountains. The average distance between these stations was in a direct line about twenty-five miles, but Fort Huachuca, which communicated with three other stations, was thirty-one miles distant from the nearest. In the division of Arizona the total number of messages sent from May 1, 1886, to September 30, of the same year was 2,264. The greatest number of messages from one station (S02) was from Fort Bowie, and the next greatest numbers (284 and 241) were from the stations at Rucker Cañon and at Antelope Springs, near the south end of the Dragoon Mountains. From Cochise's stronghold on the west side of the Dragoon Mountains, there were only eighteen messages sent, though this station repeated one hundred and twenty-five messages. The station at Bowie Peak repeated 1,644 messages, and the whole number of messages repeated was 4,463. The average number of words contained in these messages was about fifty, though there were cases where there were more than two hundred. The country was subdivided into districts of observation, and each district was occupied by an efficient command fully supplied with transportation, field equipment, guides, scouts, trailers, etc., and Captain Thompson, of the Fourth Cavalry, an experienced and efficient officer, was appointed adjutant-general in the field. For the instruction of the troops in the department, I issued the following orders: HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT ARIZONA, IN THE FIELD, GENERAL FIELD ORDERS No. 7. The following instructions are issued for the information and guidance of troops serving in the southern portions of Arizona and New Mexico. The chief object of the troops will be to capture or destroy any band of hostile Apache Indians found in this section of country; and to this end the most vigorous and persistent efforts will be required of all officers and soldiers until the object is accomplished. To better facilitate this duty and afford as far as practicable protection to the scattered settlements, the territory is subdivided into Districts of Observation as shown upon maps furnished by the department engineer officer, and these will be placed under commanding officers to be hereafter designated. Each command will have a sufficient number of troops and the necessary transportation to thoroughly examine the district of country to which it is assigned, and will be expected to keep such section clear of hostile Indians. The signal detachments will be placed upon the highest peaks and prominent lookouts to discover any movements of Indians and to transmit messages between the different camps. The infantry will be used in hunting through the groups and ranges of mountains, the resorts of the Indians, occupying the important passes in the mountains, guarding supplies, etc. A sufficient number of reliable Indians will be used as auxiliaries to discover any signs of hostile Indians, and as trailers. The cavalry will be used in light scouting parties, with a sufficient force held in readiness at all times to make the most persistent and effective pursuit. To avoid any advantage the Indians may have by a relay of horses, where a troop or squadron commander is near the hostile Indians he will be justified in dismounting onehalf of his command and selecting the lightest and best riders to make pursuit by the most vigorous forced marches, until the strength of all the animals of his command shall have been exhausted. In this way a command should, under a judicious leader, capture a band of Indians or drive them from one hundred and fifty to two hundred miles in forty-eight hours through a country favorable for cavalry movements; and the horses of the troops will be trained for this purpose. All the commanding officers will make themselves thoroughly familiar with the sections of country under their charge and will use every means to give timely information regarding the movements of hostile Indians to their superiors or others acting in concert with them, in order that fresh troops may intercept the hostiles or take up the pursuit. Commanding officers are expected to continue a pursuit until capture, or until they are assured a fresh command is on the trail. All camps and movements of troops will be concealed as far as possible, and every effort will be made at all times by the troops to discover hostile Indians before being seen by them. To avoid ammunition getting into the hands of the hostile Indians every cartridge will be rigidly accounted for, and when they are used in the field the empty shells will be effectually destroyed. Friendly relations will be encouraged between the troops and citizens of the country, and all facilities rendered for the prompt interchange of reliable information regarding the movements of hostile Indians. Field reports will be made on the tenth, twentieth, and thirtieth of each month, giving the exact location of troops and the strength and condition of commands. By command of Brigadier-General Miles: WILLIAM A. THOMPSON, Captain Fourth Cavalry, A. A. A. G. In making these dispositions the argument in my mind was that no human being and no wild animal could endure being hunted persistently without eventually being subjugated. Therefore in establishing these districts of observation, and making each one of them untenable, I believed that it would also be necessary to have a force to continue the pursuit when the Indians should retreat south of the Mexican boundary. At that time our government had a treaty with the Mexican government by which our forces were authorized to follow the trail of the hostile Indians or continue the pursuit in their territory, and that they would afford us whatever facilities they could in the way of information and assistance against these hostiles. For some time I was undecided as to the personnel of this pursuing command. I visited several military posts-Fort Bowie, Fort Grant, Fort Huachuca and other stations,-before I fully made up my mind as to the officers and men I should choose to constitute such a force. At length I selected from Fort Huachuca an officer by the name of Captain H. W. Lawton, Fourth United States Cavalry, who, I thought, would fulfill all the requirements as commander. First of all, because he believed that these Indians could be subjugated. Officers who do not believe in success and |