Chiricahua and Janos: Communities of Violence in the Southwestern Borderlands, 1680-1880 (Borderlands and Transcultural Studies) Paperback – June 1, 2015

The author, based on personal communication, didn't visit Janos. Janos when my friend Brian and I visited in 2011, was surrounded by a sea of cartelista violence. As a combat infantry Army grunt from Vietnam, the trip to Janos & Cañon de los Embudos was as frightening in prospect as a patrol in 'Nam. The Army was in view. Federales were suspect. There were people shadowing us, without doubt. The trip to Cañon de los Embudos was right on the Chihuahuan - Sonoran line. As such ... we felt the cartelistas knew in advance we were venturing into their territory. It had the FEEL of potential slaughter. Having seen dismembered bodies (cut up by articulating saws .. eight or ten bodies ... no heads), we were aware that Chihuahua was one of the more dangerous states of Mexico. The trip was worth it ... in some respects. The archivos at Janos had copies of the Spanish records referred to here in this book. Apparently, they are micofilmed, and on line, but the thing WE got out of it was to SEE the actual records, and, to have a vaquero with us who KNEW some of the locations of the Apache rancheria who were rationed out by the Spanish. The story of duplicity, in my view, rests primarily with the Spanish. After all, they were "supposed to be" the civilized parties in this mix. The APaches never responded to missionizatiion. They were, of course, used to a wholly different life style. But when the Spaniards began to deceive, trick, set up and kill, in numbers, Apaches ... some of whom were peaceful, some of whom weren't ... the onus fell on the Spanish. They were among the cruelest colonizers in world history. I personally have not much in the way of sadness for the way the Apache retaliated. In the early days, it was ALL about killing whomever had killed one of Apache kin. As the complexities of Sonoran raiding and settlement, and Chihuahuan settlement and raiding escalated, the possibility of actually killing whomever had killed a relative was lost in the swirl. The Mexicans simply did not have the resources to ever protect and ration the Apaches in any way that was sustainable. The Apaches turned their darkest wrath on Sonora. But, Chihuahua paid for duplicity more than once with severe losses of men, women and children. One thing that this book, and others make clear: Spanish and Mexicans AND later, Americans, could and did often trail and track Apaches and found them. They often caught them by surprise. They often killed Apache men, women and children because the Apaches had let their guard down. Or, they had gotten roaring drunk in some festivities. The latter habit was the cause of more than one bloody massacre. The influence of serious alcohol ingestion by Apaches certainly caused them perhaps as many as 1000 casualties. They were a "set up" for periodic drunks, and roaring drunks they were. Not having alcohol in spirits form often, when they indulged, they over indulged. True periodic drinkers. I suspect more than a few were in today's terms, periodic alcoholics. So the impact of alcohol, inferior fire arms, powder, and some rations, all caused Apaches to become distracted. Also, wary, but never wary enough, in my view, of the Spanish and Mexicans. The fact is: nomads all over the world are small numbers of people who travel over very large land masses. Civilized people coming from Europe were typically large numbers of people with small er land masses. Hitler used the term Lebensraum, but all Western civilizations suffered from growing populations and diminishing land available. As societies in Europe grew larger, and boundaries were established, the need for more land, more resources, expanded. The Spanish seems unusually cruel in what they did with the Indians of South, Central and North America. Their eye was always on: gold, silver, copper. The Apaches detested any strangers who "groveled in the earth *(Ussen), for gold, silver, etc." There were no people they hated more than earth grovelers. So, fixated from the earliest conquests on these precious metals, the Spanish set themselves up for being detested at a basic level by the Apaches. That entire regions of Sonora and Chihuahua were "despoblado" said that the Apaches simply killed so many civilians that there was no way to "hold them" during the normal times. Apaches knew the country for hundreds of miles. Amazing stuff!! Too bad the author didn't visit Janos. But, knowing the risk factors in 2011, I know we were more than happy to get the hell out of there. As a combat soldier, we "felt" what it was like to be watched and possibly about to lose our lives ... only to Cartelistas, not Apaches. It is one thing to "think" of what can happen ... it is quite another to FEEL what might happen, and how things would go do in that moment before the knife takes the head off the shoulders.

I was seeking info on the history of Mexican v. Apache conflict specifically in this area of Chihuahua. I have ancestors who lived in Galeana and Casas Grandes. This book gave me a very good idea of the life in these towns from the Mexican point of view. But it also provides the Apache viewpoint. Killings and revenge on both sides, constantly. The details of the engagements between Apaches and Janeros were at times tedious. Since the book began as a dissertation, I didn’t expect it to be an easy read. It at times was repetitive in making its points. Overall, I learned about history that my ancestors lived. Study of borderlands can help us. Conflict and accommodation continue today.

The author is obsessed with the word violence. Otherwise it is a good read.

Extremely well researched and written. The author explains the complex relationships between the Apache Indians and the people of Janos, Chihuahua.

I bought this as it has record of my ancestor Juan Bautista Peru. It’s all a very interesting read. Another great book that teaches you what you won’t find in classrooms.