Customer Reviews

Avenging Victorio

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Apache "insurgency" of the 1880s in the Southwestern states and Mexico was not a part of American history I am familiar with. As a fan of historical fiction, I was looking forward to getting its flavor via this novel. The story details the events following the death of Apache leader Victorio, as his few surviving followers raided across the Southwest, evading the best efforts of the U.S. Army's Ninth Cavalry to track them down. This story alternates between the perspective of the Apache and Mescaleros led by the 74-year-old patriarch Nana, and that of various Army officers, especially Col. Edward T. Hatch who led the campaign from Santa Fe. This provides a fairly balanced framework, explaining the well-documented grievances of the Indians, as well as the aims of the expanding United States, all mixed in with the power of the popular press at the time.

It's a bit slow to get started, but about a third of the way in, the background information has all been conveyed and things pick up as the Apaches raid civilian settlement and alternately evade and ambush the cavalry troops on their tail. Dewitt does a nice job conjuring atmosphere, from a fancy Santa Fe Christmas party, to Apache camp life, and the rigors of the soldiers' life on the trail. An especially nice job is done in relation to the Apache customs -- from religion, to warfare, to marriage, to politics. The various battle scenes are all quite vivid, and the tactics of both sides come alive.

All that said, the novel ultimately disappoints in a crucial area. Most historical fiction -- especially when grounded so much in real events -- provides some kind of author's afterword, in which it is explained which elements of the story are real and which are invented. Alas, the reader is left to guess which characters are real and which aren't, as well as which portions of the story are invented and which aren't. For example, there's a rather substantial subplot involving secret caches of Apache gold, which as far as I can tell, are an unsubstantiated Old West legend. It's not at all clear which of the Indian-Army skirmishes were real vs. invented. More egregiously, the book ends with the Indians engineering the rather spectacular death of a major character -- a death which is wholly fictional, as in real life, the victim died peacefully years later in a different state! With a good afterword and a bibliography, this would get higher mark, but a it stands, one is left highly uncertain as to what really happened and to whom. Nonetheless, it's a decent readable story which will likely whet the reader's appetite to learn more about this episode in history.

"Avenging Victorio" is a dramatic moving story of an enslaved people whose way of life was completely destroyed and changed forever.

A rabble band of Apache warriors led by an elderly man rose up against the U. S. Army Ninth Cavalry to revenge the death of the highly esteemed war chief Victorio. Using guerilla warfare, armed with revolvers or rifles, as well as poisoned arrows which became missiles of death, the Apaches attacked in surprise raids against the Blue Coats of the white man's army. They were also guilty of massacring innocent men, women, and children.

The Apache's took advantage of the US and Mexico border escaping to Mexico to evade the American army stationed in the territory of New Mexico. After Victorio's return to Mexico, and subsequent death, Colonel Edward Hatch, commander of the Military District of New Mexico was faced with a new dilemma. "...his problems were equally divided between the Apache renegades, the politicians, his superior officers, and the press." It became obvious his only solution was to capture or kill the Apache leader.

The elderly Apache leader, Nana, expressed his philosophy this way: "Every struggle whether it is won or lost strengthens us for the next one to come. Sometimes, as we have seen from Victorio's death, we need to be defeated so that we may gain the strength and courage necessary to be victorious again. Our war of vengeance has proven this to be true."

Colonel Hatch describes the Apache presence this way, "Fighting the Apaches is not like fighting the Mexicans or the Confederates...It's more like fighting ghosts. They are an enemy you cannot see, cannot find, and cannot kill. Yet they can strike at you when you least expect it and then disappear into the landscape."

This is historical fiction at its best. I especially appreciated DeWitt's detail in describing the traditions, customs, and celebrations of the Apache Indians. I was also intrigued with De Witt's insight into the prayers, songs, and ceremonial dances. His depiction of their communication with the supernatural was powerful. The careful attention to details, comprehensive research and expressive reporting added greatly to the enjoyment of this action packed historical novel of the early 1880s.

This is a book for every American citizen to read and pass along to their offspring. The story is a reminder of the high price paid by the frontiersman and settlers of the West. It is also a reminder of the high price paid by the American Indian in their attempt to maintain their land, culture and way of life. Brilliantly written. this is a story that will haunt the reader long after the cover is closed on the last chapter.

Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (8/07)


Dave DeWitt's "Avenging Victorio" is a simply splendid account of Apache insurgency in New Mexico in 1881. Although written as a novel, and therefore falling into the category of fiction, it gives the impression of standing firmly on its foundation of extensive research and extraordinary sensibility of the author for a quite sensitive situation.

After the death of one of the great Apache chiefs, Victorio, the U.S. Army believes the Apaches to be completely defeated. The event is even celebrated under the thin guise of a Governor's Christmas party, where the official hostess is no other than Evelyn Hatch, wife of Colonel Edward T. Hatch, former General in the great Civil War. The settlers in the New Mexico Territory expected the danger to be over, convinced that there is nobody strong enough to organize the Apaches again. Little did they know....

Nana, the 74-year-old war chief, takes on the task of avenging Victorio and, with his rag-tag group of warriors, sweeps through New Mexico in a series of guerilla warfare raids, killing civilians and evading the Cavalry as well as the legendary Buffalo Soldiers. The insurgency is a success, the battle is won - but we all know that the war was lost as far as the Indians were concerned.

Dave DeWitt created engaging and believable characters on both sides of the conflict, showing their motivation and their beliefs. The parts of the book that truly surprised me and that turned out to be my favorites are those that deal with the customs and traditional ways of the Apaches. There are tales and legends and vivid descriptions of bathing and fighting and dancing...and courting and dreams... and even a hidden treasure. So the book that I expected to be just a historical novel about the early days of New Mexico turned into a well-rounded volume about fighters on both sides of the encounter as well as a very eye-opening read about the Apache culture and customs. I also greatly enjoyed the 16 photographs which wonderfully illustrated both the setting and the participants in this epic confrontation.

Dave DeWitt's "Avenging Victorio" is an enthralling book, which grabs you quickly and does not let go. If you are like me, your only disappointment will be that it ends too quickly.

Received book free of charge