Customer Reviews

Life among the Apaches (Bison Books)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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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.

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

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.

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.

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

This is great reading. The real deal. Cremony knew the Apache culture, as well as their language, and describes his experiences with them in detail. When I first saw it I thought it was probably about basket weaving, but this book is a window into the conflict between 2 cultures in the mid 19th century. He illustrates how intelligent, yet vastly different from the white culture, the Apaches were. They have been portrayed as semi-communicating savages down through the years in movies, yet Cremony shows us that Spanish was the universal language everyone spoke at that time. I recommend this book to anyone who has a love of American history or has an interest in the Apache culture of that era. Great book.

In reading some of the other "reviews" of this seminal 1869 work, it is clear that a minority of the reviewers have a 21st century ax to grind with the author. It is a lamentable practice of modern, often "progressive" types, to apply today's standards and values to people of the past, who obviously did not share the preconceptions of 21st century liberalism. It is patently unfair (as well as ignorant) to apply one's values to people of the past. Fortunately, the majority of the reviewers evaluated this book for what it is- an amazing insight into the culture of a remarkable people, the Apache. That Cremony (the author) was a 19th century American makes this book all the more remarkable. The sensibilities of that era might have caused the average man to dismiss as mere savagery many of the practices and customs detailed in this work. One cannot separate Cremony from his century, and I would not want to. Odd that Cremony's critics slam HIM for his 1860s world view, but don't equally apply 21st century values and beliefs to the Apaches, who really did torture, murder, enslave, steal, terrorize and make bloody war on the defenseless Mexican inhabitants of the 19th century Southwest. I wonder why that is...

An enlightening read about the nomadic Apaches of northern Mexico and the bordering states, primarily Arizona and New Mexico. The author, John C. Cremony, a military officer, stays focused on the Apache tribe admirably recording his observations without divergence. What I found fascinating is his description about their culture and the difference of it from other Indian tribes, his personal bias notwithstanding. Example, the Apache's "whole system of life and training is to plunder, murder and deceive, they cannot comprehend opposite attributes in others. He whom we would denounce as the greatest scoundrel they regard with special esteem and honor. With no people are they on amicable terms, and never hesitate to rob from each other when it can be done with impunity. There is no sympathy among them; the quality is unknown."

This and Cremony's other comments regarding dealing with the Apache, like: "...other devices were resorted to for the purpose of quietly infiltrating the Apache mind with a sense of our superiority, but always most carefully guarding against any appearance of seeking to contrast American attainment with savage ignorance." caused this reviewer to wonder about the current American exposure to cultures worldwide and how we relate with "those" people. Do we understand them or do we presuppose that our values are superior and so operate according to our personal biases? Hmmm, a labeling of "ugly American" comes to mind.

I continued to wonder, when dealing with another culture do we Americans comport ourselves with an impartiality and an open-mindedness; do we allow for a bilateral exchange of ideas and perhaps a better understanding of our differing stations? Would not that be beneficial to both cultures?

Captain Cremony explains how he learned to deal with the Apache and their "savage" ways by learning their language, then listening and observing. This book is such a lesson.

Cremony's book inspired many a Hollywood screenwriter, and for years his words have been taken as gospel. As a writer who lives in the Southwest, I have visited some of the important locations and began to doubt his veracity. Scholars have since shown that Cremony was habitually inflating his own importance and his knowledge of Apache ways and history. Of particular note are his highly fictionalized accounts of the life of Mangas Coloradas -- a man far more important to history than Cremony. But this work remains an extremely telling document of a time and place -- and all the strange attitudes that made up "white" perceptions.

Cremony was known to gloat and fictionalize his stories. And as noted in the book description, Cremony's main intent was to further suppress those who were here in America before himself, in particular the Apaches. If you read this book, also read Cochise by Ed Sweeney and Mangas Coloradas to get a view from both sides of the fence.