Post by saskia21 on Sept 11, 2021 6:59:00 GMT -5
John Clum and the wild Apache show
John Phillip Clum was born 1 September 1851 on a farm near Claverack, New York, USA. His parents were William Henry and Elizabeth van Deusen Clum of Dutch and German descent; he had five brothers and three sisters. In 1867 he entered the Hudson River Institute a military institute in Claverack. In 1870, he enrolled at Rutgers College at which he obtained a classical education, he could not earn enough money to continue his education in 1871. He then joined and was inducted into the US Army Signal Corps on September 14, 1871 with the rank of Observer Sergeant. Two weeks later he was dispatched to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he became a weather observer.
On February 26, 1874 Clum accepted a commission as Indian Agent for the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in the Arizona Territory. Two years later he would resign his commission:
“My original resignation as agent was submitted on February 27, 1876, just two years subsequent to the date of my appointment. About six weeks later-April 6, 1876, the outbreak of the Chiricahua Apaches occurred. On May 3, instead of being relieved, I received telegraphic orders to remove the Chiricahuas to San Carlos. This important assignment was accomplished during the month of June. “ (Clum, John P.. "Apaches as Thespians in 1876." New Mexico Historical Review 6, 1 1931)
The year before his resignation (1875) he had already applied to the Bureau of Indian affairs to take a group of Indians on a tour of the states and a visit to Washington , permission was denied on grounds of not having the funding for it. In 1876 he decided to raise the funds by asking two young friends to invest in The wild Apache show:
“However, the proposition had appealed to me so strongly that now, with the added lure of the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia, I determined not to allow the matter of mere money to stand in our way. The fact that I had not obtained leave of absence for myself, or permission to remove the Indians so far from their reservation did not cause the least hesitation or delay in the execution of our plans. Inasmuch as we lacked proper authority from the Indian Bureau, it seemed desirable that, if possible, we should obtain a word of approval from the governor of Arizona which we might exhibit as a sort of identification card and certificate of honorable intentions. ” (Clum, John P.. "Apaches as Thespians in 1876." New Mexico Historical Review 6, 1 1931)
With a positive endorsement from the governor the next step was to decide who was going to go on this trip, their choice fell on:
• Eskiminzin and his wife
• Tah za ( son of Cochise)
• Diablo chief of the Coyutero’s and his 5/6 year old son
• Sagully chief of the Yuma and wife
• Casadora sub chief of the Pima and wife
• Captain Jim of the agency police force and wife
• Ten athletic boys around the age of 12
Besides John Clum, the Mexican interpreter Murijildo, Dr. S. B. Chapin, who had been the agency physician and two teamsters (4 men) also joined this group.
The group set of July 29, 1876 heading overland to El Mora and from there the train to Silver city. Four weeks later they arrived and an article was published in the Silver City Herald on Saturday, August 5, 1876, from which the following excerpts are quoted:
"John P. Clum, agent at the San Carlos agency; arrived here yesterday with his retinue of Apaches on his way east. This party represents the Arivaipa, Pinal, Coyotero and Chiricahua Apaches. There are sixteen men, four women and two boys..... Mr. Clum left San· Carlos on Saturday last and it is his intention to make a tour through the East in order to acquaint the Indians with the extent and power of our nation, and to afford them that information which can be obtained only by contact with eastern enterprise and civilization. He has been careful to select young men of prominence and intelligence who will appreciate the visit and wield a proper influence on their return. "For a year Mr. Clum has endeavored to obtain an appropriation for this purpose but to no effect. He has now decided to take them at his own expense and will give entertainments in some of the large cities illustrating the true character of these wild Indians both in time of peace and of war. With the proceeds of these exhibitions he hopes to defray all expenses incurred in the tour. "If he meets neither misfortune nor accident we believe this adventure will result in more benefit to the Indians and to the people at large than anything we have yet done for them." (Clum, John P.. "Apaches as Thespians in 1876." New Mexico Historical Review 6, 1 1931)
Their journey passed through the eastern half of Arizona and across the entire territory of New Mexico along the Colorado border to eventually end up in St Louis, where The wild Apache show had its debut. The following is a copy of the press notice which was published in a Saint Louis morning paper on Saturday, September 9, 1876. "OLYMPIC THEATRE:
"Considering the popular feeling against the noble red man at present, the entertainment given at the Olympic theatre last night by the tribe of Apache Indians of Arizona, under the supervision of ex-Agent John P. Clum, was well patronized. The dress circle contained many ladies, the upper tier was crowded with the gamins of the city, and in the parquette were to be seen four Celestials, who sat near the stage and seemed to enjoy the performance as much as anybody. These Indians had only been in the city about a week and knew little or nothing of what a great city was, or even what a theatre was like until their arrival. They have only 92 NEW MEXICO HISTORICAL REVIEW had a few rehearsals, but even these have not fUlly convinced them that it is altogether proper and right that they should publicly exhibit their manners and customs or dance their war-dance behind the footlights. For a first effort they did very well last night, however, many of their tableaux being strikingly realistic as well as picturesque. The troupe numbers sixteen braves and four squaws, and when the curtain went up they appeared before the audience in full costumes. That is to say, they were naked from the waist up, but their chests, backs, arms, necks and faces were painted with all the colors of the rainbow. Mr. Clum introduced them in a brief speech, after which they retired to prepare for the second tableau. This represented an Indian encampment where the braves are surprised as they sing their peculiar and monotonous song around their campfire. A hand-to-hand combat ensues, resulting in the triumph of the palefaces. There was considerable fighting done, however, and when the knife of the white man gleamed in the face of the Indian, who was held in his strong embrace, the applause, especially from the galleries, was deafening. The third tableau was an Indian council of war, with speeches by the braves and chiefs. Of course the audience applauded each speech at the right point. The most ludicrous tableau of the whole performance, however, was that representing an Indian woman mourning the death of her husband. What was meant to be pathetic, and what is without doubt, affecting when done at the proper time and place, was really the funniest part of the show. An Indian woman comes out with an old blanket thrown over her head and shoulders, and kneeling on the ground shakes her head and utters the most dismal cries. To an .American audience her voice conveys not the slightest emotion of grief, and when she boo-hoos they can only see a performance that causes their sides to shake with laughter. The fifth tableau disclosed the braves in a grand war-dance, which was one of the best things done during the evening. Part second changed the program by allowing the red man a victory over the paleface, the former making the attack. Included in this was the Indian scalp-dance. The final tableau showed the Indians at home, engaged in social games, and as happy and contented as any white man. The entire performance was enjoyable. There will be a matinee at two o'clock today and another performance in the evening, the last to be given in this city. (Clum, John P.. "Apaches as Thespians in 1876." New Mexico Historical Review 6, 1 1931)
The shows weren’t that successful and where in the end abandoned:
“Whatever may have been the reason, we were persistently confronted with the disagreeable fact that each successive entertainment left us with less available cash on hand. And thus it happened that we quit the show business, packed up our fancy buckskin suits, beaded moccasins, Bowie-knives, etc., and proceeded to Washington to view the national capital and to interview the Great White Father. While there we explored the Capitol building and the White House, voyaged down the Potomac to Mount Vernon and detoured for a picnic in the mountains of Virginia. Of course, we had several conferences with the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.” (Clum, John P.. "Apaches as Thespians in 1876." New Mexico Historical Review 6, 1 1931)
Whilst in Washington John Clum called upon Commissioner Smith at his office in the Interior Department and was persuaded to retract his resignation :
“the commissioner proposed that if I would withdraw my resignation and resume charge of the 4,500 Apaches then on the San Carlos reservation that the Interior Department would petition Congress for an increase in my salary; that I would not be asked to undertake any more foreign expeditions for the purpose of removing other tribes to my reservation; that certain specified necessary agency equipment would be purchased; that in the execution of my official duties I would be given the fullest support by the officials of the Indian Bureau, and that because of the obvious benefits of the trip to the Apaches accompanying me, their visit would be approved and their expenses returning to the reservation would be paid by the Interior Department. Encouraged by these stipulations I withdrew my resignation and set about arranging for the return trip to San Carlos.” (Clum, John P.. "Apaches as Thespians in 1876." New Mexico Historical Review 6, 1 1931)
The trip home went via Philadelphiato experience the centennial exposition. From there they took a train back to El Moro. Then overland back to the reservation. We know that John Clum travelled back east to get married. He eventually resigned in 1877.
I have left out the story of Taza’s death as described by John Clum, this and other details of the journey can be read here:
Clum, John P.. "Apaches as Thespians in 1876." New Mexico Historical Review 6, 1 (1931). digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmhr/vol6/iss1/6
John Phillip Clum was born 1 September 1851 on a farm near Claverack, New York, USA. His parents were William Henry and Elizabeth van Deusen Clum of Dutch and German descent; he had five brothers and three sisters. In 1867 he entered the Hudson River Institute a military institute in Claverack. In 1870, he enrolled at Rutgers College at which he obtained a classical education, he could not earn enough money to continue his education in 1871. He then joined and was inducted into the US Army Signal Corps on September 14, 1871 with the rank of Observer Sergeant. Two weeks later he was dispatched to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he became a weather observer.
On February 26, 1874 Clum accepted a commission as Indian Agent for the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in the Arizona Territory. Two years later he would resign his commission:
“My original resignation as agent was submitted on February 27, 1876, just two years subsequent to the date of my appointment. About six weeks later-April 6, 1876, the outbreak of the Chiricahua Apaches occurred. On May 3, instead of being relieved, I received telegraphic orders to remove the Chiricahuas to San Carlos. This important assignment was accomplished during the month of June. “ (Clum, John P.. "Apaches as Thespians in 1876." New Mexico Historical Review 6, 1 1931)
The year before his resignation (1875) he had already applied to the Bureau of Indian affairs to take a group of Indians on a tour of the states and a visit to Washington , permission was denied on grounds of not having the funding for it. In 1876 he decided to raise the funds by asking two young friends to invest in The wild Apache show:
“However, the proposition had appealed to me so strongly that now, with the added lure of the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia, I determined not to allow the matter of mere money to stand in our way. The fact that I had not obtained leave of absence for myself, or permission to remove the Indians so far from their reservation did not cause the least hesitation or delay in the execution of our plans. Inasmuch as we lacked proper authority from the Indian Bureau, it seemed desirable that, if possible, we should obtain a word of approval from the governor of Arizona which we might exhibit as a sort of identification card and certificate of honorable intentions. ” (Clum, John P.. "Apaches as Thespians in 1876." New Mexico Historical Review 6, 1 1931)
With a positive endorsement from the governor the next step was to decide who was going to go on this trip, their choice fell on:
• Eskiminzin and his wife
• Tah za ( son of Cochise)
• Diablo chief of the Coyutero’s and his 5/6 year old son
• Sagully chief of the Yuma and wife
• Casadora sub chief of the Pima and wife
• Captain Jim of the agency police force and wife
• Ten athletic boys around the age of 12
Besides John Clum, the Mexican interpreter Murijildo, Dr. S. B. Chapin, who had been the agency physician and two teamsters (4 men) also joined this group.
The group set of July 29, 1876 heading overland to El Mora and from there the train to Silver city. Four weeks later they arrived and an article was published in the Silver City Herald on Saturday, August 5, 1876, from which the following excerpts are quoted:
"John P. Clum, agent at the San Carlos agency; arrived here yesterday with his retinue of Apaches on his way east. This party represents the Arivaipa, Pinal, Coyotero and Chiricahua Apaches. There are sixteen men, four women and two boys..... Mr. Clum left San· Carlos on Saturday last and it is his intention to make a tour through the East in order to acquaint the Indians with the extent and power of our nation, and to afford them that information which can be obtained only by contact with eastern enterprise and civilization. He has been careful to select young men of prominence and intelligence who will appreciate the visit and wield a proper influence on their return. "For a year Mr. Clum has endeavored to obtain an appropriation for this purpose but to no effect. He has now decided to take them at his own expense and will give entertainments in some of the large cities illustrating the true character of these wild Indians both in time of peace and of war. With the proceeds of these exhibitions he hopes to defray all expenses incurred in the tour. "If he meets neither misfortune nor accident we believe this adventure will result in more benefit to the Indians and to the people at large than anything we have yet done for them." (Clum, John P.. "Apaches as Thespians in 1876." New Mexico Historical Review 6, 1 1931)
Their journey passed through the eastern half of Arizona and across the entire territory of New Mexico along the Colorado border to eventually end up in St Louis, where The wild Apache show had its debut. The following is a copy of the press notice which was published in a Saint Louis morning paper on Saturday, September 9, 1876. "OLYMPIC THEATRE:
"Considering the popular feeling against the noble red man at present, the entertainment given at the Olympic theatre last night by the tribe of Apache Indians of Arizona, under the supervision of ex-Agent John P. Clum, was well patronized. The dress circle contained many ladies, the upper tier was crowded with the gamins of the city, and in the parquette were to be seen four Celestials, who sat near the stage and seemed to enjoy the performance as much as anybody. These Indians had only been in the city about a week and knew little or nothing of what a great city was, or even what a theatre was like until their arrival. They have only 92 NEW MEXICO HISTORICAL REVIEW had a few rehearsals, but even these have not fUlly convinced them that it is altogether proper and right that they should publicly exhibit their manners and customs or dance their war-dance behind the footlights. For a first effort they did very well last night, however, many of their tableaux being strikingly realistic as well as picturesque. The troupe numbers sixteen braves and four squaws, and when the curtain went up they appeared before the audience in full costumes. That is to say, they were naked from the waist up, but their chests, backs, arms, necks and faces were painted with all the colors of the rainbow. Mr. Clum introduced them in a brief speech, after which they retired to prepare for the second tableau. This represented an Indian encampment where the braves are surprised as they sing their peculiar and monotonous song around their campfire. A hand-to-hand combat ensues, resulting in the triumph of the palefaces. There was considerable fighting done, however, and when the knife of the white man gleamed in the face of the Indian, who was held in his strong embrace, the applause, especially from the galleries, was deafening. The third tableau was an Indian council of war, with speeches by the braves and chiefs. Of course the audience applauded each speech at the right point. The most ludicrous tableau of the whole performance, however, was that representing an Indian woman mourning the death of her husband. What was meant to be pathetic, and what is without doubt, affecting when done at the proper time and place, was really the funniest part of the show. An Indian woman comes out with an old blanket thrown over her head and shoulders, and kneeling on the ground shakes her head and utters the most dismal cries. To an .American audience her voice conveys not the slightest emotion of grief, and when she boo-hoos they can only see a performance that causes their sides to shake with laughter. The fifth tableau disclosed the braves in a grand war-dance, which was one of the best things done during the evening. Part second changed the program by allowing the red man a victory over the paleface, the former making the attack. Included in this was the Indian scalp-dance. The final tableau showed the Indians at home, engaged in social games, and as happy and contented as any white man. The entire performance was enjoyable. There will be a matinee at two o'clock today and another performance in the evening, the last to be given in this city. (Clum, John P.. "Apaches as Thespians in 1876." New Mexico Historical Review 6, 1 1931)
The shows weren’t that successful and where in the end abandoned:
“Whatever may have been the reason, we were persistently confronted with the disagreeable fact that each successive entertainment left us with less available cash on hand. And thus it happened that we quit the show business, packed up our fancy buckskin suits, beaded moccasins, Bowie-knives, etc., and proceeded to Washington to view the national capital and to interview the Great White Father. While there we explored the Capitol building and the White House, voyaged down the Potomac to Mount Vernon and detoured for a picnic in the mountains of Virginia. Of course, we had several conferences with the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.” (Clum, John P.. "Apaches as Thespians in 1876." New Mexico Historical Review 6, 1 1931)
Whilst in Washington John Clum called upon Commissioner Smith at his office in the Interior Department and was persuaded to retract his resignation :
“the commissioner proposed that if I would withdraw my resignation and resume charge of the 4,500 Apaches then on the San Carlos reservation that the Interior Department would petition Congress for an increase in my salary; that I would not be asked to undertake any more foreign expeditions for the purpose of removing other tribes to my reservation; that certain specified necessary agency equipment would be purchased; that in the execution of my official duties I would be given the fullest support by the officials of the Indian Bureau, and that because of the obvious benefits of the trip to the Apaches accompanying me, their visit would be approved and their expenses returning to the reservation would be paid by the Interior Department. Encouraged by these stipulations I withdrew my resignation and set about arranging for the return trip to San Carlos.” (Clum, John P.. "Apaches as Thespians in 1876." New Mexico Historical Review 6, 1 1931)
The trip home went via Philadelphiato experience the centennial exposition. From there they took a train back to El Moro. Then overland back to the reservation. We know that John Clum travelled back east to get married. He eventually resigned in 1877.
I have left out the story of Taza’s death as described by John Clum, this and other details of the journey can be read here:
Clum, John P.. "Apaches as Thespians in 1876." New Mexico Historical Review 6, 1 (1931). digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmhr/vol6/iss1/6
