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On the Cibicu
Sergeant Mandeville’s poem
Written shortly after the fight.
“On the Cibicu”
Brave General Carr commanded –
Well and true.
The troops who fought in blue,
On August thirtieth, eighty one.
‘T’was on the Cibicu.Traitorous scouts, they did their work.
Then ran away.
When brave boys opened fire on them;
Then E Troop charged most gallantly
Across the bottom low and deep;
Those murderers ran – they fairly flew –
To “foot hills.” far beyond
The roaring Cibicu.Gallant Hentig to fall was number one.
And Livingston was two.
Poor Miller fell as number three.
Then Sunderriger pierced through;
Then Bird the gallant, brave, and true.
His captain’s corpse went to;
He fell performing duty well,
This on the Cibicu.Sullivan was number six to fall.
A soldier brave and true;
Then Mickey Foran met his fate;
A thorough soldier – an honor to blue.
Bagge – wounded in the shoulder deep –
McDonald in the leg;
Brave boys they suffered terribly.
Would not complain or beg.
This numbers all our comrades true.
Murdered, Wounded – died
On Cibicu.Gallant Carter and Cruse – brave men –
And MeCreery, God bless him,
Did surgeon’s duty, yes more too;
Handled his carbine steadily.
Assisting soldiers true.
To wounded quickly he did go,
Though lead missiles thickly flew;
Cared nought, his duty would perform.
T’was on the Cibicu.Young Clark M. Carr, a boy in teens.
Not accustomed to such scenes.
Did bravely, nobly, for one so young,
Handled well a soldier’s gun.
Assisted much the boys in blue.
Fighting hard at Cibicu.The grave was dug; no shroud, no coffin;
Rolled in a soldier’s blanket;
One by one we laid the corpse in;
“Earth to earth.” “ashes In ashes”;
“Taps” true. “tis still as death.”
Comrades murdered in the blue,
By Traitorous scouts at Cibicu.Comrades! “revenge is sweet”
To us it is and more;
With gallant Carr to lead us
We’d make the valleys roar.
With love for the murdered in our hearts
We’ll hunt the Apache from his lair
Nor cease to fight with all our might,
And God protect us in the right.
Till all the murderers bite the earth.
Shall we be content.
Never falter; revenge ’tis true;
Our battle cry, ‘The Cibicu!’
A firsthand account of the Battle of Cibique Creek (08/30/1881 on the White Mountain Apache Reservation. The battle was sparked by the arrest of Apache medicine man Nock-ay-det-klinné who had begun holding Ghost Dances * at the village of Cibecue, fanning the heat of already existing discontent with conditions of reservation life.
As the soldiers were returning to Fort Apache with their prisoner, they were ambushed by Apache warriors. When the the skirmish erupted, most of the 23 Apache scouts ** mutinied. The command was saved by quick the action of scouts Al Sieber and Tom Horn. This was the largest event *** of its kind in U.S. history. The army lost seven men, the Apache 18.
Nock-ay-det-klinné had been badly wounded during the fight and thought dead. The chief packer/guide, Burns [Byrnes] was ordered to make sure, and use a knife if needed. Burns found the Indian barely alive, but used an axe to crush his forehead instead of cutting his throat as he had been directed. The result was that every person murdered by these Apache in the future, received the same treatment. {001}
see:
* References – Dictionary – Ghost Dance
** There were 25 scouts: 12 from Chief Pedro’s band, 13 were Cibecue Apache.
*** Mutiny during a battle.
Wk. 08, 02/19/1907 – Al Sieber
Wk. 47, 11/23/1903 – Tom Horn
Photo Gallery Index – Military Photos – Soldiers of the West – Gen. Asa Carr
History Riders, if you want to look this event up, it is thoroughly documented.
See also:
PLAYERS – Timelines – Timelines A-L – Indian Wars Timeline
PLAYERS – Timelines – Timelines A-L – Indian Treaties Timeline
The Originals Index – Battlefields and Massacres – Battle of Cibique Creek
The Originals Index – Battlefields and Massacres – Massacres by Indians
The Originals Index – Battlefields and Massacres – Massacres of Indians
End: On the Cibiqu – poetry
