were most commendable
and valuable, and added much to the physical success of the
enterprise."

General Field Orders No. 7, issued April 20, 1886, by General Miles
for the guidance of the troops in his command, tell clearly and
concisely the character and demands of the time.

{33}

"The chief object of the troops will be to capture or destroy any band
of hostile Apache Indians found in this section of the country, and to
this end the most vigorous and persistent efforts will be required of
all officers and soldiers until this object is accomplished.

"... The cavalry will be used in light scouting parties with a
sufficient force held in readiness at all times to make the most
persistent and effective pursuit.

"To avoid any advantage the Indians may have by a relay of horses,
where a troop or squadron commander is near the hostile Indians, he
will be justified in dismounting one half of his command and selecting
the lightest and best riders to make pursuit by the most vigorous
forced marches until the strength of all the animals of his command
shall have been exhausted.

"In this way a command should, under a judicious leader, capture a
band of Indians or drive them from 160 to 200 miles in forty-eight
hours through a country favorable for cavalry movements; and the
horses of the troops will be trained for this purpose."

{34}

To get a picture of young Wood at this time it is necessary to look at
the situation through the eyes of that day and through the eyes of
youth as well.

A young man of twenty-four had been brought up by the sea in what we
will call for the sake of politeness conservative New England. He had
all the sound and sane basis of character that comes from what in this
country was an old and established civilization. He had been educated
in his profession at the most academic and conservative institution in
the United States; a profession which while not an exact science is
nevertheless a science requiring sane methods and the elimination of
risks. He had begun the regular work of this profession. He possessed
also what every young man with a healthy body of that day possessed--
and still possesses--a passion for romance, for the road, for the
great adventure which at that time in this country still centered
around the pistol shooting, broncho riding, Indian fighting cowboy.

We who are old have forgotten the paper covered stories we used to
read surreptitiously {35} about the "Broncho Bus