Capitan Chiquito Volume 47: A Personal History of an Apache Chief, 1821-1919

There are many biographies of Apache chiefs, leaders and warriors (like Cochise, Mangas Coloradas, Victorio or Geronimo to name just a few), yet many others are still missing. I'm glad that the next characters are being reliably described (like Hashkeedasillaa [2009] by Allan Radbourne or Loco [2010] by Bud Shapard), and here we get a very fresh interesting book about another little-known Apache chief, Capitan Chiquito.The book repeats few well-known facts, such as Camp Grant massacre or the escape of Apache Kid, but this is just the background to show the life of Capitan Chiquito and his group. Accurate knowledge of the circumstances of particular events allows to understand better the subsequent course of actions (I recommend looking at the story of Jesús María Elías before jumping to final conclusions about Camp Grant - it is a surprise to learn how close friends Chiquito and Elías became later).Hartman's narrative is very personal, it is based on his family relations with Chiquito’s descendants. This is a thing written with true feelings. San Carlos Rez remains one of those places where Apache culture has survived and continues to thrive, so it’s great to have a book written by a person who has lived there for years and was a member of Apache community.‘I will never forget Apaches’, Hartman wrote. And five stars go from me.

I very much enjoyed this book. The authors knowledge of the people and the area which everything took place was superb. Not ever having travelled to the southwest area I was given a great invitation to see it for myself. A lot of time, study and searching was put into this book. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

This was a Christmas gift and he liked it.