Yah et-te

About the Book

After nearly two years of missionary service among the Winnebago Indians in Nebraska, James and Katherine Arthur were transferred to the Mescalero Apache Reservation in Southeastern New Mexico under the auspices of the Reformed Church in America (RCA) Women’s Board of Domestic Missions. They arrived on the Reservation on June 5th 1914; here they, with their infant daughter, took up residence in two small tent cabins and contributed to the work, which had been started by Rev. E. B. Fincher in August 1908. But what was the “work” of these and other Christian missionaries to the Mescalero Reservation? This is one underlying question addressed in Yah et-te, which, according to James Arthur, is an Apache word for “all gone.” Indeed the visible signs of the physical work of the Arthurs are all gone; but the helping hand of friendship extended by the Arthurs to a people in desperate need has been perpetuated in the present day living descendents of the Apaches that the Arthurs knew and loved. Yah et-te abounds with topics of interest. For example, the period 1914-1919 shortly follows the arrival of the so-called Fort Sill Apaches, aka Geronimo’s band, on the Mescalero Reservation in 1913. Included in this group were Apaches such as Chief Naiche, son of Cochise who fought the United States Army with Geronimo as well as former Army scouts, such as Chatto who, like Geronimo, once had his own band of warriors. There are also many other historical topics of interest in the book. For example, there are two eyewitness accounts of the “Feast of the Maidens” held on the Reservation in July 1915. Rev. Arthur wrote one account and Lucy Robinson, a Government nurse, wrote the other. Also there is a letter that was dictated to Rev. Arthur by Chief Naiche in 1915 to his friends at Dulce, New Mexico on the Jicarillo Apache Reservation. Yah et-te also portrays the basic problem of survival by both Apaches and Whites in a high-altitude wilderness characterized by short summers and harsh winters. Here they faced depredation, potential starvation, and disease. Under these conditions the Apaches attempted to farm the land and raise livestock; indeed, their very survival depended upon success. The extraordinary life experiences lived by the Arthurs was recorded by Reverend Arthur in detailed ledgers and numerous carbon copies of typewritten personal letters.  Sixty-seven letters are showcased in the book. Preserving this well-documented account was imperative as it chronicles a unique moment in history, creating for the reader a feeling of the immediacy of unfolding events.  Although other sources were consulted in the preparation of Yah et-te, it consists primarily of the historical record left by the Arthurs themselves. Yah et-te is, of course, slanted toward the missionary perspective of life on the Mescalero Reservation during this period. However, the book has general appeal to all readers interested in New Mexico, Apache, and missionary history. Arguably, the impact of Indian missions has been largely neglected and/or minimized in present day literature. Consequently, Yah et-te makes a significant contribution to the body of material that has been published pertaining to Apache history.

About the Author

Editors Donald and Ruth Herbert have developed Yah et-te primarily from the materials passed onto them following the death of Reverend James O. Arthur, Ruth’s stepfather, in 1971. Donald and Ruth were married in 1957 and made many trips with Reverend Arthur, and their two daughters, to the Mescalero Apache Reservation. Ruth is a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing and has experience as both a hospital and public health nurse. Today she is active in community organizations and teaches classes in writing in Adult Education. Donald is a graduate of California Polytechnic State University, Pomona, California with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics. He has over thirty years experience as an engineer and a computer programmer in both the commercial and aerospace sectors. He has had about eighteen articles published on various topics in the field of electronic circuit analysis.