Photo credited only as “Alchesay and son,” could possibly be A-1 and Baha

When Baha Alchesay was buried near Whiteriver on Oct. 15, 1952, many Apaches felt that the era of their tribal existence had come to an end. No new chief was designated and the leadership of the tribe was being transitioned to an elected council form of government.
It was believed that the Apaches came from the Mackenzie River Valley of western Canada. After arriving in Arizona, they fought with neighboring tribes including the Yavapai, Maricopa, Havasupai and Hualapai. The Apaches were feared because they were known to be highly mobile, unpredictable, hard to capture and showed little mercy to their enemy. When settlers began arriving in the mid- 1800s, the Apache fought with cattlemen, miners, trappers and others encroaching into their lands.
By 1865, Fort McDowell was established with 300 troops to try to bring the Indians under control. These early efforts failed and in June 1871, Gen. George Crook was assigned to deal with the Indian situation in the Tonto Basin.
Upon arriving in Arizona, Gen. Crook assigned government identification numbers, sort of like early Social Security numbers, to members of the tribes. Baha’s father, Alchesay, was assigned number A-1 for Apache One. Alchesay became known as A-1 Alchesay for the rest of his life.
A-1 recognized the great changes that were facing his tribe. It is believed A-1 was born in 1853 between Globe and Show Low. By the time Gen. Crook arrived in the area, A-1 was described as “a perfect Adonis in figure, a mass of muscle and sinew of wonderful courage, great sagacity and as faithful as an Irish hound.”
Gen. Crook recruited A-1 to the U.S. Army and he became a sergeant of the Indian Scouts.  The Scouts were described as “…no one else can follow a trail as they can, and no one else can stand so much fatigue.”
Throughout 1872 and 1873, the Apache Scouts helped Gen. Crook’s troops capture and kill renegade Indians. After the campaign, Gen. Crook nominated A-1 and nine other Apache Scouts for the Congressional Medal of Honor. In his recommendation, Crook wrote “for conspicuous gallantry in a charge upon the Tonto Apaches in Sycamore Canyon, Arizona Territory, when the valuable (horse) herd belonging to Bashford and Stevens were recaptured.”  The Scouts Gen. Crook recommended included Sgt. Alchesay, Pvt. Machol, Pvt. Blankquet and Pvt. Chiquito all of the White Mountain Apaches; and Sgt. Jim, Pvt. Kelsay, Pvt. Kashoha, Pvt. Nantaje, Pvt. Nannasaddi, and Cpl. Elsatsoosu, all from the Aravapai Apaches. The Medals of Honor were awarded in 1875.
In the 1880s, Alchesay was again recalled to the Army in the Geronimo Campaigns.  When asked why they would campaign with Gen. Crook against fellow Apaches, Alchesay stated “…the Great Father wanted them to do so, and because the Great Father had been good in sending Gen. Crook back to watch over them…we want Gen. Crook…to be left with us always…white men don’t tell the truth.  Gen. Crook does.  We know that while he stays we’ll have good times and three meals a day.”
After the Indian Wars were complete, Alchesay worked with government, raised cattle, and brought a large boarding school to the Indian Community. Alchesay also became friends with the Rev. Edgar Guenther, a Lutheran minister who came to Arizona in 1912.  In 1922, a Lutheran Church was completed in Whiteriver. Alchesay was given the key to the church. The key was buried with A-1 when he died on Aug. 6, 1928.
Before his death, A-1 passed the leadership of the tribe to his son Baha. The name Baha came from the Apache word na-ba-ha, which means scout. Baha served as a scout for the Army prior to 1900.
Baha joined the Lutheran Church in 1934. He listened to the advice of his father to “…accept the ways of the white men, and turn their backs on the Apache gods and their medicine men.”
Baha had a traditional Lutheran funeral at the Lutheran Church in Whiteriver, Ariz. Gov. Howard Pyle along with other state and tribal leaders came to the funeral of a chief who bragged “…his tribe had never killed a white man.”
Even though Chief Baha never spoke English, he rejected the old burial customs that would have included “…his favorite horse would have been shot, his hair clipped by his widow and quantities of food and water placed in the casket to help him in the long journey to the other world.”
Even local newspapers realized the significance of the death of Baha Alchesay.  One editorialized “…his life spanned the transition period from pioneer days…to modern Arizona where whites and Indians live as peaceful neighbors, worship the same God, salute the same flag, vote for the same government leaders, and for the most part, follow the same pursuits.”
Mike Miller. Photo courtesy of Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, Archives Division, Phoenix, #96-1848.