The hunt was successful, and he and his men were relieved to be out of the brutal storm and back at the cave that had served as their winter camp. Ten Loco and his men were all Chiricahua Apache, who had left the tribe a year earlier. He had been named Ten Buffalo for his hunting prowess, but was eventually dubbed Ten Loco for a series of transgressions that led to his banishment from the tribe. The other braves, each partially involved in Ten Loco's crimes against Apache custom and etiquette, decided to leave with him rather than face Apache justice. With Ten Loco as their chief, the renegades had made their living attacking and murdering anybody unfortunate enough to be traveling as a small party. Their plunder, among other things, had netted a decent stake worth of gold, which Ten Loco used to trade for rifles, cartridges, and other goods from a corrupt army provisions agent. His braves particularly liked the whiskey that came with each transaction. Ten Loco always carried his gold with him in palm-sized leather pouches that hung from the back of his waist sash like so many counter balances.
