Career
He was a Navajo Indian given the Navajo name Hastiintsoh at birth. He enlisted in the United States. Army on May 7, 1891, with the name John Daw. He was assigned to the United States. Army 2nd Cavalry, which was posted at Fort Wingate in the New Mexico Territory.
After being issued uniforms, guns, ammunition, and horses, he felt the cavalry soldiers" training was very thorough.
He stated that the target practice and other military training was continued until they were very highly trained soldiers. He worked as a tracker, specifically looking for Apache Indians, and he served in this capacity until he left the service on December 5, 1894.
At that time, he was a sheep herder, drove his own wagon, and claimed he could hear an approaching automobile from 10 miles away, although his eyesight was no longer good. He died in 1965, and he was buried on Navajo Nation land in Coconino County, Arizona.
His grave site is in Red Lake, and it is listed as a historic grave site in the county.
There is also a mountain summit named after him called John Daw Mesa, which is located just east of Red Lake.
