Captain Moss Johnson's rant justifying his murderous ruthlessness against the Apache nation uses the combined rhetoric of two quotes of General Willaim Tecumseh Sherman about his military policies against the Native American nations of the plains.
Based on the description Cochise gives about the deaths of the Apache tribe members - "the white man's poison that makes the dead smile" and "they all die with laughter on their faces", the poison used was most likely strychnine, which causes uncontrollable muscle spasms and rictus.
Bing Russell (Major Reynolds) would not be the Deputy Sheriff until 1963.