Page 123 - Cooke's Peak - Pasaron Por Aqui

which had been nearly dry when Ormsby crossed it, was 400 feet wide, 12 feet deep, and flowing rapid- ly. Farther on his way across New Mexico Ter- ritory, Tallack recorded that the food “consists of bread, tea, and fried steaks of bacon, venison, an- telope, or mule flesh -the latter tough enough. Milk, butter and vegetables can be met with towards
139
the two ends of the route.”
The food furnished on the Overland Mail Com-
minal in Missouri in the early morning of January 5, 1861. They shared the coach with a Lieutenant iden- tified only as McCaul, who was going to Tennessee, and Barrows conjectured that the officer was bound
145 for the Confederate Army.
Barrows recorded that near the site of the Oatman massacre, between Tucson and Fort Yuma, they met a large herd of American cattle bound for California and that at Gila Bend, they saw a dead Apache tied to a tree who had been shot by Station Master Sutton’s son during a raid on the station. The Bar- rows reached Mesilla at dusk on Christmas eve and continued to El Paso, arriving there in the early morning. 146
Several stories documenting Butterfield’s Over- land Mail operation noted that a new larger station was constructed closer to the spring. True, other structures were erected at the Cooke’s Spring site, but not by either Butterfield or his immediate (albeit temporary) successor, Giddings. Other transporta- tion firms either constructed new stations or utilized existing facilities provided by others, but not prior to mid-summer 1862. On July 4, Lieutenant Colonel Edward E. Eyre noted on passing through the site on his way to the Rio Grande, that the road to Mesilla turned right immediately at the springs and passed “the Overland Mail Station, which is seen on
pany route must have been more than acceptable to some, however, for a man identified only as Mr. Dana reported that he had gained eight pounds on the trip and that it was a pleasure trip compared with the isthmus-steamer route.
140 Many people must have agreed with Mr. Dana, because by June 30, 1859, there were at least six different routes for
conveying the mails to and from California. 141 Henry “Hank” Smith, a cattle drover, gold miner, and later a Confederate soldier, recorded that the Indian attacks against Pinos Altos started in Sep- tember of 1860 when the Overland station at Mimbres was burned. This does not agree chronologically with accounts of Butterfield’s and Giddings’ operation of their stage lines. Smith recorded his memoirs much later and may have been
142
confused on this, as he has been on other dates. In addition, there are at least two passenger records available that fail to mention any difficulties of this nature.
Raphael Pumpelly purchased a ticket for Tucson and departed from Missouri on October §, 1860, to fulfill the position of mining engineer at the Santa Rita Mining Company. The coach was over- crowded, and one family made things miserable for everyone. A heavily armed Missourian, described by Pumpelly as a “border bully,” was accompanied by his snuff-dipping wife, who covered her clothes with the substance. Their two daughters were con- tinually “seasick” and had little regard for the
147
The Militaiy, the Indians, and Other Citizens
Between the close of the War with Mexico and the commencement of the Civil War, the United States Army conducted 15 official exploratory expeditions within the Territory of New Mexico. The primary purpose of these reconnaissances was to furnish detailed information to the government about the newly acquired area. The expeditions were mostly scientific and provided intelligence about the topog- raphy, flora and fauna, and resources, and the en- gineers attached to these commands charted trails and roads that could be used for military and civilian purposes. The military movements were also in- tended as demonstrations to impress the Indians with the power of the federal government, and in
148 some instances, to deal out punitive measures.
clothes of their fellow passengers.
passenger lost his hat, sometimes even the replace-
ment. Pumpelly and his fellow travelers estimated
that there were at least 1,500 hats lost each year in
i• 144 this manner.
The last detailed information recorded by a pas- senger on the Overland Mail Company line, before the Apaches closed the route, was left by Henry Dwight Barrows. He and his wife left San Francisco late at night on December 17, 1860. They traveled 18 days and 5 hours to reach the eastern stage ter-
109
In conjunction with these objectives, the military
143
Every male
Chapter 4
the hill about a half a mile distant.”