Page 129 - Cooke's Peak - Pasaron Por Aqui

columns while Major Henry Hopkins Sibley and Captain Lafayette McLaws led the others. This campaign, though not immediately effective, com- bined with continued harassment of the Navajos, especially the capture of their stock and destruction of their crops, induced the Indians to sue for peace, at least temporarily, early the following year. 81
In general, however, the Indian situation must not have been too dangerous at the time. In addition to the stage lines operating uncontestedly north, south, and west out of Mesilla, a new line went into
about 1837 and strengthened relations with other Apache factions through the marriage of three daughterstootherchiefs,includingCochise.184 He had displayed great diplomacy with the Whites start- ing at least as early as 1846, when he met on October 19 with Brigadier General Stephen Watts Kearny. According to reports, he swore friendship to the Americans and everlasting hatred for the Mexicans, who were responsible for the deaths of many close to him. Mangas even offered to help the American
185 troops invade the Mexican northern provinces.
In retaliation for the humiliation of Mangas at the hands of the miners, the Indians commanded by him and Cochise made a combined and concerted attack on the miners around Pinos Altos (Figure 34). Samuel G. and Roy Bean, proprietors of the com- bination store and saloon, allegedly had borrowed a “six-pounder” cannon from the military, and it was used in the battle. The whole area exploded in an uproar, and Hank Smith claimed that Major Lynde did little to help because the miners “had done up [severely injured] several of the soldiers belonging to Fort McLane.”186
On December 4, 1860, a group of 28 miners from
Pinos Altos, with Tevis acting as Captain, attacked
the peaceful Indians at old Fort Webster near the
copper mines. They killed 4 Indians, wounded
several, and captured 15 women and children. The
excuse for the attack was the alleged loss of stock by
the miners to the Indians, although there was ap-
parently no proof that these particular people, led
by Elias, who was one of the fatalities, were involved
in any way. Only one of the Rangers was slightly
wounded, and Tevis had an arrow lodged in his coat
collar. Despite Tevis’s objections, the prisoners
were turned over to the army. The miners refused
to relinquish the stock. Wishing to punish the In-
dians, they claimed that most of the animals
belonged to the miners and ranchers. Initially the
Apaches offered to exchange additional stolen stock
for their comrades now held by the military. With
the aid of other Apaches, however, the prisoners
later escaped and killed a few government herders
in the process of stealing nearly all the army’s riding
87 stock.
Raids and counterattacks followed rapidly and concurrently, with each side trying to inflict maxi- mum punitive damage to the other. The Rangers captured more stock from the Indians but again refused to turn the animals over to the army, who
opera- tion at least as early as October 18, 1860. An adver- tisement for the short haul outfit gave all the
pertinent facts:
CATLETT’S EXPRESS FROM MESILLA
to the
PINO ALTO MINES
Via Mowry City and Hot Springs
Will leave Mesilla on Thursdays at 2 o’clock P.M. and will arrive at Burchville on Saturday, at
12 o’clock, laying over at the Hot Springs on Friday night, thus giving an opportunity to passengers to enjoy a wholesome bath at the celebrated Springs.
Returning, will leave Burchville on Monday, at 7 o’clock and arrive at Mesilla on Tuesday,
182 at 2 o’clock P.M.
Indeed, “Governor” Owings took his wife along to visit the gold mines. The miners responded by presenting her with 44 samples of ore from the
183
various gold mines.
Sometime in late 1860, Mangas Coloradas con-
ceived a plan to inveigle the miners into leaving Pinos Altos, which was within the homelands claimed by the Mimbres Apaches. He went to the miners with a story that may have been perfectly true; he claimed to know where much greater quan- tities of gold might be had. The miners suspected Mangas Coloradas’s motives, and a group of them seized him, bound the Apache chief to a tree, and tried unsuccessfully to beat the information out of him. This was a stupid and tragic mistake that would cost many lives on both sides before the Chief was dead and his people subdued.
Mangas had ascended to leadership of his band in
Chapter 4
115