Page 143 - Cooke's Peak - Pasaron Por Aqui

Lieutenant was headed for the east and eventually joined the Confederates to fight against his father.
Again Cochise interfered with the plans of the
Americans. It was Buckley’s intention to continue
east with that stage and passengers, probably with
someofthemilitaryasanescort,atleastthroughthe
remainder of the canyon. However, when the stage
employees and military herded the mules to the
spring for water, the Apaches struck, running off 12
mules belonging to the stage line and 48 to the
military, leaving nearly everyone afoot. One Butter-
field employee, Moses Guine, was killed, and one
soldier was wounded. A dog kept by one of the men
at the station was credited with retrieving two of the
10 mules.
Fortunately both couriers made it through the In- dian lines, and help would soon be on the way. Bascom’s soldier and Culver arrived at Fort Buchanan and Tucson, respectively, on the night of February 8. Initially, only small rescue parties were available.
Apparently Assistant Surgeon Bernard Dowling Irwin was the only officer available at Fort Buchanan, and he was dispatched with a small escort to bolster Bascom’s forces. On the way to Apache Pass, Irwin’s patrol encountered some Indians with stolen stock. After a running fight they surprised a small band of Coyotero Apaches and recaptured 2 horses and 13 cattle, and took 3 Indians prisoner. Irwin continued to Apache Pass with his captives, arriving there on the evening of February 10.
Meanwhile William Sanders Oury, the Butterfield
agent at Tucson, set out for the scene with four men
and a stage and joined up with soldiers patrolling in
strength out of Fort Breckenridge. The patrol was
led by First Lieutenant Isiah N. Moore, with his
Company G of the First Dragoons. He was accom-
panied by Second Lieutenant Richard S. C. Lord ^
I
j
passengers had to wait until the next stage arrived six days later to continue east. In the meantime a party of emigrants had arrived safely at Apache Springs. On about February 13, this party and the stage ventured eastward with an army escort of eight soldiers. AtSanSimonstation,8mileseast,the Apaches had stolen 300 sheep, 6 mules, and 3 cattle. In justified fear, they laid over another day at the station until another military escort could be ar- ranged. 14
The standoff between the Apaches and the sol- diers came to an end abruptly after the Americans found Wallace and three others, including a Cherokee, dead and mutilated. The immediate ex- ecution of the Apache prisoners was suggested, but Bascom demurred. Irwin claimed that he at first resisted the idea, but after he was persuaded that this action was just, agreed to hang his three prisoners. Moore and Irwin took credit for convincing Bascom to add his three hostages to the impromptu gibbet and both claimed command responsibility for the
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summary executions carried out on February 18. Naturally, the blame was fixed by each side on the other party. Bascom, following his return to Fort Buchanan, was favorably cited for his conduct and within three months received his promotion to First Lieutenant. 16 An old Apache, Daklugie, claimed in modern times that Cochise killed Wallace and two
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others after Bascom had hanged the six Indians. Obviously each side would like to appear as the injured party, but it is unlikely that the military would have made such a move knowing Cochise still held captives. However, it also seems unlikely that Cochise would risk the lives of his family.
Indian attacks, following the Bascom affair at Apache Pass, continued to threaten the operation of the Butterfield Line. Surprisingly it was considered safe for the mail to come through Apache Pass at night, perhaps because the bodies of the six warriors still hung from the trees there, and the Indians’ superstitions forced them to avoid the area. This did not prevent them from attacking elsewhere. The station at Seneca Springs, between Apache Pass and Tucson, was abandoned and the Asa McKinzie ranch nearby was burned; but troops scouring the
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usual mountain haunts of the Apaches found none. The Indian depredations against the Butterfield route, however, were not the cause of its removal. In the span of a few days, political activities signaled the dismantling of the mail route. On March 2, 1861,
and Company D of the same regiment.
following Irwin’s arrival at Apache Pass, Moore’s column, including the Butterfield men, also arrived.
The appearance of the additional troops bolstered the military forays against the Apaches, but no con- tact was made. Sometime in this period of several days, Cochise allegedly left a message fastened to a bush, written by Wallace, that the Apache was will- ing to trade his hostages for those held by the sol- diers. Unfortunately, the message was not found
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until too late.
As a result of the loss of the mules, Buckley and his
John
Closely
Chapter 5
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