Page 147 - Cooke's Peak - Pasaron Por Aqui

tory, their tragic deaths to help name a mountain, and their heroic three day struggle to the creation of
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at least two major novels.
19-year-old Mills was aware that one of his older brothers, William Wallace Mills, had just been taken prisoner by subterfuge, in neutral El Paso del Norte,
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and lodged in the guardhouse at Fort Bliss.
The mail party made the station at Cooke’s Spring without incident, but at daybreak, about one and a half miles through the narrow canyon (about two miles from the spring), they ran headlong into more
chance to sneak away in the dark or for any of them to procure water from nearby Frying Pan Spring or Cooke’s Spring. It is possible, however, that the moon’s illumination aided the embattled Whites to prevent the Apaches from moving closer during the night and mounting a more effective daylight attack. Stories of the finding of a penciled note dated July 23 credit it with providing some information on the progress of the battle. By the time the note was supposedly written, all but two were dead or wounded, and an attempt was going to be made that night to obtain water.
The inevitable outcome of the battle was reported at Mesilla by “an express [rider] from Pino Alto” that
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Four of the men’s bodies were found within the rock wall, one in front of it, and the remaining two about 50 yards behind the barricade. There is much disagreement on who buried them and when. The most plausible story was that Lieutenant Colonel John Robert Baylor, upon receiving the information, sent George M. Frazer and a detail of 15 men to accomplish the dangerous task. Mostprimaryreportsagreethatthebodies
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were buried individually where they were found The Freeman Thomas massacre, as it became known, not only sealed the fate of the seven men directly involved, it signaled the beginning of the end for Giddings’ mail line between Mesilla and Califor- nia. Because of the war, service was suspended
trouble than even they could handle.
of Mangas Coloradas and Cochise had apparently combined for a big raid, perhaps on Pinos Altos or another small community, and were either passing through or camped in the same canyon. Without room to turn the coach around, the driver’s only choice was to turn uphill as far as the team could take them.50 Dismountingfromthecoach,theymadea dash for the rocks and, while holding the Indians at bay, quickly constructed a low barricade.
passed the scene on July 27.
Many stories have been written, some plausible andsomeoutlandish,aboutthenexttwoorthree days. The men apparently had a substantial quan- tity of ammunition for their breech-loading Sharps rifles (these were not metallic cartridge guns, how- ever) and were able to hold the Apaches at bay. Unfortunately, the moon had just turned its fullest that Sunday afternoon, and there was virtually no
It was unlikely that the
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The warriors
Chapter 5
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