Page 181 - Cooke's Peak - Pasaron Por Aqui

Chapter 6
A Decade of Thrmoil and Military Construction, 1863-1873
Without any Texas invaders left to fight, and
denied their request to
federates into the heart of Texas, the new military leaders established several additional posts and forts in locations of strategic importance. In addi- tion to trying to prevent further depredations, a policy was implemented to force all the Indians, regardless of existing intertribal hostilities, to live on a common reservation and produce a large portion of their own upkeep. This grandiose plan was simul- taneously a success and a failure.
It was a failure in that the plan did not accomplish the peaceful amalgamation of the Indians into White ways, and the Apaches forever mistrusted anything to do with forced concentration on a government designated reservation. The plan was a success in that it further weakened the Apaches; and the Navajos, heretofore a serious menace to peaceful settlement, never again seriously threatened White expansion.
New installations at critical water sources on the southern road west provided an increased level of protection to all who traveled the road in either direction. ManyofthemenfromCaliforniawho constructed and garrisoned these posts and forts during the Civil War years did not stray far after their discharge from the volunteer army. Lured by glit- tering precious metals, dark-eyed Mexican beauties, political aspirations, and potential fortunes in ranch- ing, farming, and various military-supply-oriented businesses, they made their new homes in the South- west.
Following the Civil War the Volunteer organiza- tions were quickly disbanded. However, some of the units in the West, such as the California Veteran Volunteers, were still engaged in fighting the In- dians. During the same period, the regular army underwent significant reduction. As a result, many officers who had achieved high brevet or permanent rank were offered the choice of reduced commis-
sions, retirement, or discharge. The enlisted men suffered also in that many of the stores left over from the war, edible and otherwise, were issued regard- less of quality.
The Southwest continued to be a problem. The Apaches, though suffering constant attrition at- tributable to repeated confrontations, continued to resist the encroachment of the military, miners, ranchers, and farmers. The Anglos, however, did not suffer the problem of irreplaceable losses to their society. The displacement of Southern civilians, because of war-induced economic dis- asters or unwillingness to live under federal carpet- baggers and the need for more room, sent a new flood of humanity west seeking their fortunes either in land, minerals, business, politics, or some com- bination thereof. The Indians were in the way, despite attempts to confine them to reservations, and they continued to resist the encroachment on their homelands. During these periods, Massacre Peak silently witnessed more bloodshed at its feet, adding to the already sinister reputation of Cooke’s Canyon.
Carleton’s Indian Policy and the Death of Mangas Coloradas
With the Confederates gone, except for some prisoners left behind at Santa Fe, Socorro and El Paso, and citizen affairs generally quiet, General James Henry Carleton turned his attention to solv- ing the Indian problem and reopening the much bloodiedroadbacktoCalifornia. Hisordersfor action against the Indians differed from Lieutenant Colonel John Robert Baylor’s only in that he reserved killing for the adult males rather than both
pursue the Con-
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