Page 185 - Cooke's Peak - Pasaron Por Aqui

February, after receiving intelligence reports that the Apaches planned to raid Pinos Altos again, Cap- tain Whitlock, soon to be the new commander at Fort Cummings, made a forced night march to the settlement and dealt the Indians a surprise blow killing all but 6 of the 19 would-be raiders including the leader. However, he failed to make contact with another war party in mid-March and the Apaches doubled back after distracting Whitlock’s attention, stole 72 animals from a government train camped at Ojo la Vaca, and left the train helpless to proceed. Again Whitlock and his men made a demanding forced march, surprised the Apaches (killing 21),
Colonel Rigg had been ordered to establish a new base of operations against the Indians, Fort Good- win, at some point along the middle Gila. One contingent of 54 men, under Lieutenant Henry H. Stevens, was ambushed by 100 Apaches in Doubtful Canyon east of Stein’s Peak. In the 2-hour fight, 10 Indians were killed and twice as many were reported wounded. The Californians suffered five wounded, one fatally, and one man missing.34
About three weeks later, on May 29, Captain
George A. Burkett and 33 men managed to surprise
an Apache rancheria on one of the small mountain
streams. The command killed 13 Indians, reported
wounding the same number, and took 3 prisoners.
Booty taken (or retaken) included a mule, three
horses, a Sharps carbine, a saddle and saddle bags,
a ton of mescal, and some gunpowder. Some of the
mescal was retained to feed the prisoners, but the
balance was destroyed, as were some fields of corn
35 and wheat.
The Apaches were not the only ones engaged in farming. The garrison at Fort Cummings had estab- lished a small garden near the marsh formed by the waterdrainagefromthespring. Bydoingthisthe men hoped to offset the monotonous army fare and prevent scurvy and other illnesses associated with their winter diet. Typical rations for each man con- sisted of 12 ounces of pork or bacon, or 20 ounces of fresh or salt beef (the salt beef was frequently referred to, perhaps not too inaccurately, as salt horse), and 22 ounces of soft bread or flour, or 16 ounces of hard bread. The men at primitive Fort Cummings probably did not see much of the addi- tional victuals allotted on a company basis, such as beans, rice, or hominy, except for the coffee and
36 maybe a little sugar.
Shortages continued to bedevil Captain Drescher at Fort Cummings. Previously he had been unable to get the proper sized ammunition; now he was coming up short of money. The paymaster had sent $300 to a Mr. Allen in Tucson, but the money was lost somewhere in transit. Captain Drescher main- tained that the post’s handling of the mail was very strict after it was brought in by Expressman John Jones, and that the problem could not have occurred
37
at Cummings during the transfer to the vedettes. The remainder of the year was uneventful at Fort Cummings beyond continued construction and es- cort duty to and from Fort Bowie and occasionally Las Cruces or Mesilla. On September 16, the corn-
and recovered nearly all the government
29
In April many of the Californians’ terms of service
had expired. After much debate, units were allowed
to select their point of discharge, either New Mexico
TerritoryorCalifornia. ManyoftheColumnMen
or California Boys, as they were called in years to
come, elected to seek their economic and political
fortunes in New Mexico. Some elected to reenlist as
California Veterans. Others desired, for various
reasons, to have the army furnish the expense of their
return to California, the origin of their enlistment. 30
Private John W. Teal was in one of the groups that
elected to return to the coast for discharge. On
April 11, 1864, his Company left the Mesilla Valley
and formed an escort for Major Thomas J. Blakeney.
The following day they passed by Cooke’s Spring at
half-past two in the afternoon, marched to the
Mimbres River, and camped there. He noted that
Company B of the reenlisted First California
Veteran Volunteer Infantry was at Cooke’s Spring
and that three California companies, E of the First
Cavalry and F and I of the Fifth Infantry, were at the
31
Mimbres.
Spring brought a renewed effort toward construct-
ing Fort Cummings and the 10-foot-high walls that
eventually surrounded the interior rooms and cor-
rals. There had been no progress beyond the tem-
porary winter quarters for the command because of
the lack of materials, tools, and transportation.
Help was on the way. An adobe contractor from Las
Cruces had been hired to assist in the fort’s construc-
tion. He was, however, cautioned that nothing
stronger than lager beer would be allowed at the 3
site.
In late spring, as the men labored on the fort’s
construction, a column of 500 of their comrades passed by Cooke’s Spring on the first of May.
stock.
Chapter 6
171