Yale University

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1916

CAPTAIN WILLIAM THORNTON PARKER, M. D.
Aide-de-Camp Army and Navy Union, U. S. A.

Annate of (§lh 3fart duntmtnga
Nm» Mzxita, 1867-8
Htlliant Stbnrtttatt barker, ii. 1.

autbor of personal Experiences among our fRortb american Indians
¦Records of tbe association of acting assistant Surgeons TH.S. arm v etc.
jFormerlg acting assistant Surgeon, TH. S. arms.
and Surgeon TH. S. Indian Service:
Companion, 1st Class, ©rder of Indian TMlars, TH. S.
AemberTOationalCommitteemationallTndfanTIQIar Veterans association
Jormerlp. adjutant Society Veterans Indian TKIlars, etc.

PuhHohf & bg lift author at
Northampton, JKaaaarlpiBrtta
A. B. 1918

Sftorcttim

To the memory of the Officers and Enlisted Men of the
125*1? &?giumtt (Halanh Sronpa.lnttpi States Anttg,
whose faithful and gallant service, at Fort Cummings, New
Mexico, during the Apache Indian War, in the 60's, won
the respect of their Indian foes, and the admiration of their
friend, the author.
Northampton, Mass.
February, 1916.

Copyrighted by the
Author & Publisher
W. Thornton Parker, M. D.
1916

3Fort ffliuromttfl.0, New Mtxita 186?

Fort Cummings ! What memories cling to its
short but honorable record. Staunch and strong
it seemed to derive inspiration from the glorious
hills and mountains at whose feet it nestled.
Here it stood, a shelter to its faithful garrisons,
and a haven of refuge to the weary and imperiled
emigrants and travelers who hastened to it for
succor and relief.
Twenty years of existence; short, indeed, as
compared with older and stronger forts over which
has floated the stars and stripes of our beloved
land. Designed by Gen. George B. McClellan
of the United States Army, it presented an uni
que and military appearance and was well adapted
for the purposes for which it was constructed.
Fort Cummings in Latitude 32°26'n, Altitude
47 78- was located at Cook's Spring, and near the
southern entrance to Cook's Canyon guarding But-
terfields trail to the Miembres River. Cook's
Peak of the Cook's range, one of those isolated
peaks peculiar to this region, located at the
southern end of the Black or Miembres Mountains
towered above the reservation — the snow clad
Sentinel of the Southwest, or as the soldiers fa
miliarly called it "Old Baldy." This grand old

I

peak has an altitude of from ten to twelve thou
sand feet and is the highest land markin Southern
New Mexico. The reservation was established
in what is now Luna County, October 2nd. 1863.
The reservation was declared by the President
in 1870.
The post was abandoned in August 1873, and
reoccupied in 1880. It was abandoned again on
October 3, 1886, and turned over to the Interior
Department on October 2, 1891. A pyramid of
stones was erected at each mile of the boundary.
Cook's Peak is about seven miles northwest of
the post. The site of the flag staff was in the
center of the reservation as originally planned,
but this was added to by authority of the Presi
dent, November 26, 1880.
I am indebted to my friend, Edward Penning
ton of Deming, New Mexico, who has known
this section for more than thirty years, and who
has patiently labored to preserve the historical
records of this interesting region, for much valu
able information concerning this old fort.
It is recorded that as early as 1853, Captain
Cook, U. S. Army with a command of the famous
Second Dragoons of Mexican war, fame came
down into this section of New Mexico on an ex
ploring expedition. The advance guard under a
lieutenant found the spring and camping ground
at the base of a bald and snow capped mountain,
and named it "Mount Republic," but when the
main command some days later reached the

spring, the commanding officer named the peak,
the canyon and this portion of the Miembres Moun
tains, Cook's Peak, Cook's Spring, Cook's Canyon
and Cook's Range which names have been retain
ed to the present time "thus making record that
Captain Cook of the 2nd U. S. Dragoons once
lived, and had his being in this important locality.
After the mustering out of Co. B lst California
Volunteers, and the 125th Colored Infantry
Volunteers, and the 38th U. S. Colored Infantry,
detachments of the 8th and 4th IT. S. Cavalry
formed the garrisons. One of the last command
ants was Captain Adna R. Chaffee U. S. Army,
afterward Chief of Staff U. S. Army. After the
old fort was turned over to the Interior Depart
ment by which it was leased to the Carpenter,
Stanley Cattle Company, the stately old battle
ment with its medieval watch tower and grand
salleporte, degenerated into a cattle corral." "The
tall flag staff from which Old Glory reflected the
rising and setting sun for more than twenty years
of stormy strife, was chopped for the fuel to
heat the branding irons. Now only traces of
the adobe walls are left to mark the site of
what, at one time was the best walled fort in
New Mexico or Arizona."
A somewhat pretentious front of "doby" walls
with archway entrance and look-out above it, and
within on either side of the arch were the guard
rooms and prison cells with some rooms above in
the tower.

Altogether the Fort presented an ancient look
which made the American flag floating from the-
tall flag staff in the center of the parade ground
look almost out of place. These "doby" walls-
about twelve feet in height formed a huge square
against which within the enclosure were erected
the various buildings occupied by the garrison,
i. e., the barracks, the hospital, the officers' quar
ters, the quarter-master and commissary depart
ments, etc. Opposite from the main entrance there
was a door going out to the hay stacks in the rear.
The sentries walked their beats day and night at
both entrances and there were also guards at
the doors of the quarter-master and commissary
departments. To the rear of the fort were huge
piles of hay stored for the use of the cavalry and
the quarter-master's department. As Fort Cum
mings was the only walled fort of New Mexico in
the sixties, its situation at the mouth of Cook's Can
yon, and upon the trail to Arizona and Central
New Mexico which it guarded, gave it consider
able importance.
The "doby" buildings were low structures with
flat roofs, built against the inner walls of the
fort. There were no outside windows even in
the hospital. All the windows looked upon the
parade ground — there were of course no outside
windows in the fort walls. The floors were
of dirt. In some rooms army blankets were
fastened down with wooden pegs for carpets.
In one corner of each room was a large open
fireplace. The legs of the bedsteads were in good

30 Hiram ©rjnrntrm Parker, M. U.

As a bog of sc&cntcEM gsars anh ttje goratgest
first-class ^Sjosptlai ^te&tarb ebet appointee m
tbe Wi. ^. (Arntg, 1867-8. ^crrnrtg briih %
3rb. £3. JIL (ttabalrg on ttje plains bitratg the
,3lrtbtart JHJar, anb at ,3fori (Enmntutgs ^cfa
^exico, faith; life 125ih. -Eeg,t. p. $&. flloloreb
fEroops. AppomintEnt sigrtEb bg deneral 3H~
^. (grant, Wi. ^. Armg, Jfebrwarg 1st, 18S7.

sized tins containing water to prevent large red
ants from crawling upon the beds. Overhead
we nailed up rubber blankets, so that scorpions,
centipedes, and tarantulas would slip off on to the
floor, and be less likely to fall on the sleeper.
Rattlesnakes got into our store rooms and into
any open boxes, or among blankets and clothing.
In 1867 when the writer was stationed at Cum
mings the old civil war regiment of veterans the
One Hundred and Twenty-fifth United States Col
ored Volunteers, which had seen splendid service
in the Civil War, was stationed there together with
a detachment of that gallant old regiment, theThird
United States Cavalry. They had taught their
Apache enemies to respect their soldierly quali
ties in several sharp encounters. The good old
Fort was a lonely place to live in. To the west
and south-west stretched the limitless prairie,
dreary and desolate. A short distance opposite
the archway was the sutler's ranch where was the
general store and the officers' mess. In the di
rection of the entrance of the Canyon was the
famous Cook's Spring where a few stunted trees
were the only green things visible in the land
scape save the everlasting mesquite bushes.
From the spring flows a bounteous supply of
good water. It was the only water between
Mason's ranch and the Miembres river. Bell, in
his excellent record of events in this section in
1867-8 describes Fort Cummings as "A charming
little fort enclosed in a square palisade protecting

Cook's Canyon." We who were stationed there
tn those perilous times found little that was
"charming" about it, but harassed and anxious-
parties forced to proceed through this gloomy
region were glad enough to find protection from
its faithful defenders. Cook's Canyon was in it
self a "journey of death" six miles or more in
length, and with a gloomy gorge of four miles to
add to its terrors. It is a typical New Mexican
Canyon upon whose rugged sides as late as 1868
Were to be found the skeletons of federal and
confederate soldiers who fought a battle in its
lonely fastnesses. Here too in this Canyon many
an emigrant train, and travellers, and hunters, as
Well as soldiers of the regular army, have gone to
their deaths at the hands of the cruel Apaches.
It was in this same Canyon that a stage-coach
carrying six Americans fell into an Indian am
bush. Their horses having been killed, the tra
vellers turned the stage over on its side, and
fought for days holding off their enemies who
Were under the immediate command of the famous
Apache chief, "Cochies," until at last famished
and exhausted from lack of water, their ammuni
tion expended, the Indians closed in upon them,
and in a deadly hand to hand battle the Americans
perished. Cochies is said to have declared that
with a hundred warriors as brave as those Amer
icans he could have driven all the pale-faces west
of the Mississippi back to their homes where they
belonged.

This was a famous old Canyon, and many adven
tures come to mind as I recall "Old Baldy," more
often snow-capped than not, rising as a veritable
sentinel of the south-west and towering high
above the little garrison of Fort Cummings so
often at the mercy of its Apache enemies.
It is the passage westward through the Miem
bres Mountains known as Cook's Canyon which
opens upon the vast plain, the Madre plateau.
Fort Cummings was the protector of Cook's
Canyon. The tales told of this gorge in the six
ties where so many massacres were perpetrated
by the Indians were gruesome enough.
The Miembres Apaches with everlasting hatred
killed with their silent arrows every white man
they could find. Cook's Canyon was one of their
favourite spots, and it is said that as many as four
hundred emigrants and soldiers have lost their
lives in that short four mile gorge.
The terrors of Cook's Canyon which Pass Fort
Cummings protected, is thus described by Mr. Bell
in 1867. "Hundreds of miles before we reached
Cook's Canyon I listened with anxiety to the stories
told me by frontiers men about the dreadful mas
sacres perpetrated by the Indians in that dread
gorge. It was said that even soldiers dared not
stir a mile from the post, and that it was just a
toss up whether any traveller got through alive.
These reports were only the surviving echoes of
events which have made Cook's Canyon and the
Miembres Mountains memorable in the annals of

New Mexican massacres. Cook's emigrant road
was dreadfully roundabout ; and the sufferings
of the emigrants from want of water, and loss
of their stock, might well form a subject for one
of Mayne Reid's novels."
A settler in the sixties stated that he had count
ed nine skeletons while passing through the
Canyon, and the graves and heaps of stones which
used to fringe the trail will long bear record of
those dreadful times.
In 1867 the military authorities caused detach
ments of soldiers to collect the bones in the
Canyon and to bury them in the post cemetery.
In the office of the Post Hospital we had a
large fine skull which had been bleached by ex
posure of "wind, weather and wolves." This
skull had a large hole in the occipital region more
than an inch in diameter, which was supposed to
have been made . by a tomahawk in the hands of
an Apache.
"The topography of New Mexico is said to be
composed of lofty plateaus crossed by mountain
ranges enclosing broad valleys. Two divisions
of the Rocky Mountains are prominent : that on
the East, and higher, ending abruptly near Santa
Fe ; the Western or Sierra Madre Range, passing
through in a series of lower and often detached
mountains to join the Sierra Madre Range of
Mexico. High table lands, isolated peaks and deep can
yons characterize the western side. The Rio

8

Grande Valley descends from an elevation of near
ly six thousand feet near the Colorado border to
three thousand feet in the south. Several moun
tains have an elevation of twelve thousand feet.
Bell states that in answer to the question,
"Where is the central range of the Rocky Moun
tains"? his answer is, "nowhere!" There is no
continuous central chain whatever. The so call
ed Rocky Mountain system, from the northern
boundary of the United States to their southern
termination, consists usually of two chains of the
"Summit Plateau," and separating it from the
plains on either side.
The eastern and western chains communicate
by means of transverse ridges at irregular distan
ces, thus cutting up the "Summit Plateau" lying
between them into a succession of isolated plains
or "parks" of great elevation.
The word "park" in Rocky Mountain phraseo
logy has a specific signification, and is used
exclusively to desiguate those lofty, well watered
plains, or prairies, to be found all along the
"Summit Plateau" shut in on all sides by moun
tains. Gradually the Summit Plateau widens out, and
sinks to the southward, until it can no longer be
recognized as a distinct table-land.
Along the main lines of travel*(1867) through
out the whole western country, at distances from
sixty to three hundred miles apart the United
States Government was obliged to maintain a

great number of little military establishments
termed "forts". In many instances not a
white man lived in the intervening country, and
yet, without them, overland travel would have
been impossible. Too thinly garrisoned to wage
aggressive war against the red-men, they afford
ed the only protection the emigrant or traveller
had to hope for, on the way. From these gar
risons, military operations and expeditions were
frequently fitted out by commands detailed for
that purpose marching f om the larger posts like
Leavenworth, Riley, Harker, Wallace, Union,
etc., containing spacious storehouses filled with
munitions of war. Cavalry detachments were
repeatedly sent out from these little forts like
Cummings to relieve and rescue emigrant trains,
resisting fierce Indian attacks, and in spite of the
fact that these garrisons were viciously attacked
and forced to battle for existence when ammuni
tion was at a low ebb, every possible assistance
was promptly supplied, often at great hazard to
the safety of garrisons.
During 1867-8, notwithsanding the general
Indian war existing through Kansas, Colorado,
Indian territory, and Southern New Mexico, long
ox trains heavily laden with goods, often eighty
wagons in a train, each wagon carrying six to
eight thousand pounds drawn by eight, sometimes
ten, yoke of oxen with three "bull whackers" for
each wagon "to help them along" with their heavy
leather thongs, ventured along the Santa Fe trail.

10

The spring grass of 1867 was the earthly sign
that now was the time for warriors to get busy.
Never before had hostility to the "pale faces,"
raged so fiercely in the hearts of the savage In
dians, in the western territories. Never had so
large a combination of tribes been formed to
drive the roadmakers and soldiers back of the
Mississippi. From Dakota to the borders of
Texas almost every tribe hadp ut on war paint,
and had mounted their war steeds.
The 38th U. S. Colored Infantry had certainly
had its share of troubles. Recruited largely from
Georgia negroes, they had gone through all the
usual trials of recruits : thej' had marched all the
way across the Great Plains, and had experienced
the usual privations and dangers incident to the
the Santa Fe trail in 1867. To make matters
still worse another deadly foe they had not reck
oned with, cholera, attacked them. The mor
tality had been large in spite of the best army
medical care, and even tbe good surgeon and his
wife had fallen victims. So when they reached the
lonely Apache-infested Fort Cummings with no
thing but the hard work of garrison life and con
stant vigil, with amusement and diversion almost
wholly wanting, no wonder the strange new life
developed discontent which led to plottings and
schemes for almost any change.
These more or less ignorant colored soldiers
had been bouyed with delusive hopes on leaving
the fertile lands of Georgia, and found themselves

11

in this dreary prison-like abode exposed to all
the discomforts of a frontier station, and to all the
dangers incident to contact with a powerful tribe
of merciless Apaches forever on the war path.
It was enough to sadden the hearts of the best
white troops.
The Veteran Volunteers with their gallant
officers had marched away : and with the except
ion of their own officers and a detachment of the
3d IT. S. Regular Cavalry and some white quar
ter-master employees, there were no other white
men to aid in preserving order.
In the earl}' days of colored troops in the
regular army, to get the best results, it was
essentia] that white troops should be on duty in
the same garrison so that discipline could be
enforced when necessary. It was a decidedly
risky experiment to attempt making soldiers of
former slaves. They needed the object lesson of
contact with white troops, and being of an imita
tive disposition the colored man took the white
soldiers as his pattern, and carefully watched
every gesture and movement with inquisitive
concern. Recruited from the most dangerous
and shiftless of the freed negroes they were natu
rally lazy and disinclined to do the work required
of them. They spent their leisure time in
gambling, drinking and quarrelling, that is to
say, many of them did so. Every possible pun
ishment employed for discipline in the frontier
posts was inflicted upon them to control their

12

evil propensities. They were .stood on barrels,
they were "bucked" and gagged, they were march
ed about the garrison with heavy planks tied
to their backs bearing the word ' 'gambler" marked
in chalk. Everything was done to discipline
them, every means taken to make soldiers of
them. But so rapidly did the mutinous spirit
develop in the command, that only by the mer
est chance was a tragedy averted. Through the
confession of a maid servant it was discovered
that these colored soldiers had entered into a plot
to kill every white man in the garrison, to capture
the horses and such property as they might desire,
and to carry off the officers' wives as their slaves.
The details were so completed that every match
was to be dampened so that no light could be
made, and the caps were to be removed from
every revolver. With remarkable coolness the
the officers prepared to face the terrible situation.
We must remember that this was before the
telephone had come into use and there was no
telegraph station in the garrison, and no railroads
in the territory. The nearest railroad station
was at Fort Hayes in Kansas, hundreds of miles
away. A rumor was purposely circulated that the pay
master would be expected within a day or two.
The colored soldiers were ordered to be mustered
on the parade ground without arms. It had been
previously arranged that the detachment of the
3d Cavalry (white) were to secretly occupy the
quarters of the colored men when they formed

13

on the parade r and to prevent at all hazard their
returning to their quarters to secure their rifles.
The two Napoleon guns had been loaded t&
the muzzle with grape and canister, and two of
the officers had been detailed to turn the guns-
upon tbe mutineers should occasion require.
The commanding officer, with the officers and
white non-commisaioned officers of the garrison,
appeared before the command. The commanding
officer after commenting on the military penalties
for mutinous conduct, then and there announced
to them that their plot had been fully discovered,
and he demanded the immediate surrender of the
ring-leaders. The colored soldiers rushing from
their ranks started for their quarters where they
expected to find their rifles. They were brought
to a sudden halt by finding the doors closed, and
at the windows stood the faithful 3d Cavalry-men
with their carbines leveled at them. Turning,
they saw that the officers had drawn their revol
vers and that the guns were pointed threateningly
in their direction. In terror many fell upon
their knees and begged for mercy, others pro
tested their innocence, and pointed out the ring
leaders who were quickly secured with the
assistance of the guard from the guard-house,
which had been carefully selected from the men
who could be depended upon. The mutineers
were confined and court-martialed. In some
instances the ring-leaders were even "bucked"
and gagged. In a short time the disturbance was

14

thoroughly quelled and the post resumed its
msual order of things.
After the writer had been ordered north, upon
his arrival in Santa Fe, he was informed that a
serious attempt at mutiny had been fortunately
frustrated, and the narrator furnished the inci
dents as here reported, which may have been
overdrawn. From such discouraging beginnings developed
a military organization of brave and efficient sol
diers, who afterwards made excellent records for
themselves in many deeds of gallantry in battles
with the Indians. No longer do the red men
throw taunts at the black soldiers for they have
found them foemen worthy of their steel. No
longer do officers consider it humiliating to serve
with colored troops. On the contrary they are
favorite commands to-day. The 24th and 25th
Infantry and the 9th and 10th Cavalry are a cre
dit to the U. S. Army. Post schools, and devoted
and intelligent officers have developed the colored
recruit until he has become a trustworthy, brave
and intelligent soldier.
In the present time of war with its tortures
and horrors, few realize what perils and priva
tions and constant nerve strain the Indian War
veterans faced ! They have never been fairly
honored for their faithful endurance. It was
theirs to be at the birth of a mighty empire.
They took no part in the destruction of peaceful
homes. Women in terror looked and longed

15

eagerly for their coming. Children looked to
them as their succorers and protectors, not as
merciless murderers. Honor is their due.
May I be pardoned if I state that it makes an
old Indian War Veteran "pensive" to see pictures
in old weeklies of Christmas boxes, mail bags of
letters and all kinds of goodies and comforts sent
to the soldiers of the Civil War, and to the
Spanish War Veterans and to the Pacific Island
stations ; and now our charitable women are
knitting scarfs and sending chocolates, pipes and
tobacco to foreign soldiers ; but who ever heard
of anything being sent to our gallant soldiers
of the frontier?
Almost every dollar of pay was spent for some
luxury like goats' milk butter at two dollars and a
half a pound, and seldom obtained. Poor sardines
at one dollar fifty a box, and the poorest kind of
shirts and stockings at the sutler's. No one pre.
tended to wear a "boiled shirt," the frontier
name for cotton shirts. Sometimes the Indians
would get "boiled shirts" and wear them all out
side. In loneliness time dragged on with seldom
if ever a letter or newspaper, with everlasting
wishing to know what was going on in the world ,
and how it fared with friends at home. Hardly a
book in sight except morning reports, sick reports,
or an occasional printed order from Department
Headquarters, or the findings of court-mar
tial where some desperate homesick soldier had
been sentenced to "death by musketry." Oh !

16

the loneliness of it, the darkness of evenings, the
silence of it, save the calls for drills, guardmount,
retreat and other drum and fife calls. When am
munition was almost gone we saw a cruel fate of
unprepared ness ; all this made us bitterly regard
the government which seemed to have deserted
us. Now and then news came of this and that
command, too few in number to stem the ever
lasting superiority, slaughtered and mutilated,
and every captive tortured to death by demonish
red skins. Then would come what seemed
a day of reckoning, and after terrible marches
where men maddened with thirst would open
their veins and drink their own blood, and after
all sorts of gloriously brave exploits of our boys
in blue, the murderous devilish Indians would
be cornered for the whipping they needed. Then
the philantrophic societies in Boston and Phila
delphia would demand of the President that
telegraphs to the border, and fast couriers should
be sent to call off the troops, and promise food
and luxuries and gifts, and even guns and ammu
nition for the Indians, bnt nothing, absolutely
nothing, for our brave boys in tatters and dirt
colored clothing, ragged and worn, which long
ago were uniforms for American soldiers. Are
not our Indian War Veterans worthy of respect?
I have seen Troop F of the gallant old 3d Ca
valry giving exhibition drills in the east. Their
uniforms were spick and span, and in perfect
soldierly fitting, and it recalled to mind the time
when equally brave and competent "yellow legs"

17

of this same old regiment of whom everyone
should be so proud, had instead of boots, strips
of "gunn}' sack" tied as best they could to hold
them on, and instead of blue well-fitting uniforms
coats, gunny sacks, the corners cut off, and a slit
in the bottom, and the dirty sack pulled over the
head like a sweater, and tied about the waist with
an old cord or rope which they were lucky enough
to> find. How good Saint Francis of Assist
Whose ragged habit has- won so much praise, must
have looked from heaven, brave soldier he-
had been in early days, and how he must have
admired and blessed them in their enforced po
verty. How he who voluntarily starved him
self, must have pitied their miserable food and
wretched beds-, on the wet ground ! The arms
Were kept clean, well oiled, serviceable for instant
ase, but shining brass and polished steel were not
for the gallant old 3d in those dreary days which
tried the souls of the bravest.
Near the Spring in the old days was located a
small "doby" ranch for the convenience of the
brave couriers of the 60s the pony express riders.
Here they exchanged their mail pouches, obtained
their remounts, and a short rest before continuing
their gallop through the Canyon and on to Fort
Bayard by way of the Mexican villege of Miem
bres, and the hot spring known as the Ojo Caliente.
It is located on the trail about six miles west
of the Miembres river.
It issues from a mound which rises some fifty
feet above the level plain ; it is some twelve feet

18

*8leep, and about tlie same in diameter., and loolks
very like the crater of an extinct volcano, al
though the mound may have been formed by the
incrustations of lime deposited for ages from the
water. "Carbonro acid gas bubbles up continually from
the bottom, and the more the bubbles, the hotter
the water becomes. The temperature when 1
visited it, was 127e fahr. Nitrate of silver
produced no precipitate; evaporation, no per
ceptible residue ; and as the water was tasteless
and gives no odor of sulphur, I concluded that it
is of unusual purity, though not medical in any
way. I kept an egg in the crater all night, but
it was still uncooked in the morning ; tho spring
is, however, a little too hot for bathing and
would scald anyone unfortunate enough to slip
into it. The hot and smoking streams trickle
down from the mound through gaps in its side,
one of which is conducted into a bath house.
This location belonged to Mr. Virgil Maston who
lived here with his wife and daughter and two or
three men. Afterwards it was known as Hud
son's Spring." The Apache Indians held this
wonderful spring in superstitious veneration.
Men and animals who drank of this spring and
lived by its mound were safe from Indian attack,
but, I noted three of the heaviest rifles I had ever
seen, too heavy to aim without a rest, and yet of
only 36 or 38 calibre.
One of the pony express riders met with a
sad fate. The writer had gone to Miembres from

19

Fort Cummings with an escort of troopers of the
Third Cavalry to take medicine to the fever-sick
people at that place. Upon returning to Fort
Cummings he reported that they had not encoun
tered any Indians, but that the pony express
rider Charlie Young had not yet reached Miem
bres. This created considerable excitement in
the garrison, because Charlie was a popular pony
express rider. He had been well-educated in a
Western University, and his family were prom
inent people in St. Louis, but through evil
associations, and especially by gambling, he had
lost a considerable sum of money. In his despair
he had volunteered to the pony-express director
for a position as rider in New Mexico.
He was a brave and companionable man, said
to be a fearless rider, and a crack shot, and so
when his absence at the Miembres was reported,
the commanding officer suspecting that he had
been "jumped" by the Apaches, sent a search
party of cavalry-men to find his remains. Far
beyond Cook's gloomy Canyon and quite a distance
from the trail they found his naked, mutilated
body. Everything had been taken including his
scalp. The soldiers returned with his remains
to the garrison where the body was washed, and
placed in a rough coffin and buried in the lonely
post cemetery where I trust it still reposes in
peace. The fire wood required by the garrison was
obtained in Cook's Canyon under the shadows of
"Old Baldy." It consisted of cedar and scrub

20

i,' and tlie quarters Were heated by burning
¦this wood in large open fire-places ; there were no
*coal stoves. To obtain this important supply a
•detail of from sixteen to twe-atv men with a
•-strong well-armed guard would take Wagons and
go into the canon, and procure the needed wood
supply for the garrison.
After the gallant old 125th had inarched away,
the 38th U. S. Colored Infantry from Georgia
garrisoned the old fort. On one occasion while
guarding a wood party they came suddenly upon
Apache Indians. So suddenly did they meet
"each other that the Indians believed it was a
military force sent against them, and the color
ed soldiers thought the Indians were looking
for them, so both Indians and soldiers beat a
hasty retreat, and the officer in command of the
the detachment returned to the garrison with the
wood-choppers in a very unamiable frame of
mind. If this detachment had been composed of
the gallant old 125th, a very different conclusion
would have been arrived at. In every direction
around Fort Cummings we could see our wiley
foe, the Apache Indians, forever watching us.
Their rifles seemed to be ever turned toward old
"Cook's Spring" whence came the garrison's
water supply. Some mornings we could find the
Indian's moccasin tracks upon the parade ground,
they having scaled the wall and crossed the pa
rade ground and scaled the opposite wall without
being observed. They did this by attaching a

21

long hair lariat to a heavy stone. They would
throw this over the wall and by a see-saw motion
it would cut into the "doby" bricks. When it
held fast, the Indians would by this assistance be
enabled to climb the walls. They emerged in
the same manner.
Late in the Fall the writer was detailed to take
a package of official papers to Fort Bayard. An
escort of three troopers of the 3rd was provided.
Soon after we left the Miembres, Indian signs
became more and more frequent. Beyond the
Ojo Caliente we noticed the signal smoke, and
when our trail reached the "Devils Pass," more
than half way to Bayard, the signals increased,
and in the worst place of all, our canteen strap
gave way threatening the loss of our precious
water supply. When dismounted to repair dam
ages even the gallant old 3d troopers could ill
conceal their annoyance caused by the delay.
Then on we rode to finish our journey and
reached Fort Bayard in safety.
Delivering our packet at Head-quarters, we
found considerable excitement in the garrison,
caused by an audacious Apache raid. Fort Ba
yard consisted of the usual collection of buildings
typical of a so-called frontier "fort," but no wall
or stockade enclosed. In the center was the
usual parade ground with the staff for Old Glory,
and a brass Napoleon 6 lb. gun, on each side of
it, pointing towards the main approach. It had
happened that only a few days previously, early

22

in the morning, before guard mount, a consider
able body of Apaches, in war paint, dashed into
the post firing right and left, at every one in
sight, and even at the doors of the buildings as
they passed, and then wheeling, yelling and fir
ing, had ridden away. They were well mounted,
and although the gun squad had rushed to load
the cannon ; before the gun strings could be
placed for firing, they were out of range, as their
defiant yell died away in the distance ! The
next day or the day after, we took with us an
other packet and a good supply of amunition, for
our Sharp's carbines and our "navy six shooters."
We made a cautious and rapid trip to the Miem
bres, and started early in the morning after our
arrival, for our return to Fort Cummings, and
got through the Canyon safely, although all the
way from Bayard, Indian signals were increasing.
We noted that the Apaches were showing them
selves just out of range, and at sundown the
coyote calls sounded loud and numerous. Some
times we thought the calls were from wolves, and
sometimes we felt sure that they were Indians.
We found the old post more vigilant than ever,
the sentries doubled, front and rear. Later when
the morning and evening gun no longer saluted
Old Glory at Reveille or Retreat, we learned
that we were reduced to three rounds per man
for ammunition ! A desperate situation.
As when the mighty engines of a great steamer
stop during the voyage at sea, and a sense of
dread of impending danger comes over the pas-

23

sengers, so when our morning and evening' gran-
no longer echoed among the hills about old Fort
Cummings, we realized that we were in a situa
tion more er less desperate for the husbanding of
every drachm of powder suggested preparation1
for a possible "last stand."
Two picked men ,1 on the best of the Cavalry
horses, had volunteered, to ride out in the night
for Fort Selden at the southern end of the Jor
nada del Muerto, hoping that the desperately
needed ammunition could be obtained and sent te.
Cummings by wagon with suitable eseort. On
the top of all this, was the anxiety caused by the
lack of discipline and efficiency in the newly
arrived Georgia colored soldiers ! This anxiety
nearly resulted in a bloody tragedy later on.
The little band of white men officers, non-coms,
cavalry men, quarter-master men, etc., would
have fought hard for the lives of the women and'
children, and for their own existence, but it
would have been a well-nigh hopeless battle..
We needed ammunition sadly, but above all,
some more of the gallant old 3d Cavalry to keep
affairs safer inside the garrison, as well as to hold
off the impudent and blood-thirsty Apaches,
waiting like hungry wolves for a chance to ex
terminate us !
With all the nonchalance of Americans, the
garrison duties Went on as usual. The drum and
fife sounded gaily at Reveille, Guard Mount, Drill,
Retreat, and Tattoo, and the lonely "Taps"closed

24

the days of strenuous drilling, and every possible
precaution was taken to make a brave resistance
successful. While everyone was keyed up ready
for action, almost sleeping on their arms as it were,
one night the post was startled by a shot fired near
the rear entrance to the fort. Instantly the ' 'long
roll'Vas sounded, lanterns were lighted, the troops
were all in ranks in front of the barracks, every
man was armed and ready, and the women rush
ed to the Commanding Officer's quarters for the
"last stand" as agreed upon in case of danger.
The Commanding Officer with the officer of the
day and the sergeant of the guard were at once
on the spot, questioning the negro sentinel.
"Why did you fire"? asked our Commander.
Well Colonel, the "bar" came right straight for
me, and I wan't agoing to let no "bar" eat me up,
and I just thinked it mought be an Indian in a
"bar" skin, so I fired! Another sentry was
detailed, and the old fort quieted down for a very
disturbed rest. When morning came some troop
ers sought for that "bar", for sure enough the
darkies aim had been good and there was blood
on the ground. In some mesquite bushes they
found one of the old post dogs, a big black harm
less fellow, a relic of the gallant 125th. The
poor beast had been in the habit of making "sen
try go" with the guards, and the sentry of the
38th had taken the good old dog for a "bar" and
thereby created a startling sensation.
When the brave soldier boys of the 125th
regiment Colored Volunteers U.S. Army march-

25

etf away for mastering out after its faithful" an«$
honorable career as a regiment in the Civil War
as well as Indian War serviee, the Commanding:
Officer presented the writer with his great
powerful dog, "Fighting Joe Hooker". We all
called him Joe for short, and we all felt that his-
courage and kindly disposition placed him on
the honour roll at old Fort Cummings,
So Joe found a home in his young master's^
quarters and slept on a wolf-skin at the door.
Woe betide anyone wh© should wish to enter
without permission.
Every morning after guard mount "Joe" quiet
ly letft the Fort and joined the herders in the
valley near by, where he spent the day, ever on
the lookout for wolves with which he loved to
battle. At retreat he came home and was ready
for bis hearty evening meal which had been saved
for him during the day.
From his station in the signal tower, a tin
covered turret above the Fort gate, the guard
could see about the country in every direction,
and his post was always considered important.
The morning following the alarm, the guard in
the turret discovered a small train in the distance,
approaching the Post. It could be seen at once
that the wagon train had stopped and that active
firing was going on. The Commanding Officer,
always ready and prompt to render assistance,
ordered out his cavalry detachment with the Hos
pital Steward for medical officer, and sent it to
relieve them.

26

TMore than once, relief bad been sent to harass
ed trains, and when the Apaches got sight of the
"'yellow legs", as cavalrymen were called in those
days, the}- made off with a £ew parting shots
which seldom did much damage. One trooper
was wounded with two bullets and an arrow
wound in the chest. The bullet wounds were
not serious, but blood poisoning from the arrow
wound, finished his military career.
Game was sought for, now and then, in the
lonely, dangerous Cook's Canyon, but tire fa<-<
that the Apaches were almost constantly in the
neighborhood of the Fort, made it difficult to ob
tain permission for hunting parties of less than a
dozen men as the danger was too great. Even
the supply of water for daily use was obtained
under guard, and with vigilant caution. There
came a lull in Indian activities and few Indians
were seen near the Fort, and things seemed quiet
so far as Apaches were concerned* The writ
er was able to obtain permission for a cotton
tail rabbit hunt in the Canyon, and to be allowed
to ride out alone, Mounted on a good horse, with
a Sharp's carbine and a"Navy six shooter"he rode
out past " Cook's Spring" which supplied the
garrison, past the Pony-Express ranch, and a-
round the base of "Old Baldy" up into the gloomy
treacherous Canyon. It was a beautiful clear
afternoon without any sign of Apaches for some
days. Gaining confidence from the silence and
the pleasure of the ride, he turned to the left and
penetrated a little side Canyon.

27

No tracks of Indian or game appeared, and the
trail was so clear he loped forward. Hardly had
the thought of absence of danger suggested itself
than he found that he was in the midst of a lot
of Apache squaws, busily engaged in setting up
teepee poles. Of all the astonished Indians the
writer ever saw, and of all the astonishment the
writer ever endured, this was surely the banner
event ! The Indians straightened up from their
work with amazement written on their faces.
They seemed rooted to the earth and made no
effort to spring forward and drag the rider from
his horse. The rider, after a pause which seemed
endless to him, awoke to activity and completely
turning his horse around, vigourously made
use of his spurs, and bending low on his
horse's neck, he dashed for the trail of the main
Canyon with the yells of the Apaches ringing in
his ears, and expecting to be hit by bullet or
arrow every moment. As onward he raced with
his sure footed cavalry horse, he saw the weekly
buckboard mail wagon going towards the fort,
and then he heard the clatter of pony hoofs be
hind him and the yells became more distinct. In
a moment the buckboard driver took in the situa
tion ; he lashed his horses, and on we dashed
past the Spring, and up the incline to old Fort
Cummings with every bit of speed we could make.
So near were the Apaches, the sentinel and some
of the guard rushed out and fired on the Indians,
who quickly wheeled, and soon were out of sight
in the recesses of Cook's Canyon . Almost breath-

28

3less, men and steeds panting from their e"xe"rtions
.and the excitement of the wild run, were thank
ful to be in a safe harbour. "Cotton tails"
-offered no inducements for lonely hunting trips
.after that experience.
One of the thrilling incidents for tlie writer
was going on an errand to the Pony Express
Ranch one evening for his superior officer. It
"was after Tattoo had sounded when he left tin-
ranch, and started on his way to return to the
.garrison. The night was dark and the war led
through bushes and over a stony path to tlie arch
way of the main entrance. Behind him was the
opening of the gloomy Canyon through which
'his faithful horse had so gallantly carried him
only a few days before. The young soldier
paused an instant as he stepped out in the lonely
night, and brought his pistol well within reach.
In his hand he carried a Mexican cane. Made
of a large steel ramrod and mounted with an
ebony handle, a ten cent piece fastened at the
end, and a Mexican dollar for the guard, it
looked more like a foil than a walking stick, but
was no mean weapon when skilfully handled.
Cautiously wending his way towards the gar
rison, he had covered more than half the distance
when he was suddenly startled by a noise directly
in front of him. The place was overrun with
rattlesnakes — often the guard killed one when on
his post — and coyotes and wolves howled like
Indians, and Indians like coyotes almost every

29

night after Taps, but this sound came from a
heavier body and moved slowly in his direction.
Well he knew how frequently the Apaches, out
of pure bravado, crept about the post and over
the walls : and the corral-wall could soon be saw
ed down with horsehair ropes and the stock
stolen. The Indians tie a heavy stone to a
horsehair lariat, and throwing it over the wall,
by a sawing motion they can cut it down to the
earth. Four or five Indians sawing together and
then pushing the wall now deprived of support
could break it down, and, in the confusion, rush
in and carry off the stock. It was this latter idea
which suggested itself, and he knew that a sharp
knife would soon end his career if his lonely
presence were discovered. Quick work before
the garrison was alarmed would be their method ,
and so, quietly drawing his Colt's revolver, he
waited for developments which quickly came.
A Mexican's jackass which had strayed from the
Pony Express rider's ranch moved steadily to
wards him and disclosed himself, that was all :
with a sigh of relief he hastened onward.
Like so many other officers of the Army, who
afterwards rose to high rank with honourable re
cord, General Geo. A. Forsyth was once the
Commanding Officer of old Fort Cummings. A
list of all the officers who served at Fort Cum
mings during its short history of twenty years
would present names afterwards highly distin
guished . All these officers and their commands

30

came in contact with the Apache warriors. Gen
eral Forsyth thus describes them. "Cruel, crafty,
very quick to scent danger, equally active to
discover a weak or exposed place within his
reach, tireless when pursued, patient in defeat,
and merciless in success, always seeking the
maximum of gain at the minimum risk, the
Apache was well named by the late General
George Crook, "the tiger of the human species."
Nor is it to be wondered at, when they had devel
oped the highest art of Indian warfare under the
tutelage of that "tiger of tigers," the great
Apache War Chief, Cochies !
Cochies was the hereditary war chief of the
Chiricahua Apaches, and one of the ablest leaders
they ever had. His operations extended through
Arizona and New Mexico into Old Mexico. His
last important raid resulted in his surrender near
Fort Bowie, Arizona. Victoria, in 1879, was
chased into Mexico by U. S. troops. Natchez
was a son of Cochies and inherited his father's
hate of the white race.
Until the winter of 1861-62 the Apaches of the
Chiricahua Mountains had not interfered with
the MailCompany, and for two years during which
their coaches ran along the trail, presents of
blankets and food kept them on good terms, but
after this a young West Point Officer named
Barkett, so the story goes, summoned the Chief
Cochies to explain concerning the abduction of a
Mexican boy. Cochies and a half dozen of his

31

head men responded to the summons. They de
nied the charge of abduction whereupon the
officer issued orders for their arrest. Cochies in?
a moment slit open the canvas of the tent where
he was confined and escaped', but his companions'.
Were all secured. A man- named Wallace who-
Was on friendly terms with the tribe volunteered
to go alone and treat with them. He did so, and'
sent back a message to Barkett that in his opinion
the boy had' not been stolen, but that he himself,
was now a hostage in their hands. Barkett prompt
ly hanged the Apachesrand Wallace was promptly
hanged on the opposite side of the Pass. This
tragedy over, Cochies and his entire band fled to
their mountain fastnesses, never more to come
in' contact with the* white man, unless in the ex
ecution of their unquenchable revenge. Cochies
VoWed that he would be the enemy of the white
race as long as he lived. Long before this had'
happened, the execution of the Miembres Apache
Chief, Mangas Colorados at old Fort McLane,
then located twenty miles west of the Rio Miem
bres, a post long since abandoned, had aroused
the whole Apache tribe to vengence, and every
white man they could find was doomed.
Cochies was a tall, stately, finely built Indian,
who seemed to be rather passed middle life (in
1870), but still full of power and vigor both phy
sical and mental. He was a king among the
Apache Indians, who were reckoned the most
terrible of all tbe Aborigines. It is conceded

32

that in cunning, endurance, ferocity, and what
may be expressed as "deviltry", he has never
had an equal on this continent, and it is safe to
say the world has never known his superior !
Lieutenant Cushinghad the reputation of being
"an officer of wonderful experience in Indian
warfare, who with his troop, the famous 'F' of
the 3d Cavalry, had killed more savages of the
Apache tribe than any other officer or troop of
the U. S. Army had done, before or since." This
is the opinion of such a gallant Indian fighter as
Captain Burke of the 3d U. S. Cavalry, well
known in the Army as an experienced Indian
fighter. It was he who said, "Troop 'F' of the
3d Cavalry than which a better never bore
guidon." General Crooks' Command "started from Fort
Craig, marched to the tumbled down village,
Paraje de San Cristobal at the head of the Jorna
da del Muerto "(the journey of the dead
man)" which is the Sahara of New Mexico, then
across from the Point of Rocks trail to the long
since abandoned camp at Ojo del Muerto, or(dead
man's spring) , to what was called Fort Mac Rae,
where we forded the river to the west, and then
kept along the eastern rim of the timber clad
Miembres Mountains, through Cow Springs to
Fort Cummings, and thence due west to Camp
Bowie, situated in the Apache pass of the Chiri
cahua Mountains in south-east Arizona." Like
any commander marching through an enemy's

33

country, every precaution was taken to guard
against surprise from the most treacherous of
foes, the Apache Indians. Scouts and flankers-
exercised the utmost vigilance. The quaint old
rules among frontier scouts like our Bill Dixon
at Elliott, and Amos Chapman at Camp Supply,
"Buffalo Bill," James Hickok"( Wild Bill)," and
other gallant old fellows we knew on the frontier
were like this : "When you see Apache 'sign',
be keerful ; 'n when you don' s«e nary 'sign' be
more keerful."
New Mexico, like Arizona, was in those days
separated from "God's country" by a space of
more than a thousand miles without a railroad
anywhere west of Fort Hayes in Kansas, The
officers who once got out there rarely returned
for years. Commands moved slowly from camp
to camp with seldom an incident to break the
dull monotony of constant vigil against ambus
cades, and little that was interesting to look upon
as we journeyed, save the ever-recurring signal
smokes of the Apaches to show that our progress.
was duly watched from elevations on eitber flank.
We realized that foemen, brave and desperate
fighters, would plan and plot for our speedy des
truction, and this was "the school for courage,"
where we studied !
The names of heroes like Custer, Elliot, Crook,
Forsyth, Miles, and many others will live for
all time, but the lesser lights, the unnamed heroes

34

will live in the influence which brave deeds have
ever exerted upon their successors in the Amer
ican Army.
My dear old friend General Carrington des
cribes the Indian. "Isolated, yet in communi
cation through the little mirrors which flash the
sunlight, and pass his signals for miles ; dashing
forward at a run with the person crouched on the
pony's neck, firing in this sheltered position,
riding everywhere apparently at random ;" con
cealed in the sand of the desert with bushes tied
to his head, and rising out of the ground with
sudden and accurate shot, imitating the cry of
the wolf when it will hide his night visits, or
worry his possible victims. "These Indians are
everywhere where you suppose they are not ; and
are certain to be nowhere where you suppose
them to be."
In ambush and decoy, splendid ; in horseman
ship, perfect ; in strategy, cunning ; in battle
wary and careful of life ; in victory, jubilant ;
and in vengeance, fiendish and terrible ! As the
old Scout Bridger said of them. "Where there
ain't no Injuns, you'll find them thickest."
115 miles from Albuquerque is Fort Craig,
a military post placed on the top of some barren
sandy bluffs, overlooking the Rio Grande which
stream we cross before entering the dreary Jor
nada del Muerto"Dead Man's Journey, "or" Jour
ney of Death." The valley is more like a level cen
tral trough between the bluffs or cliffs on either

35

side, the dangerous fastness of the merciless Mes-
celero Apaches. The "Sierra Madre" of New
Mexico to the Miembres Mountains south of
latitude 33° make a formidable barrier, the "di
vide between the waters of the Colorado Chiquito
and the Gila on one side emptying into the Paci
fic ; and the Rio Grande on the Atlantic slope.
Cook's Canyon is the pass through the Miembres
Mountains which opens upon the vast plain, the
Madre Plateau. All this region had been depo
pulated by the Apaches and Navajos on one side,
and the Comanches on the other. Miles Elevation
"Fort Craig on Rio Grande 3857
Fort Craig to Fort Cummings,
foot of Cook's Canyon 104-1 4094
Summit of Cook's Canyon 3-1
Foot of Cook's Canyon 3-6
Fort Bayard, from Fort Cummings 44
Runk's Survey.
At "Soldier's Farewell" two miserable water holes
were found. While we looked at the thick green
puddle, full of creeping things, slime, and all
sorts of abominations, from which we had to
drink, a feeling of dread for the future involun
tarily crept over us.
The Burro Mountains were not, as they appear
ed to be, an ordinary range rising from the plain,
but the crowning ride or summit of the great
continental water partings ; and although they
rose from a much higher base than the ranges to

36

the east and west of fhero, by 1208 feet higher
than Ojo Caliente, six miles west of the Miem
bres River, 23 miles distant, the slope up their
.sides was not rapid enough at first to be distinctly
apparent without our surveyor's levels.
The Mescalero Apaches had their home among
hills and mountains bordering on the grave-
marked region, the Jornada del Muerto. Along
the trail, mesquite bushes, apparently growing in
a little cluster, would suddenly rise, and prove to
be the temporary head dress of these fierce sav*
ages, who had hidden themselves in this manner
in the sand. They instantly poured in a deadly
fire upon the unsuspecting travellers. The ideal
Apache warrior was the Chiricahua, named after
his rocky fastnesses of the "Turkey Mountains."
The last virile remnant of a powerful race, it long
looked uncertain if he ever would be whipped.
Crushed he never was. Old Fort Cummings had
ceased to exist as a military stronghold long
before its merciless enemies had been under some
semblance of governmental control.
Physically the Chihuicahui became the flower
of- his race. It is not presumable that he had any
initial advantage over his cousins the Tontos
Jicarillas, and other Apaches. Geronimo was
a full-blooded Chihuicahui. Na-chi-ta, a fa
mous Apache, was a son of old Cochies whose
very name made the soldier look to his arms and
ammunition.

37

Fort Bowie certainly deserves more than a
passing notice, it witnessed many stirring, scenes
of Indian warfare, and its little garrison held its
own through many a lonely dangerous day. One
incident comes to mind where an officer and his
escort were followed and killed close to its wall,
and the horrified and baffled little garrison were
forced to witness not only the death of the officer,
but also to see a savage Apache warrior cut out
the officer's heart, and in Indian fashion drink
the blood from the bleeding heart. To drink the
heart blood from a gallant enemy was supposed
to confer additional courage in the victor. The
writer has witnessed this idea acted out in won
derful mimicry during a war dance of Ojibway
warriors in North Western Minnesota in the
Fall of 1879.
"There never has been adequate public recog
nition of the inestimable service rendered by the
small United States regular army in the Indian
campaigns. The great wilderness west of the Mississippi
was held by powerful tribes of singularly war
like and blood thirsty savages. It has been said
that for every man the hostile Apaches lost, they
killed twenty-five white men !
Abreast of the first hardy pioneers, appeared
the West Point officer, and his little company of
trained soldiers, and the more regular settlers
never made their appearance until in campaign
after campaign, always very wearing and harass-

38

ing, and often very bloody in character, the scar
red and tattered troops had decisively overthrown
the Indian lords of the land. Campaigns whose
activity and hardships no civilized war could
parallel." And yet when these noble old Indian
War Veterans have sought for a modest and most
reasonable pension to make their remaining days
endurable, their petition has been ignored by
Congress. ,, Save for the presence of the regular Army, a
large portion of territory inclosed within the
limits of the flourishing states of the great plains
and the Rockies, would still be in the possession
of hostile Indians, and the work of settlement in
the west could not have reached its present
point. The lonely little posts, where for many years
at a time the soldiers wearing the national uni
forms lived and warred and died, with quiet
endurance, surrounded by the desolation of vast
solitudes, and menaced by the most merciless of
foes, have now either been abandoned, or are the
seats of flourishing towns, which, but for the
exertions of these soldiers, would never have
come into being ; and the memory of the deeds
done during the lonely years of peril, fades as
rapidly as the walls of the Cantonments crumble.
They attracted scant notice at the time in the
roar of our huge and busy national life ; and
they were forgotten almost as soon as done.
Yet their consequences were of far reaching

39

importance, and it seems only fitting" that they
should be appropriately commemorated." Atlan
tic Monthly, 1892.
The charm of the frontier of Kansas, Colorado r
Indian Territory, and New Mexico has gone for
ever. The great ocean of plains is now a mighty
empire of farms, villages, and beautiful cities -
Only the mountains and the glorious sky and
bright light of the sun remain, the excitement,.
the hardships-, the dangers from savage foe are
also gone. No one who has lived on the "fron
tier" of 1867 will ever forget the deep impressions-
the wild life instilled in him. As an old veteran
has said, and he was a man of uncommon and
undoubted courage, the more you have to do with
Indian warfare, the more you dread the Indians,.
and try to keep out of their way.
"Men may be very brave at first, but the contin
ual anxiety soon takes the dash out of them,
you bet."
"To see the American trooper on the plain in
a' hostile Indian Country, after interminable
marches, wearied and reduced by exposure, pro
tracted work, and insufficient food, with his
worn out rusty uniform" would not inspire
praise ! ' *The bugle sounds ; and these appar
ently ungraceful troopers, after their long march,
and a few hours of sleep, perhaps on the wet
prairie, or on the snow covered ground, will

40

swing into their saddles with a motion that daz
zles the eye by its mechanical precision. There
they sit motionless ; and if one scans their faces,
one will observe that unmistakable look of
intelligence which is not the result of discipline,
but of education, and which is so noticeably
absent in the automatic soldiers of the Old
World. When the trumpet sounds again, mark
the soldierly ease and grace with which these
troopers dash off, though they have been weeks
on the march, half starved, fighting Indians day
by day, passing sleepless nights, enduring every
kind of weather, and privations, undaunted by
pitiless frosts and snows, the dust of the great
plains, or the terrible thirst of the alkali deserts,
and one must say in view of their great endur
ance, their ever cheerful readiness, and easy but
perfect descipline, that American soldiers," (es
pecially American cavalrymen) "are the best in
the world." It is owing to these qualifications
that we had in them such excellent Indian fight
ers, and I venture to say that nowhere in the
armies of the Old World could a body of troops
be selected of equal numbers who would compare
at all favorably with them in Indian campaigns.
Is it any wonder we have dedicated our first
book on the Indians, "Personal Experiences
Among Our North American Indians," "to the
gallant old 3d Cavalry" ? All the way across the
great plains for weeks and months, in the sad
dle we had ridden with those splendid troops,
and with them we had shared the most advanced

41

picket, the anxious night and dawn at the dan
gerous Cimarron Crossing.
Through the wild Apache land we rode with
them, and in the anxious days at Cummings we
had looked up to them as our strongest hope.
Is it any wonder that half a century has not
dulled, and time will never dull the deep sense of
hope and security which their steady soldierly
competence insured.
The sight of the cross sabres and magic number
3 still brings to us in our old age a soldier's
esteem and affection for the gallant old 3d Ca
valry U.S. Army. The world, even to-day can
produce no better cavalrymen than they. Their
memory is ever dear to us.
We call to mind as the shadows lengthen, so
many brave and true American soldier friends,
so many brave hearts who served with us on the
great plains, and in the Apache lands in the 60's.
For most of them the "last call" has sounded,
and never more will "boots and saddles" mean
the excitement of a possible "affair with Indians."
The veteran soldier of the Indian Wars was a
soldier worthy of the name, and "second to
none" on earth for intelligent courage and fight
ing ability. There is no "rear" in Indian war
fare and seldom any cover, and the only certainty
is that in case of capture, the ending will be
death by terrible torture. I have never seen
anyone who was in the hands of Indians, and had
escaped death.

42

South of the Fort was located the "bivouac of
the dead," the simple "post cemetery," over
which no careless feet ever trod, save those of
Indian or wolf.
There, in this lonely spot so many brave sol
diers have had the "last call" sounded, and the
last rifle volleys fired over their last resting place.
Here is enshrined the dust of many a brave
soldier and frontiersman.
"Their sabres are rust.
Their good steeds dust,
Their souls are with the Saints, we trust."
And of those who are living who have served at
this gallant little fortress, where are they nOw?
Scattered far and wide, but never one of them,
from general to private soldier who is not proud
of having served at old Fort Cummings. A
word from any one of them would be gratefully
received by the writer.
Old Fort Cummings has fallen to ruins. Its
massive "doby" walls have crumbled, and Old
Glory no longer "catches the gleam of the morn
ings' first beam" from its once graceful flag staff.
Only "Old Baldy" still wears the same snow
white crest, and keeps its lonely everlasting
vigil, as the "sentinel" of Cook's Canyon, and of
the south west.

43

Comrades, we pledge the cup of memory to
dear old Fort Cummings ! Peace to its ashes,
eternal glory to its gallant records. We love
and cherish its memory until "taps" sounds its
pitiful notes for us ! Fort Cummings, adieu !
William Thornton Parker, M. D.
Northampton, Massachusetts.
March, 1616.

44

The Old South Western Santa Fe Trail.

* 'Rude highway to heaven ! The bearded and
strong,
Left white-topped wagons, and weary cattle,
They said to the sordid old world 'So-long',
Their souls unshucked ; in the Indian battle,
Husked free, by the red Apache spears !
In clumps of cactus their bones are sleeping
Strewn with the skeletons of their steeds,
And a rattlesnake in the white ribs creeping,
Makes a gruesome epitaph, Mate ! — I say
For a freighter who fought on the Santa Fe."
You have not forgotten the ford, I know,
That wagon corral and the log fires in it,
"Old Baldy" lifting his brow of snow,
"As white as your crony's head this minute
Oh, the yarns we spun, the songs we sung
Of 'home, sweet home' and blue 'Juniata !'
While up in the pines the new moon hung ;
And, pshaw old partner, what's the matter?
Does it hurt you yet, when your hair is grey,
What she said that night, on the Santa Fe ?"
Robert Mclntyre.

45

46

$0»t g>rrtjrt

The Records of the Rebellion give two small
engagements in Cook's Canyon, July 10 and
July 24, 1863 ; the first between Union troops
(Rangers) and Indians : on the second there was
no official report, aside from the date.
This information, such as it is, has been pieced
together from atlases and maps (the U. S. Geol
ogical Survey.) "Deming sheet" shows Fort
Cummings, from the Official Records of the
Rebellion, and from private sources.
Speaking in Denver, August 24, 1914, the
Hon. Lindley M. Garrison, Secretary of War,
said in part, "I want to say that it was the pre
sence of the army in the great north-west that
made possible the present great population.
The soldiers of the United States Army blazed
the trail, and protected those who sought a new
country. The western country was bought and
consecrated by the fidelity, loyalty, skill and
energy of our gallant army."
And undoubtedly facing the certainty of the
awful Indian torture in case of capture, added to
the honour and glory of the services they
rendered. W- T. P.

47

Statement from the Official Records
relative to the history of the 125th Regi
ment United States Colored Infantry Volunteers
It is shown by the official records that the
125th Regiment United States Colored Infantry
Volunteers was organized atLouisville, Kentucky,
between February 23 and June 2, 1864, and was
mustered into service to serve three years. Some
of the stations of the regiment, in addition to
Louisville, Kentucky, were, as shown by succes
sive bi-monthly muster rolls, and the muster-out
rolls, as follows :
December 31, 1865-Camp Chase, Ohio ;
February 28, 1866-Cairo, Illinois ;

30, 1866— near Fort Leavenworth, Kansas ;
30, 1866-en route to Fort Union,
New Mexico ;
31, 1866-Fort Selden, New Mexico;
31, 1866-Fort Craig, New Mexico;

April
June August
OctoberDecember 31, 1866-
February 28, 1867-
April 30, 1867-
June 30, 1867-
August 31, 1867-
October 31, 1867-Fort Union, New Mexico.
It appears that Company D, said regiment, was
stationed at Fort Cummings, New Mexico, from
August 12, 1866, to October 2, 1867.

48

The first commander of the regiment was Col
onel Charles D. Armstrong, who resigned in
April, 1866. He was succeded by Colonel William
R- Gerhart. The regiment was temporarily com
manded by subordinate officers at different times
between August, 1865, and August, 1866, and
after that continuously by Colonel Gerhart.
The regiment was mustered out of service at
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, December, 27, 1867.
It appears that the 125th United States
Colored Infantry was the last volunteer organiza
tion of the Civil War to be mustered out of
service.War Department,
The Adjutant General's Office,
February 8, 1916.
Justice to Indian Fighters
The passage, by the House of Representatives,
Feb. 16, of the Keating bill, pensionin Indian War
Veterans and widows, marks a distinct step to
ward final justice for deserving American sol
diers — the brave fellows who blazed the way for
civilization in the wild west.
All credit is due Representatives John A. Key,
of Ohio, Chairman of the House Committee on
Pension, and Edward Keating, of Colorado, fa
ther of the bill, for their labor ot love in behalf
of the old Indian fighters. It is hoped the
Senate will see the equity of this measure and
pass it before the present session of Congress
ends. American Standard,
March, 1916.

49

Twenty-Five Year War

For a quarter of a century, after the close of
the Civil War, the trans-Missou ri country was
the scene of almost innumerable conflicts between
the Caucasians and the Indians. The latter stub
bornly contested the invasion of their hunting
grounds. "It is impossible to overestimate the impor
tance of the service rendered by these Indian
fighters. They opened the West to civilization
and settlement. They battled with a brave,
cunning, merciless foe, and usually they faced
fearful odds, but they were almost uniformly
successful. They fought no Austerlitz, but in
every State of the trans-Missouri West is some
Thermopylae rendered immortal by their life
blood." "I saw more fighting at Beecher's Island than
during all the four years I served with the 'Army
of the Potomac,' " is the testimony of one of the
survivors of Forsyth's famous fight with Roman
Nose. From Report No. 115, 64th Congress,
lst Session, House of Representatives,
Pension for Indian War Veterans,
"In 1882 General Forsyth made a brilliant
expedition against the Apache Indians from Fort
Cummings defeating them in an engagement near
Stean's Peak, and following them into Mexico as
far as Janoes River. Assistant Surgeon Newton,

50

and Acting Assistant Surgeons Cocky and Lacy,
U. S. Army, were stationed at Fort Cummings
in 1882 when General Forsyth was in command.
The Adjutant General's Office,
Washington, March 8, 1916.
Dr. William Thornton Parker,
Valley View,
65 Columbus Avenue,
Northampton, Mass.
The field and staff, Company A, and other
companies of the 38th United States Colored
Troops were mustered out of service at Indianola,
Texas, January 25, 1867. Company F, 38th
United States Infantry, arrived at Fort Cum
mings, New Mexico, June 4, 1868, and relieved
Company A of this regiment, which company
left June 6, 1868.
It does not appear from the records that a man
named Charles E. Clark was a commissioned
officer in the 38th United States Colored Troops
(Volunteers). The Adjutant General.

51

The Apaches

An Army Opinion of the Indian Question.
To the Editor of The Springfield Republican.
A clipping from the "Panhandle," an enterpris
ing little paper published at Mobeetie, Tex., in
the interest of cattle raising, which has made this
section of country justly famous :
"The work of the Apaches in New Mexico and
Arizona, horrifying as it has been, has done more
for the cause of humanity than any break they
ever made before. We have conversed with an
eastern gentlemen who was almost in the midst
of it. He has heretofore been a staunch believer
in the Indian policy, but since looking the mat
ter square in the face he would out-Herod Herod
in the ranks of exterminators. The territories
are more than ever before filled up with pros
pecting tenderfeet from the east. It is always
easy to think lightly of barbarities committed a
thousand miles away, and seems the height of
magnanimity to sympathize with the Indian for
his wrongs, andcondone his soul-sickening atroc
ities toward the Christian men and women of
our own race. But when the people of the east
feel peculiar sensations about their own scalps,
flee for their own lives, and see the slain and tor
tured about them, they are brought to a realizing
sense of the situation ! The late Apache outbreak
has made thousands of new converts to the side
of God and humanity and extermination."

52

The editor knows what he is talking about
Tvhen he protests against the sentiment so com
mon in the east, that every hard-fought Indian
?fight is another "massacre." There are tribes
of Indians, no doubt, struggling faithfully toward
¦civilization, and such efforts deserve to be en
couraged, but the Apaches I believe are absolute
ly untamable, and extermination would seem to
be the only remedy applicable. Certainly it
ought to be tried ; old Indian fighters declare-
that the best Apache is a dead one. We need a
strong hand to govern the Indian, and the Army
has always proved itself capable of securing
not only the best interests of the pioneers and
settlers in the wild west, but has done very much
for the good of the Indians themselves. The
amount of money wasted by the Indian depart
ment, and stolen by dishonest Indian agents would
pay a good share of the expenses of the needed
increase of the army. Then the Indians would
be taught a lesson which they have not yet
learned, viz. : that by good conduct they could
expect and receive justice, and for their evil
deeds swift and sure punishment. The army has
always been required to do well-nigh impossible
things in Indian outbreaks, and no sooner have
they forced these blood-thirsty savages to terms
than a storm is raised by would-be philanthropists
of "cruelty" and "massacre". The troops are
sent away unthanked, the Indians loaded with
presents and fed into condition for another
series of murders and outrages. As the editor

53

of the Panhandle most justly remarks, if only
some of these philanthropists could experience
the horros of an Indian outbreak, we should hear
less about Indian "massacres" from them !
William Thornton Parker, M. D.
Acting Assistant Surgeon U. S. Army.
Fort Elliot, Mobeetie, Wheeler County, Texas,
May 19, 1883.
I am permitted to make some extracts from a
most interesting and valuable letter received from
Colonel G. G. Gale, United States Army, ret.,
who knows all this region of Southern New
Mexico in which Fort Cummings is located.
28 Feb'y, 1916.
My Dear Dr. Parker :
I have received your note of the 24th and
am very glad if I may be of use to you. My
acquaintance with old Fort Cummings was very
limited being only from June until September
of 1880. The post had been abandoned for sev
eral years, but the walls were intact and several
of the rooms and buildings fit for such purposes
as store rooms, etc., and we used them as such.
The two rooms on either side of the sally-port
were serviceable, and we used one for a guard
room and the other for an ordinance room. The
room above the sally port had disappeared.

54

I will try to answer your questions.
The "Jornada del Muerto" or "day's journey of
death" was a long wide valley west of the San
Andreas mountains and separated from the Rio
Grande by the two lower ranges, Cristobal and
Caballo. After crossing the river below Fort
Craig, one left the Fort Stanton road and turned
almost due south on to the Jornada. There was
no known water for a hundred miles or more for
a long time, but in the course of time it was
found not very far from the southern end at
what was known as Martin's well. I have never
travelled its entire length and so am telling you
this partially from heresay. It was a perfectly
open flat valley, slightly rolling and principally
in grass. What shrubbery there was, was very
low and principally of the "grease wood" type ;
the grass was excellent when there had been rain
but you probably remember that there might
occur whole seasons without it.
Fort McRae was near the northern end of the
Jornada, on the Ojo del Muerto. I get this from
a publication in the club library, without a title
page : the book is not entirely reliable as it says
McRae was three miles west of the river instead
of east, but I think the name of the spring is
correct. The Rand McNally Atlas makes it exactly 50
miles from Cummings to Selden in a straight
line : I think 65 miles by trail is a good estimate.
We used to scout across to Colorado, a little

55

Mexican town near the R. R. Station "Rincou'r
and some miles above Selden, and always did if
by making a "dry camp" and finishing the jour
ney in the early morning.
Philip St. George Cooke was a West Point
graduate of the class of 1827. He was originally
a lieutenant of the 6th Infantry, but was trans
ferred to the lst Dragoons, and in 1853 was-
Lieutenant Colonel of the 2nd Dragoons. He
became its- Colonel in- 1858- and a B. G. in 1861..
Here is another curiosity of history. Although
his name is spelled Cooke, the peak and spring,.
etc., are all Cook. I think there can be no doubt
as to the naming of the peak. At all events I have
always understood that it was named for him.
' I think General Forsyth served at Fort Com-
mings sometime after 1880. He was Lieutenant
Colonel of my regiment, and for several years the
camps was occupied by a detachment of the regi
ment. He may have been there. I do not know
whether General Read ever served there.
I might add that after Fort Cummings was-
finally abandoned as a military station, the spring
was acquired by the railroad company, thorough
ly cleared out and roofed in, and the water pump
ed to one of its nearby stations. * * *
Yours most truly G. G. Gale,
Colonel U. S. Army, ret.

56