Part 40 (1/2)
At this I withdrew from the General's quarters, and he and George soon made a bargain. George was to receive seventy-five dollars per month. The balance of the day was spent in making preparations for our prospecting tour, as we termed it.
CHAPTER XXIX.
FIND SOME MURDERED EMIGRANTS.--WE BURY THE DEAD AND FOLLOW AND SCALP THE INDIANS.--GEN. CROOK IS PLEASED WITH THE OUTCOME.--A MOJAVE BLANKET.
The following morning I ordered ten days' rations for three of us.
When we were ready to start Gen. Crook called me aside and told me the nature of the man who was to accompany us, saying that there was not a watering place nor an Indian trail in the whole territory that he did not know, and said he: ”If you don't see any Indians or fresh sign of Indians he will show you all over the country. But he is the scariest man of Indians you ever saw in your life.”
This man's name was Freeman. When we were ready to start Freeman asked me what course I wished to take. I told him that I would like to go in the direction that we would be the most likely to find Apaches. I pointed in the direction of a range of mountains, telling him that by ascending them he would be able to show me where the different watering places were in the valley by land marks, and we struck out southeast from the fort in the direction of the middle fork of the Gila river. The first night we camped on what was then called the b.u.t.terfield route, some thirty-five or forty miles from the fort. This season there were a great many emigrants pa.s.sing over this route from Texas and Arkansas to California, and Gen. Crook said the Apaches were giving them much trouble on this part of the road, and if they continued to be so bad he would have to send one or two companies of soldiers out there for the protection of the emigrants. The second morning out we pa.s.sed a ranch owned by a man named Davis, who had lived there two years. He told me that the Apaches had never given him any trouble from the fact that he had gotten the good will of the chief when he first went there by giving him numerous little presents of different kinds.
He told me that although isolated from the world, he was doing well, from the fact that most all of the people pa.s.sing there patronized him. This family was from Indiana. After I had told him who I was and what would be my business, he insisted on my staying over night with him when convenient, saying that it would not cost me a cent. Thanking him for his hospitable offer, we rode on, keeping the b.u.t.terfield route. Late that afternoon we met a train of sixteen wagons on the way to California. The people told us that the day before they had seen where five wagons had just been burned. I asked how far it was, and they thought it was twenty- five miles from where we met them. When we heard of this we pushed on, thinking there might be some dead bodies there and that we could bury them. On arriving at the scene, sure enough we found three dead bodies two hundred and fifty yards from the burned wagons; one of them being that of an old man, and the others, two boys twelve and fourteen years of age. The Indians had not stripped the bodies nor mutilated them, only they were all filled with arrows. The dead bodies were all dressed in home-made jeans.
We found a few pieces of wagon boxes that had not been burned and dug as good a grave as we could in the sand, giving them as good a burial as we could under the circ.u.mstances. This being done, we took the trail of the Indians, which led off in a south-westerly direction. I felt confident that it had been at least three days since this depredation had been committed. My object in following them up was to see if we could get any evidence of white prisoners in their camp. For the first ten or fifteen miles they kept on the roughest, rockiest ground they could find, all of which led me to believe they had expected to be followed. The next morning we came to where they had made their first camp. All the evidence we could see of white prisoners in their charge was a few pieces of calico torn up and scattered around their camp-ground. We followed the trail until we came to where they had made their second camp, and here we found the waists of two women's dresses, one being somewhat larger than the other. The two dress waists we took along with us. Here the Indians had changed their course somewhat, and our guide said in the direction of their main village, but I did not consider myself well enough posted to go too near their main village. I told the guard to lead us off south of west from Fort Yuma, which he did, and late that afternoon we saw six Indians traveling east, and I told the boys that they were scouts for the main band and that they were going out to look for emigrants. When we first got sight of them they were traveling up an open valley.
I told the boys that we would keep a close watch of them, and if they should camp alone we would have their scalps before morning; but just one look from Freeman and I was convinced that he did not approve of this scheme. George said to him: ”You can take care of the horses can't you, and if everything is favorable, Cap and I can take care of the Indians.” Late in the afternoon I told them what course to travel, and taking advantage of the ground, I pushed on to see the Indians go into camp. When I started the guide told me there was water about a mile above where the Indians were, and that they were pulling for it. He said there was a fine spring of water in a little bunch of timber, and that the Indians always camped there when they were going to and from their hunting ground. Sure enough, when they came to this little grove they all dismounted and turned their horses loose entirely, then commenced to roast their antelope meat for supper. I hurried back to meet my companions, and we succeeded in getting within a quarter of a mile of the Indians. By this time it was getting dark.
We picketed our horses and sat down to eat our cold lunch, after which we started down to the camp, but were very cautious how we traveled. When in sight of the camp-fire we could see them all plainly sitting around it. We lay silent and watched them and their movements. In a few minutes two of them got up and went out to where their horses were and drove them all up together to less than one hundred yards of where we lay. It was so dark we could not see them, but could hear them talking very distinctly. After having rounded their horses up together they returned to the fire.
Thinking they would lie down in a short time, for they did not seem to suspect any trouble that night, we started to crawl down to their camp, all abreast. After our guide, Freeman, found that I was determined to attack them he seemed to muster up courage and come right to the front like a man. My object in crawling near their camp so soon was to see in just what position they lay before the fire went out, and when the last one laid down we were within fifty yards of them. I told the boys we had a soft thing of it, for each of us had two revolvers and a good knife, and the Indians were all lying close together with their feet towards the fire. I told them we would wait two hours as near as we could guess the time and then they would be asleep; that then we would crawl up and send them to their happy hunting-ground. After waiting until we thought they were asleep we crawled down to their camp, again all three abreast, George on my right and Freeman on my left; and so we drew near, their fire had not gone entirely out, and a little breeze now and then would cause it to blaze up just enough so that we were able to get their exact positions. I told the boys to watch me and when I raised to my feet for both to raise and draw both revolvers as we would then be right at their heads, and for each man to stick the muzzle of each of his pistols to an Indian's head and fire; George to take the two on my right and Freeman the two on toy left, and I to take the two in the middle, and after firing each man was to jump back two jumps, so in case one of us should miss one of his men that we would be out of their reach, thereby enabling us to get all of them without taking any chances ourselves.
George said that at the first click of his pistol one of his men raised up in a sitting position, and he only got one the first shot. Freeman and I each got our two Indians the first shot; but George having both his eyes on one, the other rose to his feet.
George and I took two shots each at this other Indian before we could get him down. It was mostly guess work, for it was so dark that we could scarcely see him.
As soon as we were satisfied that we had all of them we started out to look for their horses, but it was so dark that we could not find them, so we found our way back to where our own horses were.
Freeman and I laid down to rest, while George got on a horse and kept circling the camp so as not to let any of the horses get away during the night. He kept this up until the morning star arose, and seeing that all the horses were there, laid down to rest. As soon as it was beginning to get light Freeman and I arose, started a fire, and sat around until after sun-up, when we got breakfast, made some coffee and then called George, and all enjoyed a good square meal once more.
After breakfast we scalped our Indians and found that we had eight good half-breed horses and a number of good horse-hair robes. I asked our guide how far we were from Fort Yuma and he said straight through it was one hundred and twenty miles, but the way that we would have to go it would be at least one hundred and fifty miles. I concluded we had better pull out for the fort so Freeman and myself rode ahead and George followed up the rear, driving the loose horses. We did not see any more Indian sign that day. Late in the evening I was riding along when I ran on to a young antelope. I shot him and we had fresh meat for supper for the first time since we left the fort. The next day we crossed a big Indian trail going east. The trail looked to be about two days old, but as our rations were beginning to run short we did not attempt to follow them, but pushed on to the fort, making as good time as possible, returning on the eleventh day from the time we started out.
I reported our success to the General. He was well pleased with the result of the trip, and when I reported the burying of the dead bodies, he thought we had better return to the spot, taking with us some good coffins, and give them a more decent burial, but on consulting the doctor, concluded in that extraordinarily hot climate it would be utterly impossible to bury them after so long a time, and the idea was abandoned.
I showed the two dress waists that I had found at the Apache camp to the General, also to Mrs. Jackson, but we never got any information of any white prisoners being taken there at that time.
The General was pleased to see the Indian scalps, as he said they were the first scalps that had been brought in for two months.
Gen. Crook now made up his mind at once to send Lieut. Jackson out on the road with two companies of cavalry, and George Jones and myself were to accompany them as scouts.
When we were ready to start Lieut. Jackson asked me if I didn't want more scouts, but I told him that I thought we could get along this trip with what we had.
We took the b.u.t.terfield route and followed that road until we were in the St. Louis mountains. This seemed to be at that time, a favorite part of the country for the Apaches to commit their depredations upon emigrants. We traveled very slowly as we had to pack our entire outfit on burros, and our saddle horses having to live altogether on gra.s.s, consequently we could not hurry. Early in the morning of the sixth day of that trip George and I started out in advance of the command, one to the right and the other to the left of the road, and if neither of us should see any signs of Indians we were to meet at the crossing of a certain stream only a few miles ahead of the command; and in the event of either of us arriving at the stream and waiting half an hour and the other did not make his appearance, he was to return at once with his force of scouts to the command. On arriving at the appointed spot and finding that George and his a.s.sistants were not there, we waited until we were convinced he was not coming and at once returned to the command.
On our return we learned that shortly after starting out that morning George had run on to a big Indian trail. Supposing it to be the same band of Indians whose trail we had crossed when returning from our other trip, he had reported to the command at once, and the trail being fresh, he, taking four other men, had started in pursuit, leaving word with Lieut. Jackson for me not to be uneasy about him nor attempt to follow him, but to remain with the command until I heard from him again.
While Lieut. Jackson was yet talking relative to the matter, I received a message from George saying that he had the Indians located some five miles from the road and wanted me to come and look the ground over before the command should start.
I at once mounted, and piloted by the man who had brought the message to me, rode to where George was. On arriving there I found the Indians so situated that it was impossible to ascertain the number from the fact that in this extraordinarily warm climate the Indians do not use any wick-i-ups or lodges, so that the only method by which we could make an estimate of their number was by counting the number of fires they had end calculate each fire to represent a certain number of Indians, this being our method of estimating them when in wick-i-ups, we reckoned their number to be one hundred and fifty.
Where these Indians were camped it would be utterly impossible to make an attack without being discovered long before reaching them, they being in a large valley.