INDIAN WARFARE IN CALIFORNIA
One of America's great naval commanders--Captain Henry Augustus
Wise--made use of the opportunity afforded him by the Mexican War of
1846-7 to collect material for a very engrossing account of some
Indians concerning whom little was then known: the coast Comanches of
Lower California and Mexico. The Captain--a cousin of Governor Wise of
Virginia, and an intimate friend of Rear-Admiral Wilkes--was at that
time second lieutenant of the man-of-war _Independence_, a steamship
which was cruising between San Francisco and the Gulf of California.
His first acquaintance with the Western redskins was when he was sent
ashore at Monterey, a hundred and twenty miles south of San Francisco,
to reconnoitre the country and offer protection--or, if need be, a
means of escape--to any United States subjects settled in the
district. Let it be remembered that the California of that day was
vastly different even from the California of two years later. Its
hidden gold was only known to the Comanches and other Shoshonee
tribes, and a few Mexican Spaniards; Monterey was still the capital,
while "Frisco" was but a little market-town; above all, the Yankees
had as yet scarce more than a foothold in the state, the greater part
of it being (till the end of that war) under Mexican sway; and the
coast Indians had not yet had their own virtues knocked out of them
and replaced by the vices of the white diggers of '49.
Lieutenant Wise and his boat's crew, on leaving the town, began to
make their way down-country between the coast and the Buonaventura
River, relying for hospitality mainly on the American settlers, many
of whom did a thriving and regular trade in skins. They found the
district tolerably quiet, though there were reports of various fierce
battles between the Comanches and their old enemies the Apaches, many
of the latter being, it was said, in the pay of the Mexicans. It was
at a trappers' camp that Wise heard this piece of news, a queer little
circle of log-huts erected on a wide clearing in one of the river
forests which they came upon by accident late one afternoon. The
trappers--all of them American or American-Irish--gave a very cordial
welcome to the little party, though they would not at first admit the
necessity for their offer of protection.
"See here," said one of them. "The Mexicans are shifting down south
right hard, and all you're likely to see, you've seen in Monterey.
Your ship, or else some other, has bombarded Santa Barbara already;
and, like as not, is clearing San Diego out by now. As for the
redskins, take an old stager's advice and let 'em fight it out
theirselves. There's one lot we'd like very well to get hold of, but
the rest we don't vally a cuss."
"Who are they?" asked Wise, sitting down to the meal of grilled
deer's meat that was set before him.
"More'n we can tell ye. Some o' that coyotero lot that have learned to
use a rifle; for gun-stealing and horse and rifle-lifting they've got
no living ekals. Last week they killed two of our fellows at a camp up
the river; scalped 'em; broke open the magazine, and got away with all
the powder and lead, as well as half a dozen spare guns. 'Twas no good
the rest going to look for 'em when they came home; p'raps they were
half a hundred miles away by then."
"I've had orders to seize all firearms found on Indians," said the
lieutenant.
"And don't forget it," said one of his hosts. "Take my word, them
guns, and a good many hundreds beside, have gone down-country to the
Mexicans; and the Injuns are allowed to keep all the horses and eat
all the mules for their reward."
"Eat the mules?"
"What else? What _won't_ Apaches eat, for that matter? How do you
reckon they come to be called _coyoteros_? Half of 'em 'd live on
coyotes" (prairie wolves) "and never touch anything more Christian, if
they had their way. Well; I s'pose we'll get a visit from 'em next; so
far we've lost nothing but horses."
"Are all of you in camp now?" asked Wise. At present he had only seen
fourteen men.
"No; there's six gone across the river to trade for horses; for,
barring what they're riding, we've only got one left, and he's sick.
If the redskins come ever so, we can't run after 'em."
"I can stay till the day after to-morrow, if you think they're likely
to come within that time. I daren't stay longer, for we're to join the
ship at San Diego on the twenty-sixth."
"Wal; there's eleven of you, and that's a big help; we shan't say no,"
said the head trapper. "They might come to-night; might not come for
another six months. You needn't fear for your men's rations; they
won't starve."
When bed-time came, Wise posted five sentries, who were to be relieved
after four hours' duty, and went to the hut set aside for him with his
mind at ease. He was in his first sleep, when he became drowsily
conscious that the report of a rifle was fitting itself into his
dreams. Too tired after his long march to be much affected by it, he
was sleeping peacefully on, when the familiar, hoarse voice of the
boatswain roused him effectually.
"Guard, turn out!--All hands on deck; come on, there."
Sailor-like, he was on his feet and into his boots in a couple of
seconds, and was running out, sword in hand, before the cry could be
repeated.
"Hy-yah; hy-yah!" someone was shouting; and the boatswain was
answering grimly:
"Yes; _we'll_ 'hy-yah' ye. Git off'n them horses will ye?"
By the firelight Wise could make out three mounted Indians, a fourth
on foot, and, near him, a dead horse that had, no doubt, fallen before
the sentry's rifle. Around them stood his ten sailors, every man with
his rifle covering one or other of the redskins; while the trappers,
less accustomed to abrupt night-calls, appeared more slowly, rubbing
their eyes and cocking their guns.
"Hy-yah! Hy-yah, Mason!" Again the high-pitched nasal voice.
The head trapper, who came stumbling out of his hut, shouted a few
words in the Shoshonee dialect, and, immediately after:
"Don't fire, there; don't let 'em fire, Mr. Wise; they've copped the
wrong men. These are friends; Comanches," and a great laugh from the
trappers echoed over the camp.
"I challenged 'em first," said the sentry who had fired. "How was _I_
to know who they was?"
Mason, the chief trapper, spoke for a moment or two with the redskin
who had hailed him; then signed to him and his companions to take
their seats by the fire.
"Stop here, Lootenant, will you? They want to have a bit of a palaver
with us."
As they dismounted, Wise could see that the Comanches were tall,
well-made men, very different from the Creeks and Choctaws of the
Atlantic coast. All had moccasins, and three of them wore sleeveless
jackets of leather; while the fourth was habited in a magnificent
"buffalo" robe. Each had either the tail of a polecat or a bunch of
leather snippings in lieu of it, tied to either heel; the front half
of their moccasins was painted blue, the other half red. But what
struck the officer most forcibly was the remarkable thickness and
length of the Indians' hair, which descended almost to their heels.
Alas for human vanity; three parts of those tresses were false; their
own hair and somebody else's, together with a liberal supply of
horses' tails, were all matted together with fat, and secured at the
top by their feather head-dresses.
Mason approached the subject in curt, business-like fashion, rapidly
translating to the rest all that the Indians said, and cutting very
short the embroideries, formalities, and courtesy-titles contained in
their address. It appeared that Comanche scouts had reported a march
of the Apaches towards their own camp; they were several hundred
strong, and were coming across country from the Rio del Norte
direction.
"Last time we drove them away with great slaughter," continued the
Comanche chief; "but they are more now, and many of them have guns;
they are more confident too, for our scouts learn that they have
inflicted a great defeat on white men."
"Ask him whereabouts," said Wise hurriedly.
"In Sonora, it is understood."
"Surely he doesn't expect us to join him?" muttered Wise.
"No; no sich thing. He's only come to say he's moving his camp from
the Buonaventura, so that we mustn't rely on help from his tribe as
heretofore, until they've met and whipped the Apaches. His tribe have
always been the best o' friends with us. Say, it'll _be_ a battle; not
a make-believe; but bear in mind what I said; keep out'n it."
"If these Apaches are coming from the del Norte, they'll probably not
be the same as the ones we expect."
"Never no tellings; they're here to-day, and goodness knows where
to-morrow."
"Then I'll stay as long as I said," answered the lieutenant; and he
went back to finish his night's rest.
When he turned out in the morning the Comanches had long gone and the
trappers were discussing plans, some advocating going about their work
as usual, since the seamen were there to guard the camp; the rest
insisting that both parties ought to lie hidden within the camp and
give it the appearance of being entirely deserted. As the Apaches,
being mounted, would have such an enormous advantage, whether in the
open field or in eluding pursuit, Wise and Mason decided upon the
latter course, and positions were being assigned to the men, when, all
in a moment, a dozen rifles blazed out from beyond the edge of the
clearing; bullets rattled against the huts, and two of the trappers
fell back wounded.
A roar of vengeance rose from all except the sailors, who, catching
their officer's eye, at once sent an answering volley among the
trees.
"They're on foot," screamed one trapper as he snatched up his gun and
ran like a madman across the clearing. "Come on, boys; there they
go."
"Fall in," said Wise shortly; then turned to Mason. "This is a bad
business for you chaps--but we must go to work in a proper fashion.
You can spot their trail better than we; go on, we'll follow you."
With the exception of the delirious person who had already gone in
pursuit, the trappers collected in an orderly manner, each man swiftly
examining his stock of ammunition and snatching up whatever food lay
to hand; and all were ready to start at a sign from Mason.
The noisy man was soon caught up with, bidden to hold his tongue and
go back to attend to his two wounded comrades, and the chase began in
good earnest. Every trapper had his special business to attend to, for
the trail of each Indian had to be discovered, and, from the fact that
all the twelve men were soon following a separate course, Wise
gathered that the redskins had more or less dispersed in their flight.
He merely occupied himself with keeping his men together, and as
nearly as possible in touch with all of the trappers. For half an hour
they proceeded at an easy trot, and so came to a long, narrow pool.
Mason gave a single whistle and stopped, and everyone closed in on
him.
"Strangers," he murmured. His mates knew what he meant. The redskins
had halted here in doubt about the depth; the stillness of the water
showed that it had not been disturbed recently, and the trail proved
that they had turned both left and right. "Three of you cross; if you
don't signal in two minutes we shall divide and follow both trails."
The men knew well enough that just here the pool was but five feet
deep at the very most, and three of them ran through it. Mason took
out his watch, and, just after the final second had expired, a whistle
was heard ahead. The main trail had been found. With their guns held
high above their heads, the Yankees slid down the bank and crossed the
water, and the double began again.
"Without they've got horses waiting for 'em, this looks like a
'find,'" said Mason over his shoulder. "We shall come slap on to the
prairie this way; and that's as level as a billiard-table for nigh on
ten miles; and we've gained a rare big pull in crossing the pond."
It was as he had said; in about another half-hour the forest came to
an abrupt end.
"There they go," shouted one excitable man; and this time a cheer rose
from the sailors. The Indians, twelve of them, were scarcely a mile
away, walking and running by turns, and to all appearances beginning
to knock up, though they made a fresh spurt at sight of their
pursuers.
The lieutenant now felt himself in a difficult position. These
trappers had seen two of their friends shot down--perhaps killed--only
an hour or so ago; and, though the average man of Anglo-Saxon blood
(save him of cheap and nasty melodrama) is far too manly a fellow to
be able to nourish revenge for an indefinite period, he may be a
dangerous customer while the memory of a grievance is still fresh.
Wise badly wanted the fugitives' muskets; he wanted to arrest the
owners of them; if need were, to hang them, in requital of their
murderous attack; but he did not want to see them riddled with bullets
and hacked with bowie-knives by men wild with passion.
"I think you'd better leave this to us now," he whispered to Mason,
who was a man open to reason. The old trapper shook his head,
however.
"I wish I could," he said, "but it's no use trying. They've got a good
many old scores against the varmints, and this one coming atop--Wal!"
"Then it's going to be a race," said the lieutenant, with decision;
and he bade his men quicken their double, in the faint hope of their
being able to outrun the trappers. But, as things turned out, the
difficulty was removed from his hands. For some few minutes he had
noticed a thick mass of moving figures across the plain some distance
farther to the left than the point for which the Indians were making.
At first he had taken them for cattle; but, on closer inspection, he
saw that they were mounted men. He pointed them out to Mason, who was
now twenty yards behind.
"Yes; I see 'em," he shouted. "It's a battle; Comanches and Apaches, I
count."
In the sailors' excitement they almost forgot the objects of their
pursuit, though these were again showing unmistakable signs of
breaking down.
"Now, lads; one good spurt and we'll be within range," said Wise.
"Never mind about what's going on over there."
But it was not in human nature not to watch what could be seen of the
combat; Wise himself could not resist the temptation; one side was
already taking flight, shooting at their pursuers as they went; and
the two forces formed, with Wise's men, two converging lines which
would very soon meet.
"The Apaches have had enough; they're making for the mountains, and
this here other lot of reptiles'll get away on the first horses they
can come near," shouted Mason from behind.
In a few minutes the first of the Indian forces was only half a mile
away from the sailors' line of march. No doubt they had come to the
hopeless stage in Indian warfare; the stage at which all arrows or
bullets have been shot away and it is a question either of close
fighting--for which they have neither strength nor stomach--or of
flight. But, strangely enough, the Indians on foot made no attempt to
join their brethren; instead, they wheeled more than ever to the
right.
For the next few minutes, things were little more than a confused blur
to Wise; the dust was flying; he scarcely knew one party from the
other; he was bewildered by the yelling of both, and by the lightning
speed at which pursued and pursuers moved; in fact, he knew nothing
definitely till a shout of triumph arose from the trappers behind.
"_Got 'em!_"
The Comanches, abandoning the hope of overtaking their enemy, had
wheeled suddenly, and closed round the twelve scattering Apaches who
were on foot.
"Guess it's out of our hands now, anyway," said Wise to the boatswain.
Just then two of the Comanches turned their horses and cantered up to
the sailors; at the same time the trappers joined them from behind,
impelled by curiosity; and Wise heard old Mason talking with one of
the men who had entered the camp the night before.
"He says, does the young white chief--that's _you_, gov'nor--want them
Mexicans? If not, they calculate _they_ can find a use for 'em."
"_Mexicans?_" said Wise.
"Ay; what do ye think of 'em? Mexican spies and gun-runners, dressed
and painted up as Apaches, as I'm a sinner. If we'd had a redskin with
us he'd ha' seen through 'em in a jiff."
The pseudo-Apaches were soon bound and, despite the protest of the
trappers, taken in charge by Wise, who handed them over to the first
military picket he met. They were one of the many parties sent out by
the Mexicans to steal guns, ammunition, horses, and information, and
had visited the trappers' camp that morning in the hope of making a
haul of weapons. Finding it garrisoned they had run away again,
venting their disappointment in a hasty volley at the men who wore the
Government uniform, secure, as they flattered themselves, from pursuit
through the trappers' having no horses. Lieutenant Wise had many more
exciting adventures before that war was ended, but these did not again
bring him in touch with the warfare of redskins, whether genuine or
sham.