I could fill a book larger than the one I am writing with true stories
of Indian raids and fights and massacres and captivities on this
frontier, but I refrain.
In my war story I gave an account of one of the most desperate fights,
where one who was kin of mine died, fighting bravely but hopelessly, and
I will briefly mention here that final “round up” of the hostile savages
of this section, the capture of Victorio and his band by the combined
troops of our country and Mexico, within forty miles of El Paso, just
twenty years ago. I give here an extract from a letter I wrote from El
Paso to Mrs. Mills at Austin, dated September 24th, 1880, as follows:
“If I had of late jumbled my accounts of Indians and war and politics
and killings and adventures and anecdotes all into one letter I might
have written one that would have interested all the good people at Fair
Oaks, ‘Chicos y Grandes.’ I wrote you from Fort Davis that the Indians
were gone. They were gone to the Candelerio Mountains, forty miles south
of Quitman, and they are there yet. Since then they have stolen two
herds of cattle from Dr. Samaniego, fifty miles from El Paso, killing
the herders. Yesterday a small band crossed the river at the Canutilla,
sixteen miles above here. Three days ago our troops and friendly Indians
crossed here into the land of God and Liberty to concentrate with other
forces who crossed below and above, to make a combined attack on
Victorio _today_. But the wiley chief may not be there. Considering the
number of his braves, he is the greatest commander, white or red, who
ever roamed these plains. For more than a year he has out-manoeuvered
our officers with six times his number and all the appurtenances of war,
and when he has not out-generaled them he has _whipped them_. In sober
truth, he is the veriest devil ‘that ere clutched fingers in a captive’s
hair.’”
(I regret that neither at the War Department at Washington nor elsewhere
have I been able to obtain an official account of the defeat of
Victorio’s band. The fight took place at Tres Castillas, southeast of El
Paso. Only the Mexican soldiers happened to be in at the death, although
our troops rendered valuable assistance on both sides of the boundary
line in getting Victorio into a position where he was forced to fight
either our troops or the Mexicans. Victorio and a hundred warriors were
killed on the field and as many Indians were made prisoners. Col.
Juaquin Terrazas of Chihuahua, a brave and skillful Indian fighter,
commanded the Mexican troops.)
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