, 1861-04-01

kE1Qm Lha tsoche8Eet UetnpC4[1
Mr.. Jehn Weed, late conductor on The Over
laid naii Route thfough ::s1ss;;. A1izona, &c:
whose arrival III Rochester We noticed ii Hon
days Democrat and American. called on us
yesterday. 10 all appearance be fas not de-
Perforated any in Physical powers ftnce ae
left home, but bis story, which agrees Win aA
Others We have heard, representa- the service
qf the Overland Company as not aoo1nong
IN insecure PLACES p NohodY shou1d enter1t Tao
Weed came home because the COMPANY tad
been compelled to abandon the route IN co4so-
qnence OF the difficulties in Texas and New
Mexico, It IL possible that line Of coaches
will shortly be started from st. Je, ln Missouri,
in which case he may talIe s position there.
He reports general demoraliz stlon OF society
in western Texas. There il q strong secession
feeling on the border. aad In Ell Paso, the pop.
Hlar vote tfa9 something like 800 tor secesatons
whi}e there were not More than zo0 Toteta u
the district. Gambling and fighting sfe 1ne
principal occupations pursued Thb hangers
are nothing more than reckless bandits.
Since January the Indians have been very
the CompanS's men have been killed aud
formerly % Il RdsSesisss, @ s,S Hho " Wss SHOT
the leg, and ia still laid up. Early in te6rnkr
~ there was , formidable difficulty ct Apache
Pass, IN which a young: man named James
Wallace WAS killed by the saEsgea, and several
Others wounded. Another yonng man NAMED
Welch WEB caselessly shot by soldier. Wal
lace was taken prisoner By the savages, WHO
numbered about one hundred, and led within
two hundred yards Of the: station, where sev-
entY-dFe United States soldiers we're asseId4
bled, Under the command of one Lleutenant
Rascom. This ssgallant" officer Ksntuek-
ian-refnted to at erupt Wallace's rescue,
though the poor fellow c1led for assistance,
ft.a 71yr hNrh .
death. Welch met his fate while trying to get
into the "corral," from which he had been ac-
cidental[y excluded. One Of the soldiers mis-
took him for an Indian and shot him through
the head.
= At the, time this ef7ait oecnrred, Mr., Weed
Nas en- the road with his coach, and the gen
eral superstition Was that he would never get
in. His party only consisted Of himself and
driver and one passenger. Five days after the
attack, however, he reached Apache Pass, all
safe, no attempt having been made to molest
him. The day following he resumed his route,
and got through without trouble. He bad
r. an escort qf Tqounted goldieIs, IsM mnest ilest
hnt Venathe rest Of tbs. way without pro
lection. s. ~
Nj. Weed informs us tAat the United States
troops on the Overland Knnte are much less
seryiceable than they might be, if well com-
manded. Some of the officers are destitute Of
pluck, md 1t is not uncommon for the men
under their command to speak Of them In dis
peragipg terms. on that aceo11nt:. An old sol
dier, who had held the FanR Of Sergeant, 7as
IN employe Of the company, with Mr.. Weed,
and informed the latter that the officers in
command of parties sent out to Ehastise In
dian depredators, would frequently take meas-
ures t4 warn the enemy Of the approach of the
troops, SO IS to give the savages chance to
escape, and avoid the risks Of g fight. One
favotite method of doing this is to order halt
aa soon IS the fndian camp fs aiscoTered, and
pretend that 1t ii nsceSsar5 to test while ;be.
fore making the attack. The 'gallant" cflcessN
orders 8 bullock to be shot for supper, causes
fires to be lighted to cooh it, and remains in
camp over night, intending, as he agoWs, to
assault the eayages, and smite them, hip
and thigh, in the early morning. OF
course the noldiers 1aEEh in their b1eeres,
for they know that the real design Of their
'sbrave'' commander Is tc let the Indians find
out that q foe ii in the 1eighborhood. This il
accomplished By the noise 1nade in: Ekootlng
tho bullock, and BY the glare Of thefree- The
Indians take the hint, and before daylight their
camp is vacated, and they are twenty mlles
away, with al their baggage. The "herolc"
officer in command Of the troops, is, ofcourse,
furious to think that he has been cheated out
ofa brush with the enemy, and returns to
headquarters, where he yentllates his regrets
among Ills brother officers, aud tells what he
aaoslG have dche It be htdn't done what he
did do. e.
Has 1t never seemed strapge to any Of cur
readers, that while we hear somewhat frequent
~ Of attacks upon predatory Indians by armed
bands Of settlers, on the limits OF our western
civilization, it is extremely rare that any com
bat Of the sort eyer takes Place in which United
States troops a75 engageds