Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1868-08-10
QDbiio Statesnlaa,.
NEW MEXICO

=
sss1bba niwNEW MEXICO 7aa9 noH
-lof as ,seuesi Iaei1 100 .--.5 i6-.n slfo5e 'o9
from an Occasional Correspondence 80.
-=m9iqs2 .ysissrT ytas--- ii'l ~ ts' -,
7a Ny, last. letter mentioned the "Tor-
NADIA" or Tourney of DEATH" which it
has lately been my luck to have to cross
again. Starting fromlFort Selden about
5 o'clock in the afternoon we, rode all
night and arrived soon after day break
at the spot from which we had sent our
animals to the Rio Grande for water, -
This time our whole little partyIproceed-
ed in that direction, because we had to
visit Fort McRae,J Situated among the
mountains close to the, river As5we
proceeded the sun beiamed intolerably
hot and our poof animals were suffering
from thirst and fatigue. We were, there
fore, much relieved at the sight Of. the
hiAss which Indicated . the sxisinityi of
theuwater. and gaveztis IA lapfospect for RE-
cruiting from the ride which,Zwith the
interruption of one hours rest, had lasted
fully twentyrtwo hours. 81 Fort Nc Rae
.waspestablished for the special benefit of
the Indians, who are constantly lurking
round in that vicinity and the surround
ing country, is indeed calculated for a
place of resort of theredskins.o 2 As the
road winds, itself through . the dus-
ky canons, you find fright and
left a number Of rocks irregularly
piled up by nature, or cluster of low
trees, behind either Of which a gang Of
savages may Be lurking, hiding away
from you while they know themselves
to be in the minority, and only ready to
showetAemselves when they ere prepar-
ed for dash ON their; ;enemy,d There is
spot in the, vicinity of that fort, only
known to Indians and to the; military
stationed there, which offers, an easy.
crossing Of the Rio Grande, and ofiwhich
the sayages avail themselves for run
ming of the live stock stolen from the
white men. The ,aborigines are SO bold
ii that vicinity that, only week preyi7
Gus to our arrival, few of them crept,
up, in, broad daylight; to the herd ofcav-
airy horses, which were grazing in the
very sight of headquarters, killed two of
our soldiers acting as guard to the
horses, and ran off the latter to the num-
beri ofltwenty five, before the garrison'of
the fort could even recover from. their
surprise. The stock was never arecov-
cred, and the Indians are constantly re-.
lpeating their flying visits to the fort,
with q hope Of being equally successful
with fresh supplies of saddle-horses, for
which they have a decided predilection,
ine preference to mules. The scenery
among those mountains is exceedingly
romantic in its wildness. There is a
certain fascination. in rowing among
those hills, not that equally romantic
sceneries could not be found in more
civilized regions, but perhaps because
that region is not much trodden
by the foot of the white man. and
because, the redskin looks at it
as his exclusive property 1t was near
that fort that the wife of Colonel Pfeif-
fer was captured and killed by, the In
dians a few years ago. Pfeiffer, whom
I am personally acquainted with, is a
celebrity on.the frontier. Born in Ger
many, he came to this country more than
aquartersof a. a century ago and has serv-
ed his adopted country ever since, in
various capacities AS guide through
then wilderness, and through passes
known only to him and the Indians, he
has done invaluable service, and after
having entered the ranks as a private,
he has gradually succeeded in eleyating
himself to the rank of Lieutenant Col
pnel, in the regiment-of the famous Kit
Carson, who died lately in Fort Lyon
Pfeifferis now man1of more than go
years, but heis still the terror of the
IndiansH They know his rife and fear
him, for his aim never fails, and he has
particular reasons for being their enemy,
since his wife was whipped. to death by
them. About nine miles from Fort Me-
Rae is q sulphur spring, which Pfeiffer
was in the habit of bathing in.2 One
day he started with his wifeand IA small
escort to that spot, and was getting out
of the water when a gang of Navahoes
surprised them and killed several men on
the spot. They also secured his wife
and held her in front Of them, so as to
prevent the Colonel, at that time Cap
tain, from firing at them! During the
engagement few Of the sayages Stole
up behind him and shot an arrow
throagh his body, SO that the point came
out in front right under the heart, but
the weapon, ncin spite of his efforts,
could not be pulled OUT Hotly pursued
he ran towards the river, crossed it and
fed to an elevated spot, where he piled
up stones as a barricade against the ap-
preaching enemy, whom he thus held at
bay for upa0drds Of sac hours, and all
that under the burning sun, without any
clothes on his back and with the arrow
in his body. Finally, when he was al
most exhausted, he saw a detachment
of his command approaching, which
made the Indians take to their heels to-
gether with their prisoner, the Colonel's
wife. Being unable to run fast enough,
she was whipped by the Indians until
she sank down a corpse. The Colonel
was in the meantime taken back to the
fort by few of his men and remained
lin state of Inconsistencies for more
than six weeks The skin had all peal
, ed off his body from the effects of the
sun and but for his iron constitution he
would certainly have succumbed to the
bodily and mental pain inflicted on him.
Ever since then the Indians have paid
dearly for the outrage committed by
them. Night and day has he followed
their trail, shooting down the best and
bravest of them, and allowing himself
no rest until he has in his pursuit, caught
up with his victims and killed them
He started on trip through the noun
tains one day in company Of man to
whom he gave various directions, as they
were riding along together, as to his
conduct in case Of a fight with the In