The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1871-07-06
FROM NEW MEXICO.

!. trophy IN the WlgWaln OF some Apache brave
a MCCARTY's Rancho, near
CUBERo, N. NJ, June 2fst, 1871. {
: - = X y I am safe and well, as is all of the
a party. We got back here to our wagon four
days ago at IL o'clock in the evening, nearly
. ''played out" and have spent the time since
! our return in cleaning up and resting, which
we know how to enjoy assure you. y n
in by party of Navahoes who saw large
party of Apaches on our track near the Ration
. Canon, in Mogollon mountains, which Canon
, we entered and having got sight of the Indians
on our trail, were on continual alert. Our
3 party took turns watching their movements
) and signals made by smoke in day-ti and
fire by night built on high places. They can
thus convey almost any intelligence they
choose over the whole territory or section Of
country, in which they have these signal sta
tions established. One morning there was
signal sent up within five hundred yards of
our party. but it would have taken miles of
travel to have got to the spot on which it
was made; it was answered in a few minutes
by party of redskins twenty miles away.
Their system of signaling is complete-they
can give the number, direction in which
party is travelling, ETC., perfectly Ineligible
to each other; but we set fire to every patch
! of grass that we came to and in a short time
had it so smoky that their signals got slight
~ mixed. Then we went to retrograding and
twisting around until finally we got com.
tWenty.six days to reach point that we
should have reached in eight. We had start
ed, twenty-six of us, with thirty days. pro.
visions. Our supply Of salt and grease had
given out shoes about worn out animals
badly off, when we began to think about get
ting out of the wilderness somewhere. We
had been going down what we took for the
Rio Bonita, Wading it thirty-ive times the
first day, and forty three the next-water
about knee deep, and stony bottom which
caused our donkeys to stumble a great deal,
consequently wetting our flour, blankets, etc.
Finally we arrived at point recognized by
one of our Mexican guides as an old Indian
trail coming in from "Old Fort West" about
three days travel away. We gladly took the
trail, and in three days struck the ella just
above the Fort, which is now deserted.
Pinos Altos, Silver City or Fort Bayard were
then our nearett points to get provisions. We
had been without salt or bacon for sixteen
days, and were eating bread made from flour
and water alone, and a few beans, without
salt. Occasionally we captured fish or q
turkey, but with our scant facilities for sea
soning they went rough, i can tell YOU. Il
believe [ would have run the risk of captivity
| if had known that by the operation could
have secured handful of salt. After leaving
| the ella we struck Pinos Altos in two DAYS
and half, and disbursed from the Company
fund.- ten cents for pound of rock salt. I
filed my mouth full of the precious CRYSTALS
and did nothing but drink straight water the
/
Then for Cubero via the old conner mines
and Fort Craig. At the old copper mines can
be seen shafts sunk hundreds OF years ago by
Montezuma's subjects, and remains of some
of the old furnaces and pottery then in use
Finally we reached this rancho after forty
five days of the hardest tramping ever want
| in this or any other country being on the
wing all the time, and continually on the
watch, having our rifles at halfcOck even
while we slept, wore us down and almost de-
moralized the whole party. - - wanted
to enlist at Fort Bayard and thus get rid OIL
| the continual tramp which was wearing him |
out, but dissuaded him alters deal of talk |
| ing, and he stuck through to Fort Craig. at
which place l found, after we had started out. |
| that he had remained behind with his blank |
cts. went back to the Fort and found he |
was bound to enlist, so signed his guardian
papers. He joined ''K'' company, 18th in |
fantry, which has the reputation of being the |
| finest company in the regiment and of hav- |
| ing the best officers. After leaving - at |
O'Clock p. M, made twenty five miles by II |
o'clock and overlook the party in camp.
| The Rio Grande valley is tie only produc-
| tive portion of New Mexico that have vet
seen, and that is only narrow strip of from |
one quarter to three quarters Of mile wide. |
a level fiat which in the past has been sub.
! iect to overflow. From this fiat rises another
table but very few feet higher, so yery
barren that prairie dog wouldn't burrow in |
| it this desert runs back to the mountains |
which contain the richest deposits of gold, |
silver, copper, coal etc., but scarce of water. |
At Silver City they show specimens which
assay 81 to one pound Of rock ; still perbans
even the man who possesses a lode like this |
may atthe same time be working in the creek
diggings near Pinos Altos, and perhaps pet- |
ting out just enough to pay for provisions and |
Ipoor clothes but he is watching his silver
lead and waiting inpatiently for the CAPITAL
Fist to come In, or for the great civilizer-the
| railroad-which they expect in about two
years. In two or threeyears this country is |
IsgOing to develope great riches, especially in |
! the silver line, but there are a lot of Door
| devils who have made the discoveries and
have got to be bought out. The IN
dams are SO troublesome that a man in this
section is hardly safe in calling his hair his
own. Their thieVish propensities are born in |
them, and their greatest temptations are
horses and cows. Settlers here corralI their
cattle for the night in their summer kitchens.
and they are not safe there. Within the past
three weeks the Apaches of the Covotero
tribe have burst out of their reservation near
Camp Thomas and tookgall of the stock. cav
airy stock and all, leaving the cavalry force
at that post dlSmOunted. They are not talk
ing any vigorous measures to put them back
II but the Quaker agents are irving to invent
some new toy with which to coax them bach.
There is. great indignation felt by settlers at
the manner in which Indian affairs are
{handled. If they can steal out of their re-
Iservation and commit the most heinous de.
predations and get. back in, although thew are
traced to the very lines, they are safe-their
agents generally get them out of the fix.
i They subject themselves to no authority but
Headquarters at Washington. The entire
military force now in New Mexico amounts
to two very Observation-Disclosures cavalry
and the 10Th ipfantry-and the lions share Of
this force is massed at Fort Union far away
from the frontier They are safe there.
1t was reported here at Cubero that the
E.Apaches had us cooped up in the Ration
Canon, sinsthe Mogollon mountai and that
i'm alf probability we must surrender from