New Orleans Republican., 1872-05-22
COLONEL DlERRITT's REPORT.

OQ the tWenUleUl instant arrived with
the cavalry of my command, at Howard 5
wells, few hours too late TO prevent one
of the most horrible massacres that has
ever been perpetrated on this frontier. A
| Mexican team, loaded with United States
commissary and ordnance stores, on its
way from San Antonio to Fort Stockton,
was attacked by Indians, plundered and
burned.
All the people with the the train, seven
teen souls in all, were killed or wounded
except one woman. My command buried
eleven bodies and brought three men and
one woman into the post.
Before arriving at the burning train, the
first intimation we had of the horrible dis
aster was the charred and blackened
corpses Of some of the poor victims, but no
one was alive to tell the horrors of the
affair.
l supposed up to this time that Captain
Sheridan, with the infantry Of my command
was in camp at Howard's well, about a mile
from the scene of the massacre; and, while
vet some distance from the point, the smoke
of the burning wagons, mistaken for his
camp fires, confirmed me in this belief. L
knew at least that a sergeant and four men
were at the well in charge of forage.
The command moved rapidly toward the
well, when the sergeant in charge of the de-
tachment at that point was met and pointed
out the course the Indians had taken with
the stolen animals belonging to the train.
In less time than it takes to relate the
trail was found, and a rapid pursuit at once
made by companies a and II of the Ninth
Cavalry commanded respectively by Cap
tain Cooney and Lieutenant Vincent.
After following the trail some seven or
eight miles the cavalry came up on the Indi-
ans in force on the summit Of a steep and
almost impossible bluff.
Here sharp fight occurred, in which l
regret to say Lieutenant Vincent fell, NOR
tally wounded, while bravely leading and
attempting to control his men. He died
shortly after returning to camp, about ten
O'Clock that night. Captain COoney was
painfully, though not. seriously, injured by
his horse falling while moving at rapid
gait. lie, however, remOunted and re-
turned to his command. The men of his
company behaved very we'll, but, being in
great part recruits, without experience IN
Indian fighting, which was the case in Com.
pany ii to still greater extent, they squan-
dered their ammunition. Lack of ammunl-
tom made protracted pursuit of the In
dians impracticable.
A woman who escaped reports that six
Indians were killed in the fight Words
fail to convey an idea Of the sickening
atrocities committed by the demons. who
overpowed the train men.
Several of them were taken alive tied to
the wagons and burned. An old woman
was carried some distance from the place
of attack, and then shot and soalped. Her
grandchild had its ears cut OFT, was scalped,
and had its brains dashed out, while her
daughter, the mother of the child, who wit
messed it all, as also the death Of her hus-
band at the train, was carried off by the
hends.
More than one poor wretch crawled from
the burning wagons after the ropes which
bound them had burned off, only to burn to
blaekened, unrecognizable masses, with
their charred hands and faces raised in
positions Of entreaty.
The train had nine men with IL. The re-
mainder of the party were women and
children. 1t is feared that one woman was
taken away by the band, though it is posi-
bic that she, as well as other bodies unac-
counted for, was burned to ashes with the
wagons.
General Augur, in his report, EXPIRE sses
the opinion that the Indians came from
Mexico, and this belief is sustained by the
fact that Mexicans and deserters from
cOlored regiments were with them, such
deserters universally escaping into Mexico.