Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1872-05-22
INDIAN MASSACRE.
The Massacre at HOward's Well, 1exas-
Details of the Horrible Affair.

ment, GetalilnS tne caPtue "
Mexicans and negroes combined, OF a
train ofsupplies en- route to Fort Stock
ton, at IIoward's well, near old Fort
Lancaster. he facts are reported to
General Augur by Colonel Merrill OF
the Ninth Cavalry, under date OF Fort
Clarke. Texas, April 90. are as follows
On the 2O:h inst ] arrived with the
cavalry of my command at howard
Well. few hours too late to prevent
one of the most horrible massacres that
has ever been perpetrated on this frontier
A Mexican train loaded with United
States comni.sary and ordnance stores,
on its way from San Antonio to Fort
Stockton, was attacked and taken by In
dams, plundered and burned. All the
people with the train. seventeen in num-
Der in all, were killed or wounded, ex
cept one woman.
Ny command Luried eleven bodies and
brought Iblee wounded men and one wo
man into this post. Before arriving at
tie burning train. the first int nation
we had of the terrible disaster WAS the
charred and blackencd corpses of four OF
the victims, but no one alive to tell the
horrors of the affair l supposed up to
this time tha; Captain Sheridan, with the
Infantry of my comm md, was in camp at
| Towards well, about mile from the
scene of massacre. and, while yet some
distance from the point, the smoke OF
the burning wagons was mistaken for bis
camp fires, and confirmed me in this be-
lief
knew. at least, that sergeant and
four men were at the we'll in charge of
forage The command moved rapidly
toward the well. when the sergeant in
charge of the detachment at that point
was met, and pointed out the course the
Indians had taken with the stolen ami
mails belonging to the train. In less time
than it takes to relate it the trail was
found and a rapid pursuit was at once
made by Companies A and II of the
Ninth Cavalry. commanded. respectively,
by Captain Cooney and Lieutenant Vim
cent.
After following the trail some seven
or eight miles the cavalry came upon the
Indians in force on the summit of
steep and almost inaccessible bluff Here
a sharp fight occurred in which Iregret
to say, Lieutenant Vincent fell morially
wounded while bravcly leading and at,
tempting to control his men. He died
shortly after returning to camp about
ten clock that night Captain Cooney
wa' painfully though not seriously mi ired
by his horse ia ling and dragging him
while moving at rapid gait He, how
ever remounted and retained his com
mand.
The men of bis company behaved |
very well, but in great part were re-
cruits without experience in Indian Fl yht |
ing. which was the Gaze in II Company |
to still greater extent They squan-
dcr"d their ammunition. as sometimes |
even older troops not well under control
will do with repeating or magazine arms
Lack of ammunition and supplies, as the
command was changing it station, with
limited transportation, made protracted
pursuit of the Indians impracticable
The escaped woman reports six Indi
ans killed in the fight. Words fail to
convey the sickening atrocities commit
ted by the demons, who overpowered the
train men. Several of them were taken
alive. tied to the wagons and burned.
An old woman was carried some dis
tance from the place of TIE attack, then
shot and seal ped.
Her grandciild had its ears cut off,
was seal ped and had its brains knocked
out. while her daughter. the m,ther of
the child, who witnessed all, as also the
death of her husband at the train, was
carried off by the fends. More than
one poor wretch crawled from the burn.
ing wagons after the ropes which bound
them had burned of, only.to be burned
to blackened, unrecognizable masses
with their charred bands aud faces raised
in positions Of entreaty.
The train had nine men with it. The
remainder of the party were women and
children. 1t is feared one woman was
taken away by the band, though it is
possible she, as well as the other BODY
unaccounted for, was burned to ashes
with the wagons.
1t is reported that the band cosisted of
from one hundred and twenty to one
hundred and fifty men, and was com
posed Of Indians, Mexicans. aud de
serters from the army A number of
arms and supplies of ammunition were
taken from the train by the band before
burning it. How many arms | canno.
say. 1t was the supply lately sent from
the arsenal at San Antonio to fort Stock
ton
General Augur, in forwarding this re- .
port, expresses the opinion that the In
dians came from Mexico, and this belief I
Is sustained by the fact That Mexicans
were with them. and deserters from col ;