Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1879-04-02


person, with no better success. Never.
lheless. peace was made in 1861, and
the Indians and soldiers seemed for a
while on very good terms. The peace
WAS of short duration.
How the war was renewed in thus re-
| tied by an eyewitness to the scene he
describes in an official report to the
Adutant.General of the Department:
Some time during the month OF Sep
tember. 1861, as near as can recollect,
horse-racing was frequent at Fort Fault-
leroy, New Mexico. and high bet, made
bv officers and Navajoe Indians at the
post. The Nayajoe Indians appeared
at that time to be very friendly to the
Government; they visited the post by
hundreds every day, and were rationed
on meat and -four. The friendly feeling
of the Naysjoes was kept up until the
time of the horse races. There were
three different races, the third race in
order to give the Indians satisfaction.
Large bets, larger than either Of the
otLer races, made on both sides.
The Indians Aocked in by hundreds,
women and children, some OF them
mounted on ponies, richly dressed. and
all appeared to be there to see the rae
and not with any hostile intention. The
troops IN the post had orders to be un-
der arms, but they might 90 to the gate
. see the race. About noon the race
came off. Lieutenant Ortiz rode DR..
Kavanaugh's horse. The Indians
horse did not run a hundred yards be-
fore it ran off the track. The report
WAS that the Indians brldle broke
The Indians then said the race was not
fair. and that the bets should be drawn;
the opposite party, not satisfied with
the proposition, would not give up
what they had won, and consequently
commanding officer gave orders not to
allow the Navajoes inside the post.
The horse was taken inside the post,
followed by the whole winning party.
the drums beating, 6tes and iddles
screeching, &C., &c. SO the procession
went whoopiug and hallooing to receive
the part they had won. Finally. whilst
thus occupied, a shot was fired. Every
man then ran 10 arm himself. Com
panIes did not regularly form, but every
man ran wherever be thought fit. The
shot was fred on account OF Private
Morales, sentinel No. 2, opposing an
Indians entrance to the post. 1t was
SAID the Indian was intoxicated, and
tried to force his way past the sentinel.
At that instant the shot was fired and
the Indian fell.
AS soon as this was ascertalned, the
Nayajoes, squaws and children, ran IN
IN all directions, and were shot and
bayoneted. 1 succeeded in fsrmIne
,mt twenty men,-it being very hard
,. aDOr,N then marched out to the
east side of the posi-, - ~ ga" a
soldier numbering two little children
and a woman. Ihallooed Immediately
to the soldier to stop. He locked up
but did not obey my order. l ran up as
auick as l could, but could net get there
soon enough to prevent him from killing
the two innocent children and woundlng
severely the squaw.
Meantime the Colonel had given
orders to the officer Of the day to have
the artillery (mountain howitzers)
brought out and to open upon the
Indians.
After the massacre there were no
more Indians to be seen about the post,
with the exception Of a few squaws.
fayorites of the officers. The CON-
manding officer endsavored TO max c
peace again with the Nayajoes by send
lng some of the favorite squaws 10 talk
with the chiefs; but the only satisfaction
the sQuaws received was a good flog-
glng.'
Fer some time after this event the
,reops were too busily esgaged in re-
pelllng the Texas invasion to give
much attention to the Indians, but in
the tall of 1862 General Candy was sue
ceeded in command of the district BY
Gen. James II. Carleton, who in the
summer OF 1868 set on foot vigorous
operations against the Navajoes. The
campaign was led by Col. Christopher
Carson, with a regiment of New Mexico
volunteers and hundred Apache allies,
and was entirely successful in reducing
the Navajoes to starvation and submis-
sion.
A briefaccount ofhis operation, gwen
by Col. Carson, is graphic, and gives a
good idea of the country and msde OF
living of the Navsjoes.
when l campaigued against them
eight months l found them scattered
over a country several hundred miles in
-.
There are canons in their country
miles in length, with walls a thousand
feet high, and IN war it is imposs-
ible for troops to pass through these
canons, in which they hide and
cultivate the ground. In the
main Canon de Chelly they had two or
three thousand peach trees, which were
mostly destroyed by my troops. In the
walls of the canon they have regular
houses built in the creuces, from which
thew FIRE and roll down huge stones up
on an enemy. In enc Of the crevices I
found two-stsry house. They have
regular fortifcahOns from one to three