Arizona silver belt., 1890-11-29
AS APACHE RELIC DISCOVERY Or 4 SACK OF T. <. MAIL n YEARS OLD

turned from western Grant count,
 where they have been for the past thre,
 months surveying the lands in the Gili
 river region. One incident of theil
 trip was the discovery of leather mai
 bag ontaining great quantity of U
 $. mail, letters, newspapers and period icals of all sorts, bearing date of July
 1879, The leather had decayed and
 cracked open in places, but the mai
 matter was well preserved, only slight.
 ly tinged with yellow from age. Among
 the Territorial newspapers in tho sack
 were copies of the Mesilla Independent and the Grant County Herald, pub hshed at Silver City, in which it was announced that the A., T. X s. F. line had reached Trinidad in its southwest erD march, and It was predicted that il
 would ''pass within about seven miles of Fort Union" in reaching out for the Rio Grande valley, The bag was found in the mountains some distance of the
 main highway between Silver City and Clifton and between the former place and Richmond. It is probable that it was left there by some. pioneer mail carrier who fell victim to the Apache hostiles that in those days so thiclsly infested that locality"
 The foregoing, from the Silver City, \. M,i Enterprise, of November 2lst, 1890, probably finds solution in the fact that blackboard, coming west from Silver City. belonging to D. B, Lacey. about that time, was attacked hv Indians, four miles west of Burro Springs. The driver, Charles Batchel- der, was killed, the mail taken and not recovered. The deceased, when found, had twenty eight bullets holes in his body. Alter one of the mules was shot Batchelder retreated to the cover of a live oak. That he made gallant fight Is attested by the fact that where he stood upwards of twenty shells were discovered The attacking party, it is alleged by MT. Al. Seiber, were five Mescalero Apaches.
 Victoria, at that time was terrorizing southeastern New Mexico and south western Arizona, and continued his raids until killed in Mexico by Mexican troops in 1880. Mana, a veritable hyena, upon the death of Victoria suc- ceeded to the command, and instead of being drawn and quartered, as he de- served, is now living in Alabama upon the bounty of the Government The bloody work of Victoria and Mama ran through series of years. They were tireless in the execution of their fell purpose, Their appetite for blood and rapine was unsuitable, and like the daughter of the horse leach, their cry was stiil for more. But during those years the army was not idle, they studied their tactics and drew their pay.
 The day previous to our leaving Sil- yer City, N. M., for Globe, We wit messed sight for sympathetic tears. The tolling of the church bell an- nOuneed the approach of funeral, not an ordinary one. The sheeted dead numbered nine persons, who had been killed by Indians few days previous, near Burro Springs, and had been dis intered from temporary graves on the hill above the spring and brought to Silver City for christian burial. In that bloody massacre two Mexican boys were wounded, and shortly afterwards died. Also, woman belonging to the party, who had received a severe scalp wound, made her escape with babe ln her arms, and was subsequently found, wild from fright and in half starved condition. Such calamitous deeds were in those days, however, of such frequent occurrence that they left no lasting impression.
 Our party consisted of Alexander H. | Morehead, A. W. Harris, man who . was recognized by the cognomen of | Pass, who was on matrimonial ven l ture to Sonora, Mexico, and A. H. | Hackney. As the woods were full of | hostile Indians, we were given a mili- tary escort, but while on our way we saw them but once, and that was on our first night out, when in camp at Burro Springs, then solitary place; and al- though the spot was cursed, We en- loyed quiet sleep meath the witchery of star-lit sky. When dreams had vanished We engaged in the fretful stir Of cooking breakfast, "hitchipg up." and resuming our trip, still two hun dred miles through an Indian country. A year later, Charles Batchelder, the mail carrier, when travelling the same road was called to his account, but he is only one of hundreds of Arizona pioneers who have gone down to dusty death at the hands of ruthless savages. Peace hath her victories, and now that the Indian Messiah is at Walker Lake.