The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1903-02-05

still by day, arriving at the Stone House
| early III the afternoon, with the intention
| of proceeding on our way hence at night
| fall. This Stone House had been built by
| an old man named Pennington, who had
been one of the first settlers. One by one
| the male members of the numerous family
had succumbed to the murderous Apaches,
| from whom a married daughter had an al
most miraculous escape. The old man
est son, Green, were killed by the Indians
in the Sonoita in the Summer of 1862
ATTACKED BY APAcHEs.
We started from the Stone House about
dark in the same order of march as here
tofore observed. From the Stone House
to Santa Cruz the distance is about 40
miles, for the most part over good, hard
road, over mesa land, but interrupted now
and then by stretches of heavy sand,
where the road approached the river bed
to the latter's edge; there were also sew
eral dry river beds to cross, where the
| waters descended from the mountains ly-
ing to the west during the rainy seasons.
We had Travelled about 10 miles, when we
came to one Of these dry beds, which we
had to cross. 1t was very sandy, rocky
III parts, and about 80 yards wide. The
moon had risen early, being nearly full, so
that in its clear light everything could
easily be seen to quite distance. The
drivers of the wagons had dismounted
from their saddle mules and were walk
ing by the side of their teams. There
were many large rocks or boulders on
| either side of the road, some forming
groups, others scattered about here and
there; many elder trees and considerable
| lower growth stood in and along the river
bed.
We were about half across the heavy
sand bed, when suddenly, without any
| other noise and without our mules or
| horses giving any previous Indication of
seeming Apaches (Which these animals
generally did, we received a volley of bull
lets and arrows from the right-hand side
of the road. The horses of our vehicle
SHE'D, but Pedro was out of the carriage
| and at their heads in a second and held
them fast. We could see no enemy, but
| fired Immediately several vOlleys in the
direction of a bush situated somewhat
| above the road level, where we saw light
Cloud of smoke. Presently we heard what
seemed to be the thuds of jumping feet in
rapid succession; then all was still, and
we began to examine what damage had
| been done.
Not n single man was hurt; but one
mule had been pierced by an arrow,
through the neck, apparently not much to
| its discomfort, while another was struck
by bullet in the kneecap Of a foreleg,
which disabled the animal beyond all pos
sible recovery. The shots from fire.
aims could not have been more than four
We afterwards discovered n bullet in the
rear part of the ambulance in which we
were riding. From the depth to which the
iron arrow-heads had penetrated the
| boards forming the wagon beds we could
judge of the astonishing effectiveness of
that weapon.
Three of us cautiously approached the
lush whence TO all appearance the Apache
,olley had been delivered. We found that
it grew out of fssure in a large boul-
der well covered with wild grapevines and
ether climbing and creeping plants. Be
hind it there was sort of platform form
cd by large fiat rock, that afforded stand
ing room for at least 20 persons. From
this ambush the Indians must have fired,
jumping Immediately afterwards to the
sandy level below and scampering away
as soon as they observed the Indifferent
results of their attack.
The Indians probably numbered about
-. Against all previous experiences their
shooting had been very poor, probably on
account of the uncertain light of the moon.
to which they are little accustomed, and
which renders them fidgety; probably also
by reason of the distance about 10 yards
from which they delivered their fire. their
usual manner of waylaying and attacking
travellers being to hide very close to the
road and to fire into their backs as they
pass from few yards or feet distant. If,
however, the main object of their attack
was land / think this most likely to OBJ
tain mule meat, they had succeeded in
their undertaking. as we had to abandon
the mule with tie broken leg
Capt. Catterson seemed more than will
ing, according to the tendencies acquired in
frontier life, to follow and punish the
Apaches, but soon refrained from all war
like enterprise upon the dry remark of
Don Solomon that 1--WE were not hunting
Apachss." We shot the crippled mule