Bisbee daily review., 1912-03-17

! Mis- Ouri rivers to Messilla on the | Rio Grande. The Butterield contract was for a semi-weekly service. be- [ tween St. Louis, Mo. Memphis. Tenn, | to San Francisco. Cal, the considera- ton being $600, 900 % a year. The | firm of Wells Butterfield & Co. were l contractors, and was composed of the | leading express men in the United ] States. This was merged into the | Overland Mail Co. and the service in | creased to a daily line. the compen-
 sation being augmented to Sl.3O0,OoO
 a year.
 In Augut. 1858, under the superin-
 tendency of Wm. Bulkley of Water. | town. x. Y.. Frank De Ruyther. Win. | Brainard, Silas St. John. and others, | located the line and built the stations i between the Rio Grande and Tucson. | At Dragoon Springs a corral of stone | 45 5j feet, was erected. ft was ! constructed especially strong as this was a passing point for the Apaches | going to and coming from Sonora. | The walls and gates were completed ! before the construction corps moved | on westwardly to San Pedro. St John l remaining with 6 assistants to com plete the structure roofing. the store l room and residence portion, etc. The assistants were James Burr Of Water | town, N. '. the line blacksmith, | James Laing and Wm. Cunningham 1 before noted, and three Mexican
 laborers. Guadalupe and Chino Ram | aiva of Sonora and Bonitacio Mir anda of Chihuahua.
 On the nisht of Wednesday, Sept, 1 Sth it wal clear starlight but no
 moon. At midnight St. John was up changing the guard. Laing having stood the first portion of the night, ! Guadalupe was given the turn till daylight The other two Mexicans slept outside the walls. as also did ! Mir. Burr, who preferred not to re-
 main inside where too many animals were stabbed St. John slept in the room at the northeast corner next the gateway. Laing in the centre room, while Cunningham occupied the | room in the south corner where the stores were kept. About 1 a. m. St. 1 John was partially aroused by an un- U iual stir among the stock. He heard ; a low whistle sounded, apparently as | a signal, and simultaneously there was | the sound of blows and feeble out ! cry from the victims upon either side | of him. St. John sprang to his feet 1 from the pallet upon the ground to be ! confronted by three MeXicans, Guada- i lupe armed with a broad axe, Boni- | ficio with a chopping axe, Chino with stone sledge, all striking at him. A | well directed kick disposed of Chino, ! the glint of the axe wielded by Bono ! ficio directed towards St John, head shown by the starlight enabled him { to parry the blow with his right hand, which threw the axe blade into ! his hip, while straight from the shoulder blow, landed in Bonifacio's
 face, knocked him out. Guadalupe i was at St. Johns left striking vic iousIy with the short handled broad
 axe. The first stroke was caught
 in parrying by the palm of his hand,
 the next upon the forearm below the
 elbow As St. John reached for his
 Shalptt rifle, which was standing
 against the wall at the head of his ! bed Guadalupe got in a successful ! stroke which severed St. Johns arm | midway between the elbow and the ! shoulder. Bringing the rifle into play
 ne knocked the axe from Guadalupe's s | hands, and the other two having gain 1 ed their feet all three made their es- ] cape through the gateway. The action | lasted from ten to twenty seconds. AS | St. Johns left arm was disabled, the ! cone being lowered, he dropped the | rifle and reached for his pistol from ! the holster on his saddle which he was using as a pillow. The Mexi- cans hearing the gun drop, attempted to re-enter the corral, when St. John fired one shot. upon which they de- l camped. Owing to the wound in his
 nip, at. Johns rtght hip was disabled | so that he could not follow outside
 for further shots. St. John bound up his woundJ as well as he could. climbed to the top of some sacks of l barley, where he could command 6 l view over the walls, and pistol in | nand, waited for daylight. Two Of his companions not being killed outright ! were moaning deeply. When light l enough to see, St. John got down from his perch and went to Cunning ham who had three cuts on the head. [ evidently inflicted by Guadalupe with the broad axe.
 l He was unconscious but occasional 1 ly grooming. Ialng had one "ounu
 immediately on the top of his head severing the skull in twain from
 which the brain wal protuding. He
 was alive and partly conscious as he
 made attempts to rise. Bonifacio ev-
 idently inflicted the wound with the l chopping axe. St. John crept out
 side to where Burr was lying and found his head completely crushed by a blow from the stone sledge, his death having been instantaneous. St. John found that moving about caused the blood to flow freely from his wounds. He made a tourniquet with
 a handkerchief, stone and titick which l stopped the flow of blood from his | left arm, but the wound in his hip i being the full width of the axe blade
 vas more difficult to control. but by | keeping still the blood coagulated and
 stopped the hemorrhage. All day ! Thursday he lay there enduring the 1 groans of his companions, whom he
 twas powerless to aid. It was very hot during the day, no water in the | corral, he was feytrish from hAl ! woupds and suffered much from