El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-04-29

bye" The boys always suspected old
! Billy Of being lin" on the affair.
The Camps End.
In 1883 the palmy days Of the rich
| old camp were drawing to a close. The
/ native silver ore was beginning to
pinch out and baser metals, which the
mill could not treat, began to take its
place; the mine began to make vol
umes Of water. which the pumps were
| Inadequate to handle. The price Of sill
/ yer began to drop, and other complica-
tons followed, which compelled the
shutting down Of the works. sooner or
later
About that time the Cibicu Apache
were on the warpath with murderous
rifle and butcher knife They were kill
ing ranchers and soldiers alike a short
distance from camp
Indians Do the Rest.
On Salt river John Gleason was killed
while at work at his ranch; on the
Ctbicu a lieutenant and five soldiers
were ambushed and slaughtered up in
brave and generous Middleton family
were attacked and two visiting friends,
George Turner and Clarence Moody.
were killed.
During the attack the heroic women
OF the family were loading the guns for
their men folks in the defence Of their
home When the news Of these killings
were brought to Mcmillan the old guard
had hardly time to prepare themselves
when the dreaded cry Of Indians, the
Indians are coming" rang from house
to house all along the now almost de-
serted streets (for many had moved
away to GlObe). But the old guard was
ready for the attack.
Battle-scarred veterans Of other wars
they were. men who had heard that
dreadful cry before. Old Pat Stanley
John Jones, Billy Ransom, George
Strawn, Con Crowley and others whom
the writer cannot Just at this time re-
member, but who shared no less in the
heroic defence that followed the muir
derous attack on that little mining
camp.
Indians Beaten Off.
As soon as the cry Of Indians was
heard, the women and children we're
gathered quickly behind the strong
adobe walls Of cOrrals and other places
Of vantage Then the battle commenced
in earnest; the crack. crack of the
rifles becoming general.
The Indians. shooting from behind
trees and boulders. directed their fire
into the windows Of the hotel and store
buildings, while the whites kept plug
ging away as an Indian showed his
head.
The fight lasted from early morning
until dark, when the Indians, under
cover OF darkness, mounted their horses
and rode away to the San Carlos Indian
agency. There we're several casualties
among the whites, one or two fatal;
and as for the Apaches. no one ever
learned what their losses were but it
was generally believed that they sur
fered considerable.
Feelings In an Indian Fight.
No one who has never been in an
Indian tight OF heard them in action
can ever in a thousand years under
stand the feeling that grips one that
has. When women and children we're
to be protected, that feeling was aug
mented a thousand fold by fear and
horror. especially II the chances to win
were against them.
a few hundred souls, women and chill
.dren included, many OF the men away
to work, when the war cry OF those
demons ring out on the air as they
sWoOp down upon the terror-striCken
people. The war cry that has Mortified
millions OF brave hearts from the Allan
tic to the Pacific; a cry that meant no
quarter or mercy; cry that many OF
those brave men at Mcmillan had heard
before and knew that it meant the
death knel OF their loved ones; that
torture and rapine waited hideously
greedfly II they should lose. Imagine
all this, then sense the feeling that
those loved ones were yours II you
have a heart, you can deeply appreciate
the valor and devotion that won the
day for those brave men in that little
mining town.
The Mine Closes.
Finally the day came when the
famous Stbnewall jackson mine closed
down for good. The hosting works at
the shaft were boarded up and also was
the mouth Of the shaft; the stamps in
the mill that had crushed many million
dollars worth Of ore were hung up TO !
rust and in time to fall from their de-
cayed frames. The engine room sur
rounding the fine COrliss engine, like /
wise was bearded up and the whistle |
that sounded the hours Of day was !
silent forever.
Then came the saddest part OF il all, |
the general exodus Of the people from |
the little camp. The fine adobe stores, |
saloons and dwellings had to be va