D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
August
2008
Hiking Apacheria: Apache chief Mangas Coloradas.
Page: 3One witness who surveyed the battlefield later said it appeared the Unionists had built one small rock enclosure and something more formidable, for protection at "advantageous points" along the small ridge they took their stand. The largest of these structures, variously described as a rock wall or parapet, "measured 10 to 12 feet square, and two to three feet high," wrote one newspaper report. The same report said the defenders eventually congregated at this point, where "they erected a sort of arbor across one end of the enclosure to protect the wounded driver from the direct rays of the sun." The Apaches, meanwhile, occupied the surrounding terrain, including the ridge south of and above the ground held by Thomas' men.
The Americans had plenty of guns, knives and ammunition. The Apache wouldn't have had as many guns. Muskets, lances, spears and bows and arrows would have been their weapons. I've found debris of various kinds on both sides of the road. (No, I don't use a metal detector — it's illegal on government land). I've also found what appears to be a shrine of sorts, prepared, I'd guess, by Native Americans near the spot where several massacres occurred, and I've found a half-dozen partially made and discarded arrowheads there. The Apaches surrounding the men from the stage would have had time to make new arrowheads.
Within 700 yards north of the road are two peaked hills. Rock breastworks or cairns are atop each. One was likely for Cochise; the other, Mangas. The rocks were likely command posts from which the two leaders gave flag, hand or vocal instructions. They would have had superior views of the fight scene at all times, from either place.
No one knows how many Apaches were killed in the fight. Supposedly, the bodies were dumped, Apache style, in crags and crevices nearby. That would have made sense. The battle was so riveting to the Apache that both leaders suggested with either 30 or 100 such men, they could clear the entire New Mexico Territory of Anglos and Mexicans, for good.
Mangas would die a year and a half after the Thomas massacre. If he'd had enough of Anglos and Mexicans, they, too, had had enough of him. Perhaps discouraged by his losses, Mangas allegedly left the fight after two days. I believe that, older than 70, he was just burned out on vengeance and death. Cochise and his men wanted revenge; they fought it out to the end
In 1862, several regiments of California (Union) Volunteers, known as "The California Column," marched east from San Diego. They fought battles with the Apache, several with the Confederates, and set up a number of forts, several locally. One was Fort Bowie, in Arizona. Another, Fort West, was situated on the south side of the Gila River, north of Agua de Santa Lucia.
Fort McClane, also known as Fort Floyd, had been established earlier, at or near Apache Tejo. It was there that Mangas finally met his demise.
On Jan. 22, 1863, Brigadier Gen. Joseph Rodman West, who had arrived with the California Column, resorted to a deceitful plan. West used a man who was supposedly a "friend" of Mangas to lure him into Pinos Altos. Once there, miners tied up Mangas and took him to Fort McLane. West reportedly told several of his soldiers, "Men, that old murderer has got away from every soldier command and has left a trail of blood for 500 miles on the old stage line. I want him dead or alive tomorrow morning, do you understand? I want him dead!"
By morning, Mangas had been assassinated. His large head, such a object of fascination, was later severed from the body. It was boiled to make it easier to remove the flesh and brains, and sent east, for "examination." For many years, legend had it Mangas' skull was ensconced at the Smithsonian, in Washington, DC; in the 1990s, the Smithsonian reported a search had not located the skull.
In my experience, the universe can still be a multi-dimensional oval, unfortunately slashed apart with millions of lines. I believe Mangas has led me to intersect with the ovals he once walked. As fish swim in the Gila River, I hike Apacheria.
This is the 12th in Jerry Eagan's series of articles about hiking Apacheria; the next will cover the Mangas Creek Ranch. To read all the previous stories, see www.desertexposure.com/apacheria
Jerry Eagan can be reached at Zennhead@zianet.com He will teach a four-session class for the Western Institute of Lifelong Learning (WILL) in Silver City, beginning Wednesday, Sept. 24, from 6-7:30 p.m. A field trip is planned, as is another possible session, if interest is shown in the topic. Those who wish to participate on the field trip should attend the three previous class sessions. Weather permitting, the field trip will be Oct. 11, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. See www.will-learning.com for registration information.