No. 490.
Mr. Hunter to Señor de
Zamacona.
Washington, November 7, 1879.
Sir: Referring to correspondence which I have lately had the honor to exchange with you concerning the movements of Indians on the Mexican border, and the military and other measures taken to repress their marauding excursions, I now beg to communicate to you that this Department learns, through that of War, that on the 30th of September last the colonel commanding the cavalry forces of the United States in the district of New Mexico reported that he was then in pursuit of Indians who were thoroughly armed and furnished with ammunition; that their numbers were largely made up of Indians from Mexico; that the testimony of credible witnesses reported these Indians as having been [Page 781] seen purchasing ammunition in several of the frontier towns of Chihuahua; that the losses of his command up to that date, so far as heard from, in this raid alone, were fourteen soldiers and scouts killed; that besides these, twenty-five men, women, and children were reported killed, and that there were not then, nor had he ever known of there having been at any time, any Mexican troops operating against Indians on the New Mexican frontier. Colonel Hatch adds that the reports of field duty of companies of the posts near the Mexican frontier in his district is sufficient evidence that every exertion is made by our forces to protect the citizens of Mexico from any raid from the Territory of New Mexico, and that the Indians driven over this boundary are, in nearly every case, those who live in Mexico and depredate on United States territory.
In communicating this report to you, I have merely to observe that the death-roll of Colonel Hatch’s small command bears eloquent testimony to the activity as well as the danger of his operations against the marauding Indians.
Accept, sir, &c.,
Acting Secretary.