Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, Transmitted to Congress, With the Annual Message of the President, December 4, 1882
Mr. Lincoln to Mr. Frelinghuysen .
Washington City , April 14, 1882.
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy of a communication from the commanding general Department of the Missouri, dated the 31st ultimo, who incloses papers sent to him by the commanding officer, district of New Mexico, relative to the appearance near Janos, Mexico, of a band of Indians, who are said to have committed depredations in Sonora, and reporting the presence of “Jú,” Apache chief, at Corralitos, Mexico, with eight captive American children. He asks the Lieutenant-General to use such power as he can to bring about the co-operation of the troops of both countries along the frontier.
Very respectfully, &c.,
Secretary of War.
March 20, 1882.
Commanding
Officer,
Fort Cummings N.
Mex.:
Sir: Some of the hostile Indians have left Sonora and have come into this State, Chihuahua; I was out prospecting west of here last week and found considerable signs in the north end of the Enceridla Mountains; since that time they killed a herder northwest from here; the trail indicates that the boys are on a raid; they have visited this country probably to raid on the grading camps on the Mexican Central Railroad, or are passing towards the Rio Grande.
This place is at the one hundred and sixty-second mile on the Mexican Central Railroad, southwest from El Paso; it is a crossing-place for the hostiles. Should I hear anything further from them I will write to you; there seems to be about thirty in the party. My address is Chihuahua, N. Mex.
Yours, respectfully,
General Mackenzie,
Santa Fé, N. Mex.:
Ju, Apache chief, here. Think he will go for San Carlos. Has stolen ninety-three head of horses and mules from me. He has eight captive American children. Refer you to Richard Hudson, Grant County, N. Mex., who is here at present, for particulars. Any message to him will be forwarded to me. Any facilities you require will be furnished by me, should you happen to cross the line.
March 27, 1882.
My Dear Sir: In reply to your letter of the 25th instant, I would state that I had just returned from Janos, Mexico, when I sent the telegram from Major Zimplean whom I left at Janos on the 22d instant; in regard to the Indians, it appears th about the 15th or 16th of this month they stole ninety head of horses and mules from the Corralitos Ranch; they also stole about twelve head from around the town of Janos. A day or two after they stole the animals from the Corralitos Ranch they sent in a squaw on one of the stolen animals for the purpose of having a peace talk, so Major Zimpleman took her and kept her prisoner, and sent word to the Indians that he would keep her till they brought in the horses and mules they had stolen from him; instead of doing what he requested of them, they went to his sheep herds and took a lot of his sheep, and took four of his sheep-herders prisoners; the next day he, Ju, let one of the herders come into [town] to tell the president (mayor) of the town that if the squaw belonging to his tribe was not brought to a place known as Casas de Janos (about 16 miles south of Janos), that he would kill the other three sheep-herders that he held as prisoners; so the president immediately sent a courier to Casas Grandes informing the “gefe politico” (county judge) of the fact; the gefe politico at once ordered the squaw brought to Janos, and with about 100 citizens and about 30 soldiers who were stationed there went up to where the Indians were, and exchanged the squaw for the three herders, at which meeting Maj. Geo. B. Zimpleman and his man Jack Lyle, were present—I failed to get there in time, but I got within a mile of the meeting, and could see what was going on very plainly with my field-glass—who told me all about it, and Jack Lyle smoked the pipe of peace with Jú; they informed me that there were about 30 Indians present at the meeting and that the chiefs Jú, Chind, Chise, Geronimo, and some other chief was present at the meeting; also that they promised to meet Major Zimpleman, the gefe politico, and the people the next day at a place called the Ties Alamos, about 3 or 4 miles nearer Janos; so I went up there the next day with one of my men and joined Zimpleman and four others; we all went to the designated spot and made our “smokes,” the sign for a meeting, but no Indians came; so we came to the conclusion that they thought we meant to be treacherous with them (as the Mexicans of Janos have several times got them in for a peace talk and murdered them, Jú’s band).
I then returned to Janos, leaving Zimpleman and Jack Lyle in his sheep camps, where he had been for several days previous; on my return to Janos I learned that the Indians had come within a few miles of the town, sent up their sign of a meeting (smoke), and sent in two squaws with ten animals—horses and mules—that had been stolen from Janos, which was a fact, as I saw the two squaws and talked with one of them who talks Spanish very well, and who was sent in to do the talking, the other one being one of Ju’s wives (I learn he has three wives). So I wrote to Major Zimpleman to come to town at once; he did so the next morning, and we had a talk with the old squaw. She said they would bring Zimpleman’s horses and mules in to Coralitos in a few days; so I left that day, March 22, after having dinner at 1 p.m. with Zimpleman and Rafael Ancheta. I would further state that I talked with one of the sheep herders who had been a prisoner, and he told me that they had a very large rancheria with a large lot of stock; that he should judge at least 300 Indians in all, men, women, and children. After close questioning, he gave as his opinion that there were at least 100 warriors. I believe I have written you about all the main points you wished to know. In conclusion would state I went down there after my stolen horses; that I recovered all my stock in Janos, Mexico, arrested the thief, and took two other animals and a wagon, besides all his personal property, and left him there in the guard-house with the civil officers, who promised me they would keep him safe till I got papers of extradition to bring him to the United States.
Very respectfully, &c.,
General R. S. Mackenzie,
Santa Fé, N. Mex.
Santa Fé, N. Mex. , March 30, 1882.
Respectfully forwarded to the assistant adjutant-general, Department of the Missouri, for the information of the department commander.
Colonel Fourth Cavalry, Commanding.
Fort Leavenworth, Kans. , April 4, 1882.
Respectfully forwarded to the adjutant-general of the Military Division of the Missouri for the information of the division commander.
Brevet Major-General, Commanding.
Santa Fé, N. Mex. , March 28, 1882.
General: Reports, which appear to be reliable, have reached me that a large band of Indians who are said to have committed depredations in Sonora have recently made their appearance near Janos. If this is true, and it is the intention af the military authorities of Mexico to proceed against them in order to punish their past offenses, will you be kind enough to inform me that I may have troops in position to follow them should they attempt to return to this side of the line. Should they be defeated by Mexican troops near Janos, these Indians will, without doubt, either retreat south to the rough mountains of the Sierra Madre, or, if your troops have, as I hope, the good fortune to beat them badly, will attempt to get back to the San Carlos Agency in Arizona, in which case I trust that my troops may be enabled to punish them still further.
Any co-operation or aid which I may be able to give, you may rest assured of receiving, provided I have information.
I regard this matter of the first importance to citizens on both sides of the frontier.
Very respectfully, &c.,
- R. S. MACKENZIE,
Brevet Brigadier-General, U. S. Army, Commanding. - General Carlos
Fluero,
General in Chief, Second Military Division, Mexican Republic, Chihuahua, Mexico. Official. - JOSEPH H. DORST,
First Lieutenant and Adjutant Fourth Cavalry, A. A. A. General.
Chicago , April 10, 1882.
Respectfully forwarded to the Adjutant-General of the Army.
Co-operation of the troops of both countries along the frontier would unquestionably be very beneficial, but it can only be effected through the effort of the State Department.
Lieutenant-General, Commanding.