Six Years with the Texas Rangers, 1875 to 1881Gillett, James B.
History
Six Years with the Texas Rangers, 1875 to 1881
Gillett, James B.
Frontier and pioneer life -- Texas; Gillett, James B., 1856-1937; Texas -- History -- 1846-1950; Texas Rangers
Many times when scouting in the Sacramento and Guadalupe Mountains I
have camped for the night in the Huecos. Sometimes the water in the
tanks had been all used up by the travelers but there was always plenty
of good cool rain water twenty-five feet above the main ground tanks.
Often I have watered my entire command by scaling the mountain to those
hidden tanks and, filling our boots and hats with water, poured it on
the flat, roof-like rocks so it would run down into the tanks below
where our horses and mules would be watered in good shape. The city of
El Paso, I am told, now has a fine graded road to those old historic
mountains and many of its citizens enjoy an outing there.
Our next halt was at the Alamose, across the beautiful plains, at that
time covered with antelope that could be seen scudding away with their
swift change of color looking like a flock of white birds. Here we
found some Indian signs at the flat above the springs, but it was at
Cornudos that we again saw the old signs of the Apaches. This Cornudos
is a strange conglomeration of dark granite rocks shot high in the air
in the midst of the plains by some eruption of the earth in ages past.
This was the favorite watering place of the Tularosa Agency Indians on
their raids into Texas and Mexico.
From Cornudos to Crow Flat is a long, monotonous tramp of twenty-five
or thirty miles, and we arrived in the night and were promptly
challenged by the faithful sentinel, old Shep. Although we were
strangers, the dog seemed to recognize us as Americans and friends.
He went wild with joy, barked, rolled over and over and came as near
talking as any African monkey or gorilla could. We gave him a cheer.
The faithful animal had been there alone for nearly fifteen days. His
side of bacon was eaten and the sack of corn getting very low. The
rangers were as much delighted as if it had been a human being they had
rescued. The dog had worn the top of the wall of the old stage station
perfectly smooth while keeping off the sneaking coyotes. Tracks of the
latter were thick all around the place, but Shep held the fort with
the assistance of the dummy sentinels. We found everything just as the
owners, Andrews and Wiswall, had left it.
As was my custom, I walked over the ground where the Apaches and
Messrs. Andrews and Wiswall had had their scrap. Near an old dagger
plant I found where an Indian had taken shelter, or rather tried to
hide himself, and picked up a number of Winchester .44 cartridge
shells. We secured the ambulance and our return journey was without
incident. We arrived back in our camp after making the two hundred
miles in a week.
Mr. Andrews presented Lieutenant Baylor with a beautiful Springfield
rifle. I don't know whether Andrews or Wiswall are alive, but that
Mexican shepherd dog is entitled to a monument on which should be
inscribed, "FIDELITY."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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