Soldiers, citizens and Indians met frequent-…
source date: 1891
availability: public-domain

bloody battles and massacres known to Indian war- fare. Soldiers, citizens and Indians met frequent- ly, almost under the shadow of the walls of Cummings, and some of the most desperate conflicts recorded in the annals of frontier life occurred here, or in the near vicinage. It was in the fall of 1881 that Victorio took in the Mesilla stage coach, almost in plain sight of the post, and among others killed was the son of Captain Madden, of the 6th cavalry, who was enroute to Fort Bowie, Arizona, on a visit to his father, then in command at that post. Victorio left a plain trail for the troops to follow, which they were not slow in doing. The soldiers soon found themselves in an ambuscade which the wily old chief had prepared for them, and as a natural consequence, the boys in blue were unmercifully whipped, whilst Vic- torio continued onward in his march of destruc- tion and death. In the early days hundreds of people, sol- diers, citizens and travelers were butchered in Cook’s canyon which is only a short distance from the old post. Here was the only water obtainable for many miles on the long and tedious road to the Rio Grande, and the immi-