of our regiment were passing there changing…

chunk 848 · paragraph 959

f Mr. Lo’s gang at lonely and desolate place about 30 miles east of the Rio Grande at a place called Howard’s Wells. Several troops of cavalry and the headquarters ( 66 ) of our regiment were passing there changing stations, going from Fort Stockton to Fort Clark in Texas. We arrived in time to cut two men loose from their burning wagons, which had been seized by the savages, sacked and plundered and eleven persons killed outright. These two made such a stern resistance that the savages thought they would burn them with the wagons, of v/hich there were seven, containing ordinance and commissary stores en route to Fort Stockton. They had camped early in the evening for the night, which gave the Indians plenty of tim.e to capture the herd, consisting of about 80 horses and mules, and it was the herd of the unfortunate train we had first noticed. They had started in a northeasterly course and we were then some four or five miles from the burning wagons and men tied to them. Sus- picion being aroused we concluded something was wrong, and the adjutant was sent forward to ascertatin the cause of the peculiar move- ment of the herd. He found it was Indians and so reported. Then there was no time to spare. We ourselves had a number of women and children along and a large wagon train, and to divide and split up the command was the only thing left to be done.