Page:Life among the Apaches.djvu/161

CHAPTER XIII.

Sent to the Front.—Dreadful Storm at the San Pedro River.—Night Alarm.—Apaches Gathering.—Dragoon Springs.—Capt. Thomas Roberts.—Apache Pass.—Bloody and Desperate Fight with Apaches.—The Savages Whipped.—Remarkable Infantry March.—Heroism of John Teal.—He wounds Mangas Colorado, and whips off Fifteen Apaches.—Gallantry of Sergeant Mitchel and his Cavalry.—Effect of Shelling the Apaches.—Number of Indians Killed.—Our Losses.—Re-enter the Pass.—Refused Permission to Charge.—San Simon.

In consequence of the report made by Lieut. Col. E. A. Rigg, Gen. Carleton again ordered me in the advance, with Capt. Thomas Roberts, Co. E, First California Infantry. Arriving at the San Pedro river, it became necessary to learn whether Dragoon Springs, some twenty-eight miles further on, could supply both companies, at a time, with water, or whether we would be obliged to break into detachments. Capt. Roberts took the advance with his infantry and three wagons, having also selected seven of my best mounted men to serve as scouts and couriers. I remained behind with fifteen of my cavalry and ten of Roberts' company, including the detachment left as a garrison at the river, where a tolerable adobe building, erected by the Overland Mail Stage Company, afforded decent shelter, and a defensible position.

The night after Roberts left was one of the most stormy I ever witnessed. The rain descended in floods. Earth and sky appeared thunder riven; blazing lightnings leaped from the inky clouds, and absorbed the Cimmerian darkness with their blinding flashes. The San