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Show INDIAN CAMPAIGNS 433 The Bosque Redondo reservation, as a means of civilizing the Indians, was a complete failure. Asa military measure, for the purpose of demonstrating to the warlike BOSQUE REDONDO A FAILURE Navajés the power of the America n government, Carleton’s policy of removal was wise. The Navajés were but poor farmers and from lack of skill, ravages of the corn worm, and various other causes, the crops failed year after year. They lost their flocks and herds, The old abandoned adobe building. was probably This Pettis called the Adobe Walls, but which the ruins of the trading post built by Bent The adobe walls where Quanah twenty years before. led his celebrated fight were not built until 1873 or 1874 and were some distance down the river. Several white captives, women and children, were in the hands of the Indians at the time of the attack, but none of these were rescued. The Kiowa also saved all their horses, although most of their winter provisions and several hundred buffalo skins in the first village, together with the tipis, were destroyed dressed by the troops. Quite a number of the enemy as skirmishers, being dismounted hid in the tall grass in front, made it hot for most of us by their and ex- cellent markmanship, while quite right about two the largest part of them, mounted ered with their war-dresses, charged continually across our front from and covleft to and vice yelling like versa, demons and hundred firing from yards the necks from our of their line of skirmishers, horses at intervals. About two hundred yards in rear of their line all through the fighting at Adobe Walls was stationed one of the enemy who had a cavalry bugle and during the entire day he would blow the opposite call that was used by the officer in our line of skirmishers; for instance, when our bugler sounded the advance, he would blow retreat and when ours sounded retreat, he would blow advance. Ours would signal ‘“halt,’? he would follow suit, so he kept it up all day, blowing as shrill and clear as our very best. bugler. Carson insisted it was a white man, but I have never received any information to corroborate this opinion. It was most probably a Kiowa, possibly Satanta himself, who was famous for a bugle, which instrument he blew on state occasions. Deeming it unsafe to remain longer after destroying the first village, Carson formed the troops in marching order, with skirmishers in front and on the flanks, and the howitzers bringing up the rear, and began the return march. The enemy was not disposed to allow us to return without molestation and in a very few minutes was attacking us on every side by setting fire to the high grass of the river bottom, they drove us to the foot-hills and, by riding in rear of the fire, as it came burning toward us, they would occasionally get within a few yards of the column. Being enveloped in smoke, they would deliver the fire of their rifles and get out of harm’s way before they could be discovered by us. On the side of the troops Pettis reports two soldiers killed and twentyone wounded, several mortally, together with one Ute killed and four wounded. He puts the Indian loss at nearly one hundred killed and between one hundred and one hundred and fifty wounded. The official report which he quotes makes the number of tipis in the village destroyed about 150 and the Indian loss in killed and wounded together only sixty. Among these were four Crippled or decrepit old Indians who were killed in the tipis by a couple of © Squaws searching for plunder. is noticed by Pettis. At . . A single instance of Indian one of the discharges a shell passed directly bravery through the body of a horse on which was a Comanche riding at run and went some two hundred or three hundred feet farther on before full it exploded. The “rse on being struck went headforemost to earth, throwing his rider as it |