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Show 118 VIII. BILAGAANA NINAAd^' they said. They had never been paid for attacks made on their people. On October 25, Kendrick turned over control of the Navajos to the army. Tension had once again passed the point of no return. In November Major Shepherd, the commander of Fort Defiance, stopped a Navajo for having an army rifle that the major suspected was stolen. Although the Navajo had risked his life to bring a message from Agent Kendrick, the major had him whipped. This act gave the Navajos more reason to distrust the whites. Sooner or later, a new war would flare across the land. The new army commander, Colonel Thomas Fauntleroy, held back, though. He did no more than build a new post, Fort Fauntleroy, at Bear Springs. On January 17, 1860, the Navajos made three attacks on grazing and wood details from Fort Defiance. They killed four soldiers and almost made off with the fort's cattle herd. A friendly headman had warned the soldiers of this attack. On January 20, this man, Agua Chiquito, came to the post to confer with Agent Kendrick. When Chiquito refused to speak with Shepherd, the major ordered his guards to fire on the leader. As a result, Major Shepherd lost his last chance for peace with the Navajos. While Fauntleroy delayed, the Navajos stepped up their attacks on Fort Defiance, almost cutting it off from the rest of New Mexico. On April 30, more than one thousand Navajos launched an all-out attack. They got into the post and almost took it, but, after several hours of battle, they withdrew. As a result, the army chose Colonel Edward Canby to lead the largest campaign ever against the Navajos. Utes, Pueblos, and New Mexicans were all readied to attack the Navajos. Several early patrols met with mixed results. The real campaign was begun October 12. Three large companies of troops took the offensive. Canby had heard that most of the Navajos had fled westward toward Black Mesa and Navajo Mountain. He led two companies toward that region. The third company moved along the western slope of the Chuska Mountains. Canby's men headed northwest across Black Mesa, reaching its northern rim in the region of Marsh Pass. They killed a few Navajos and took some stock before returning to Fort Defiance, but the bulk of the Navajos avoided them. Until December Canby kept troops in the field. They did not catch many Navajos, but their constant movements hurt the People. A war party of New Mexicans and Pueblos had killed the great leader Zarcillas Largo in October when he single-handedly |
