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Show 130 IX. HWEELDI DOO AHA'DEET'^ Fort Canby in the late spring. Except for a few small patrols, the war was over. Through the summer, though, about three thousand more Navajos gave themselves up. Meanwhile, in late January 1864, more than 1,400 Navajos had reached Bosque Redondo. On the journey, 10 died of the cold, 3 were stolen, and 2, the army said, had strayed away. In March another group of more than 2,100 Navajos left Fort Canby. Of this group, the largest to make the journey, about 200 members would die during the march. Some would fall victim to the frigid cold. Others would suffer from dysentery, a disease made worse by the improper use of a strange food they had been given for the march â€" flour. Later, on March 20, Captain Francis McCabe marched out of Fort Canby with more than 800 prisoners. Only the sick were left behind. This group went through 52 days of the worst hardships the Long Walk could offer. Two days after they left Canby, a winter storm hit the group. It lasted for four days, and many of the Navajos had little protection from the harsh weather. Rations ran out before they reached Fort Wingate. On the journey, 110 Navajos died. Yet the army reported no complaints from the captives. The exodus went on through 1864. When the last group reached the Bosque on November 26, a total of 8,354 Navajos had made the Long Walk. Many of them had walked the 300 miles from Fort Canby or Fort Wingate during the worst weeks of a harsh winter. Others, who were sick or feeble, had died on the way. Some of those who could not or would not maintain the pace had been shot. Still others had lost their children to slavers who followed the trail. The Long Walk would be a bitter memory for the Navajo nation. Life at Bosque Redondo The main problem at Bosque Redondo, or Hweeldi, was lack of supplies. From the beginning, the Navajos came to Hweeldi faster than the army could get food for them. In spite of frequent warnings from Carson, General Carleton had not realized the great size of the tribe. He was not ready for so many captives. At times the conditions were so serious that troops throughout New Mexico had to suffer ration cuts so that the Navajos could survive. And the Bureau of Indian Affairs had refused to feed the Navajos, saying that they were prisoners of war and the army |