61. AN UNSUCCESSFUL EXPEDITION LED BY MAXWELL. 2

Fourteen men, Apache, went from there on horseback to a place called, Tcîcgedjinye, where they slept. The next morning they started off on

p. 251

horseback and rode to Tcîcanye, "tree stands" where they slept. The next day they rode on to K'aiLbayeye, "brown willows" where they slept. This was on KûLtsôyeye, "yellow river". The next day they rode to Djanamîîlãye, where they slept. The next day they rode to Bosque where Maxwell lived. A great many Mexicans came there in wagons, about three hundred in all. Maxwell made war-bonnets for us of white turkey tail feathers. He also made black leggings and white shirts which he gave us.

Then they started out on the plains toward the enemy. They camped at a place called in Mexican, Alamo Mucho. At Tierra Blanca they spent the next night. The next camp was at Portales. The next night was spent at Salada. From there they went on to a lake about five miles across where they camped again. They moved from there to Dakûedîye, "no water", where they saw signs of the enemy's camp. There were many bones which had been chopped up and thrown in a pile. They moved their camp to a place where there was another lake. There too, a good many of the enemy had been camping. They found where the enemy had killed a horse by the edge of the water. A woman had died here and they had placed her below a ridge of rocks and piled up stones above her. ¹ A Mexican who climbed up there took the body from the grave and then began to shout. The other Mexicans ran to the place. They took away all the clothes and began to shout. They also took many bracelets which were on her.

Then it began to snow on them so that they could not see any distance. The wind also blew and it was very cold. There was no wood and the provisions were exhausted. For two days they did not eat. We turned back from there. It was close to the country of the Texans and they were afraid of them. We came back hungry to Bosque where Maxwell lived. He killed a steer for us and gave us four sacks of flour and one of coffee. He gave a horse to one man. We ate up all of the steer. Maxwell gave us a letter to his herders directing them to kill a fat steer for us. It was very cold. We started from there and in six days came back to Cimarron not having seen the enemy.

Footnotes

250:2 Lucien B. Maxwell who controlled about 2,000,000 acres of land in northern New Mexico on which many Ute and Jicarilla Apache lived. Cf. Inman, Col. Henry, "The Old Santa Fé Trail," pp. 373-388.

251:1 There was no timber with which a platform could be built on which the body might be placed, as was usual with the enemy. The horse had been killed because of the woman's death.