The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 38, July 1934 - April, 1935 Page: 167
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: Southwestern Historical Quarterly and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Texas State Historical Association.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
The Comanchero Trade
been wounded and Goodnight had ridden to Fort Sumner in ad-
vance of the herd. One day as he waited with Loving he looked up
and saw six beef steers, lost from their herd at Horsehead, coming
across the parade ground, having been trailed north by the Indians,
and now driven openly and boldly into the settlements to be traded
to the Mexicans. The military authorities did nothing about it.
Perhaps they had worries enough of their own, as the Apaches and
Navajos were still on the verge of starvation. "In fact," said
Goodnight, "they did not get half of what the Government appro-
priated. Many a time I saw the poor devils kill their whole week's
issue of beef on the prairie and eat every ounce of the animal,
paunch and guts included, at one gulp. That would be all they'd
have for another week. When an animal was turned out a dozen
or so of the warriors would, after running it all over the country
and shooting up a belt full of ammunition, finally get it down.
One time I persuaded them to let me make the kill. Twenty-five
head of steers were let out one at a time, and, using my six-shooter,
I killed them as they came out with just twenty-six shots. I won
the respect of those Apaches right there.
"The Navajoes used to slip away from the reservation, come down
to our ranch at Bosque Grande and eat up our horses, which they
preferred to beef. The dirty buggers ate up my own saddle horse
one time-a cracker jack-while there were plenty of cattle all
around him."
Again as he waited with Loving, the Navajoes stole a number
of Mexican horses and brought them into the reservation, where
the owners, trailing them up, found and demanded them. Major
Whiting" ordered one Captain Thompson to take a squad of men
and recover the animals, in which action the Indians attacked and
killed six of his men before he got back to the post. And further-
more they kept the horses. "Just after this," continued Good-
night, "probably three hundred Comanches came in at night and
made a. fight on the Navajos, who were camped just east of the
Post. I think the fight commenced about two or three o'clock. I
was at the hotel where Mr. Loving was at the point of death, and
I got on top of the building and watched the fight for some time.
They did a great deal of yelling and shooting, and the blaze of the
guns was quite an attractive sight. I understood the Comanches
"Major Charles Jarvis Whiting, for verification of which I amn in-
debted to Col. M. L. Crimmins, San Antonio, Texas, May 7, 10932.167
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 38, July 1934 - April, 1935, periodical, 1935; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117143/m1/186/: accessed April 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.