First Contact

On Saturday, March 17, 1849, in a narrow valley, William Henry Chase Whiting's halted pack train was suddenly approached by scouts galloping back from the front pursued by a large band of Apache, while five different parties, including Chief Gomez of Chihuahua, closed in from the front, rear, and left flank. After being granted parley, the party was escorted to an Apache camp for council with the chiefs, where the old chief Cigarito said that they wished to be undisturbed and to be at peace with Whiting's people. On March 18 and 19, while encamped among Apache villages and watching for attack through the night, the party learned from a Mexican captive that a war talk had been held and that Gomez had been prevented from attacking only because Chiefs Cigarito and Chino Guero refused. On Tuesday, March 20, following an Indian trail where wild roses grew, the party reached a brook Whiting named the Limpia, saw frequent Indian signals in the direction they had come, and believed Gomez was moving other bands. That night, after staking out the animals and lighting campfires as if remaining in camp, the party saddled up about eight o'clock, headed west instead of toward Presidio, and escaped in silence as Apache spies discovered the night march and lit signal fires that spread from hill to hill. Whiting's party traveled eighteen miles that night for fear of attack from Gomez.

Fort Davis, Texas · United States