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13 William Rufus Shafter with the Frontier Army in the Big Bend Paul H. Carlson William R. Shafter, who in 1898 led the American expeditionary force to Cuba in the Spanish-American War, served for nearly seventeen years on the texas frontier. A lieutenant colonel of the black 24th infantry, he was a bulky, lumbering, overweight man, but considered the most energetic man of his rank on the texas frontier. Although Shafter was coarse and abrasive, his record in texas, including the big bend country, reveals courage, zeal, and intelligence. His official explorations produced some of the most thorough early reports on the big bend available to the army and to settlers entering the region.1 A veteran of the Civil War from Michigan, Shafter served three tours of duty in the big bend. He was at Fort davis with black troops of the 24th infantry in 1871–72, he assisted briefly in the Victorio campaign in 1880, and upon promotion to colonel he led soldiers of the 1st infantry at Fort davis in 1881–82. His hitches in the big bend were among the most significant of his long military career. While at Fort davis, Shafter kept the post in top shape. the post medical officer reported in October 1881 that “the general police of the grounds, barracks, hospital, guardhouse, kitchen, [and] mess-rooms . . . have been very well performed.” the water supply, obtained from a well about a mile away along Limpia Creek, was good, and ample for ordinary purposes. “the quality of rations,” the surgeon indicated, “has been very good, the mode of cooking and serving very satisfactory.” the general health of the men and officers was excellent.2 Shafter also drove his men hard. during his first stint at Fort davis, May 1871 to June 1872, Shafter led his command in pursuit of indians through the Sand Hills near present Monahans. it was a grueling expedition of over four hundred miles that has been chronicled by J. Evetts Haley in Fort Concho and the Texas Frontier. the expedition was a success. On the march Shafter and his black troops discovered and destroyed an abandoned indian camp, two dozen robes, many skins, and a large sup- William Rufus Shafter | 277 ply of provisions. they captured about twenty horses and mules and an old indian woman, who informed Shafter that Comanches and Apaches, longtime enemies, had concluded a peace in the Sand Hills. Lead he had found at the indian camp, stamped with the trademark of a Saint Louis, Missouri, firm, provided important evidence that the Sand Hills was a place of barter for the Comancheros, traders from New Mexico. Of far more significance, the long-range results of the march lay in the successful penetration of the Sand Hills, where it had been generally believed that soldiers could not operate. the expedition not only destroyed an indian sanctuary, but also brought back geographical knowledge necessary for future operations.3 Shafter believed that extensive scouting, such as in the Sand Hills, even though no major engagements with the indians were fought, produced valuable results. “My experience has been that indians will not stay where they consider themselves liable to attacks,” he informed his superiors, “and i believe the best way to rid the country of them . . . is to thoroughly scour the country with cavalry.”4 because his scout through the Sand Hills seemed to support his thesis, he determined to apply the technique to the big bend, where, it had been reported, Apaches were camping. Accordingly, in October 1871, leading about seventy men and officers, Shafter rode southeastward to the Chisos Mountains and beyond to the Rio Grande. He struck the river below San Vicente, an old village on the Mexican side above the Great bend. Here, near the lower end of Mariscal Canyon, he reported that because the banks were several hundred feet high, it was impossible to get down to the river with animals. Shafter and five others, however, by climbing down a ravine that ran to it, succeeded with difficulty in getting to the stream. because signs indicated that indians were almost constantly in the big bend, Shafter and the black troops thoroughly laced the country, crossing and recrossing trails, noting important water holes, and marking the sites of old indian camps. At San Vicente they discovered an important Apache crossing on the river. they reported abandoned indian encampments at several locations. the grass along their line of march was excellent, but the only wood they...

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