Chapter 7

The Army was out to get Black Wolf and his followers by any means possible. The officers at the fort were sure that the Apaches could be trapped again by a wagon load of infantry. It worked once, why couldn't it work again? It is amazing how stupid people can be when they have no respect for their enemy!

They set up the ambush exactly as before, except that they had a different scout leading the bait. He was secretly amused at the officers that had planned this second trap. He knew that there was no danger that Black Wolf would bother attacking unless they got too close to his village, and the scout didn't see how that was possible. The scout was right: the three groups of soldiers spent an uncomfortable day riding around in the hot sun without seeing an Apache. The officers were nonplussed! How dare the savages ignore their beautiful trap? What did they need, an engraved invitation?

The scout was ignored when he tried to explain that the Army was going to have to change tactics before they could provoke another fight with the Apaches. The most the Army could hope for with the current plan was a occasional sniper who would be out on his own for some idle fun. This was totally against what they thought that they had learned at West Point, and they refused to listen to reason. The scout figuratively threw up his hands and agreed to go along with whatever stupidity the officers next had in mind.

The commander of the fort concluded that the show of force by the Army had so intimidated the Apaches that they had nothing further to worry about. Thus, the Army could return to its regular routine. The fallacy in this became apparent the next week when...

Black Wolf had decided that it was time to train some additional leaders, so he started with Snake. He explained to the council what he had in mind and they agreed to follow Snake as the new temporary war chief. Snake picked their next target and plans were made to strike the Army while they were not expecting it.

The target was, again, the fuel gathering detail that rode out twice a week to the nearby woods. This time, Snake planned to hit the detail while they were still collecting the wood—that way they would be at their maximum distance from the fort and least likely to receive help from that quarter.

Snake divided his men into two groups, one to attack the guards on horseback and the other to attack the workmen. He figured that, with proper timing, 6 warriors could attack the 6 workmen with their knives and lances, since the workmen would be depending on the guards on horseback for their protection and not carrying their guns. Another 6 warriors would attack the 2 guards and the officer, who would have stayed on their horses so that they could rush to the aid of the workmen. He assigned 2 warriors to each of these three targets, and kept himself and Black Wolf in reserve in case of unexpected trouble.

The attack was planned for mid-morning when the workmen would be tiring and less alert, and the guards were beginning to suffer from boredom. The Apaches were waiting in the woods when the work detail was spotted leaving the fort. Ah, the wagon was being pulled by mules—there would be an extra treat on the menu at the celebration that night. They stayed out of sight of the soldiers and made no effort to hinder them as they traveled to the woods.

As was normal with anything the Army did, they had an exact schedule for harvesting wood, so they headed for a specific point in the small forest. The Apaches knew where this site should be just by simple observation of the condition of different portions of the forest, so they knew where they would be fighting. The Apaches were in position before the soldiers arrived to begin work, so the Indians had the pleasure of watching the Whites sweat at work while they lounged as they waited for the signal to attack.

Snake waited nearly 2 hours before beginning the attack by signaling his men to jump the 3 mounted men. The Apaches had all gotten within 10 feet of the soldiers without being observed and had pulled the 2 guards and the officer from their horses before they realized what was happening. These men were killed quickly and scalped while the attack on the 6 workmen was taking place. These, too, were dispatched quickly without problem and their scalps were taken. The bodies were stripped of valuables, including clothes, and left where they lay. The Apaches cut the two mules loose from the wagon and led them to the place where they had hidden their horses. Snake led the band back to the village where they entered in triumph, displaying the main course for the meal that night.

Snake was duly congratulated that night as each man told of his part in the short, but satisfying, raid. It was particularly gratifying because they had been able to use their traditional weapons and had not been forced to rely on the guns that they had stolen from the Whites. After the celebration, Snake thanked Black Wolf for the confidence he had shown in allowing Snake to run the whole operation without interference, but Snake really didn't want to do that again.

Black Wolf pointed out that he needed to have somebody with experience that he could depend on in case Black Wolf was knocked out of a fight. Snake had shown that he was just such a person, and Black Wolf could relax a little, knowing that he had competent backup. Snake said that he had not considered the matter from that point of view, but Black Wolf could count on him to do whatever was needed.

Meanwhile, back at the fort, the whole place was put into an uproar when they discovered what had happened to the ill-fated work detail. The fort's commander was particularly upset, because he was going to have to explain why he had lost another pair of expensive mules! On top of that, he was running out of junior officers who could be assigned to the details that the higher ranks didn't want. All in all, it was just a very bad day!

The fort's commander, Major John Espy, was nearly at his wit's end. Those damned savages just didn't fight fair! It was as bad as those damned spics that Napoleon had to fight in the hills of Spain. Why couldn't they fight like civilized men, face to face, army to army? Nothing he had learned at West Point nor during the war against those damned Rebs had prepared him for this kind of fighting. Could it be that those Mescalero scouts knew what they were talking about? NO! Major John Espy was too much of an officer and a gentleman to listen to such heresy!

However, something had to be done to wipe out those savages so that civilized people could take over and run the Territory the way it should be run. He relished the opportunity to be the one to wipe out the savages; his name would go down in history! Unfortunately, he wouldn't be around to bask in the glory, but some sacrifices had to be made for the betterment of the country. He would just have to be satisfied with the secret personal knowledge of his greatness!

However, the scouts were right about one thing: they had to know where the Apaches were hiding. The savages had an undeniable advantage by being able to run back into the hills and thumb their noses at the pursuing Army. The question remained, though, what was the best way to gain that intelligence. The classic answer to the question was for him to send out reconnaissance patrols to try to flush out the savages and find their villages, for there must be more than one for them to be so successful in thwarting him at every turn.

He had 4 scouts at his disposal, so he could send out 4 patrols. But, if he did that, he would have no backup at the fort in case of emergency or opportunity. Obviously, he could send out no more than 3 patrols. But, did he have enough troopers for that many patrols? If he put 16 men in one patrol section, then he would need 48 men for 3 patrols, but that would cut too far into the number of men he had to protect the fort. No, he had to limit the scouting patrols to a maximum of 24 men. But 8 men were not enough for a patrol. He could send out 2 details of 12 men, each. That meant each patrol would have a grand total of 14 men, when he counted the scout and the officer, one of his last 2 lieutenants. Damn, command was such a heavy burden!