If you were to sit on my front porch on a warm afternoon you might take notice of the unlimited horizons. I live on a long narrow Mesa that separates the Rio Grande and the Rio Puerco river basins in central New Mexico. On a clear day, which is 90 plus percent of the time, we can see an easy one hundred or more miles to the south, west and north. My views to the east are limited by the Manzano mountains that rise to 10,600ft of elevation that run north and south just east of the Rio Grande drainage. The Mesa here has been continuously occupied by a native population arguably since the Clovis period, 11,000 to 18,000 BC. This is a treasure trove for the amateur law abiding artifact hound.
During a more recent period, from around 1600 until the late 1880’s, this land was Apache territory. Towards the end of the Apache’s reign of living off the bounty of hunting and raiding southwest New Mexico, they were engaged by the US Cavalry in an effort to bring peace and commerce to the Territory. The Apache Wars are a well known part of popular history, though little is said about the history that took place right here in what is now my neighborhood. please see;

http://www.historynet.com/culture/native_a...ry/4429252.html

My kids and I have sat out watching another one of our many spectacular sunsets and talked about “Chief Nana”. Sometimes in the long light we can almost imagine seeing a few horses and a dozen warriors running at a good clip across the mesa and down into the woods of the Bosque. We’ll talk about the black soldiers who walked thousands of New Mexico miles in pursuit of the elusive Apache. If you haven’t traveled through these vast landscapes, it difficult to grasp the concept of marching after hostile natives, especially in an area the size of Virginia. If most of your Apache war knowledge came via the movies, you would have a complete misconception about who actually did the fighting. please see;

http://www.buffalosoldier.net/IndianWarAfr...rRecipients.htm

You will find it was the 9th and 10th US Cavalry who carried most of the fight in Arizona and New Mexico. If you are not familiar with the 9th & 10th, please visit;
http://www.9thcavalry.com/
http://www.buffalola.com/
http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/R&H/R&H-10CV.htm

Of all the history I’ve learned, I am awe struck by the feats of diligence and valor under duress as demonstrated on both sides of this colossal conflict. On this Veterans day I honor the veterans on both sides.

That was a good read Vaughn.

I noticed where one of the 9th's troopers won his Medal of Honor at a place called Kickapoo Springs. I got an interesting tale about how that place got it's name.

My wife is full blood Kickapoo Indian, her tribe started out in the up state New York area until the white man came. Unlike most Indians the Kickapoo just flat didn't want to have anything to do with the white man and when encroached upon they just moved further west.

Well in 1867 they inhabited the area of northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. The federal government decided these Indians needed to be on the reservation just like every other Indian they came across. The Calvary rounded them up and told them to head south to the reservation in Oklahoma.

Now the Kickapoo were pretty docile so in the Calvary's opinion they wouldn't need much of an escort. Well,being docile didn't mean doing what the Soldiers told them to do was what they would end up doing. True to Kickapoo form my wife's ancestors and about 20 other families just up and disappeared before the move started and didn't stop moving until they reach Saskatchewan.

That's not the end of the story though. The main part of the Kickapoo tribe duely set off for Oklahoma with about a half a platoon of Calvary escorting them. They made it to Oklahoma in the late summer of 1867. The Calvary were so pleased the Kickapoo had given them no trouble they started off to return to their post in Illinois. Now was when the Kickapoo decided they had no intention of doing anything a white man had told them to do.

The Kickapoo got up the next morning, loaded up, and just kept going south eventually ending up in Northern Mexico. Along the way they left their name on a place in Edwards County Texas. A place named Kickapoo Springs.

The southern branch of the Kickapoo tribe remains to this day the least assimilated Indian tribe in North America.

Your wife must be proud Gunny, how many of her people have survived to date? I’ve long held a fascination for the Buffalo Soldiers and the native peoples, well since I did my AIT @ ft Huachuca Az. I do recall the history your referring too, and like you I found it fascinating. If you go to, http://www.loc.gov/index.html you will find personal letters, personal recollections and much more for the curious reader. I love the oral histories, the first person memories of the Arizona and New Mexico territories that are on record at LOC.
My brother and I have been on the trail of two MOH winners who’s graves have been lost. Both were Buffalo soldiers who fought the Apache at Carrizo Canyon NM, both are supposed to be buried at Carrizo Canyon but the actual location of Carrizo Canyon has been confused over the years. I argue it is 5 miles west of La Drone Peak, just sw of Belen NM and that they are buried under a massive natural monolith close to Baca spring. Most historians put them a hundred miles to the southeast. We believe we are right and we have located two graves that we would like to dig into, but not without permission. The land they are buried on belongs to the BLM, who has procedures we are following in an effort to prove one way or another to be sure these heroes are properly taken care of. We believe the graves themselves will prove it is the two African Soldier heroes in question. Carrizo Canyon is about 15 miles southwest of me, I can easily access this area with a 4X4, but it takes walking the last half mile.