BRN 9-4 - Flipbook - Page 23
Top of previous page: Linda
Sweanor at Lost Man Camp.
We used 16 strategicallylocated base camps so we could
thoroughly search the
mountains for pumas. Most of
our camps consisted of tent
shelters to protect us from the
elements. Other camps were
just under the stars. A few
camps were in structures
including a vintage trailer, a tar
paper shack, a hunter check
station, a historic ranch house,
and a decommissioned guard
station. For our research we
normally spent weeks operating
from each camp in efforts to
capture and mark the pumas
that used those areas. This
allowed us to thoroughly cover
the study area repeatedly.
Usually, each member of our
four-person team operated
alone from individual camps.
We were in daily contact with
each other by two-way radio.
Bottom of previous page: The
divide between Lost Man and
Dead Man canyons.
Right: Looking up Hembrillo
Canyon from its mouth. The
cottonwood copse in fall colors
in the upper middle of this
photo marks the location of
Rock Art Spring and our nearby
Hembrillo Narrows Camp.
[Ed. note: The Do–a Ana County
Historical Society visited the
Hembrillo BattleÞeld and Rock
Art Spring on February 13,
2016. Their trip report may be
read at the link above.
A deÞnitive study of Hembrillo An Apache BattleÞeld of the
Victorio War (The Archaeology
and History of the Hembrillo
BattleÞeld) was conducted by
Karl W. Laumbach and may be
read or downloaded at the link.
The battle occurred on April 6
and 7, 1880. The opening
paragraph of LaumbachÕs report
is shown to the right.]
ÒIt was early on the morning of April 7, 1880. The dawnÕs first light was
hitting the interior valleys of the San Andres Mountains in south-central New
Mexico. Captain Curwen McLellan reined in his horse and looked into the
morning mists that cloaked the Hembrillo Basin. From far below he could hear
the occasional muffled roar of a .45- 55 army-issue carbine. He quickly
motioned Second Lieutenant Charles Gatewood forward and the company of
twenty-one Apache scouts followed the young officer off of the high bluff and
into the basin below. As McLellan waited for their return, terse orders were
given to place the pack animals in a secure position and prepare to attack.Ó
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