ak up into squads of two and three and
scatter in every direction. During the latter days of the chase, the
routes which the Indians traveled were the worst they could select;
their object being, entirely to use up the animals of their pursuers,
who were thus vigorously driving them from one haunt to another. Very
often, at night, the soldiers would find themselves bivouacked but
a short distance from the place which they had left on the previous
morning; and this happened, when not once during the whole day, had
they missed the trail or ceased travelling; but the fact was, that the
enemy were so familiar with the country that they made these crooked
trails with impunity. Finally, the Indians saw that in this trial of
muscles and nerves they gained nothing, and could not thus shake
off their pursuers, but that it was necessary for them to try
other expedients; therefore, they separated, to meet again at some
preconcerted rendezvous. On this occasion, as so often heretofore, the
Apaches did not belie the character formed of them by some of our most
experienced military men, and of which we have before spoken: viz.,
that they have no equals for endurance, and such a thing as overtaking
them when once put to flight is almost out of the category of the
white man's feats.

[Footnote 25: Company D, 2d Regiment U.S. Artillery.]

There being nothing more that could be accomplished by the pursuit,
consequently, Col. Cook ordered his men to face about, and they having
done so, he made a direct march to Abiquiu, a Mexican village that is
located on the Rio Chamo, a tributary of the Rio del Norte. The
design he had in going there was to recruit his men and animals. Their
sufferings had been severe. Although performing constantly more than
double duty, the entire command was put upon half allowance of food,
and that little could not be properly cooked. For this reason, the
trials and hardships which they experienced were of no ordinary
character.

The town of Abiquiu, where Colonel Cook arrived, is about sixty miles
northwest from Santa Fe, and a traveler can make a journey through
valleys from one town to the other. It stands next to Taos in point
of magnitude and importance in the matter of townships in the north of
New Mexico. The scenery about this settlement is very attractive, and,
as it lies on the borders of the Utah Indian country, it is frequently
visited by these Indians. The neighbors of the Utahs, the Navajoes,
occa