Show fight with BIo javes ea and pali pah we are indebted to mr william goodyear to together gether with mr joseph walker who accompanied colonel hoffman ho ff as guides during his late edcur conj into the mojave country for the following particulars of the fight between the U S dragoons under colonel hoffman and a large combined force of mojave and pah utah indians after a toilsome march of fifteen days a detachment of the first dragoons consisting of fifty men under the command of colonel hoffman seconded by lieutenant lieutenant chapman arrived at the crossing of the colorado at a place called beaver lake but more generally known as beales crossin crossing 1 this was as far as colonel hoffman intended to penetrate having taken a limited supply of provisions and consequently preparations were made for a return to the mojave distant about one hundred and twenty miles where colonel hoffman had left two companies of the sixth infantry to await his orders scarcely had the camp been pitched for the night when large numbers of mojave and pah utah warriors all in the full ful I 1 panoply of grease and war paint fully armed and entirely unaccompanied by their women or children made their appearance in camp in a short time these savages commenced to be very saucy and spoke in a very threatening manner about the presence of the troops in their country their conduct became so unbearable that they were peremptorily ordered to leave the camp for the night and not to return until morning this order they were compelled to reluctantly obey but took occasion to express their hostility about 11 that night saturday by shooting their arrows at the sentinels on duty a compliment which was acknowledged by the return shots of the sentries the camp being aroused and the men properly stationed the indians refrained from a any night ight 7 further display of hostility that on sunday morning from five hundred to six SIK hundred mojave and pah utah warriors warriors were seen in the imme immediate vicinity of the camp and they appeared to be determined to attack the troops colonel hoffman however how e er determined ter mined to take the initiative in thain e in in this sort of business ard and gi give v e the savages a taste of his quality before prosecuting his return to the mojave he accordingly ic dispatched his baggage wagons and pack mules and after they had gotten fairly under way the dragoons vi were ere formed and commenced to reciprocate compliment with the die enemy by treating them to a series series of balls A spirited eng engagement a gement ensued between fifty fiat dragoons and from five to six six hundred resolved Indian indiana warriors arbors during which the enemy lost from fifteen to twenty killed and a large number wounded the dragoons did riot not loose a man nor was there one injured the lat last indian killed was shot at a distance of six six hundred yards ards and the moral effect was so great that they them dispersed in in all directions finding it useless to contend with men who could kill them off at their pleasure pleas ire at eight or nine tunes the distance their own arms could be rendered effective the march of colonel hotman hoffman was uninterrupted from that moment it will be seen that the report that col hoffman had bad f fallen allen b bick a ck from the conflict was unwarranted and that the indians and not the troops were the first to cry hold enough 11 it can however scarcely be doubted that a formidable combination of indian tribes has been formed to oppose the pas passage sae of the whites through the mojave country or tu to the establishment of military posts in in their midst and wo we will lioba bly have to go through another indian na war ar to accomplish these thee results san francisco herald jan 28 |