obliged to send a large force against Cajeme, who raised fortifications at various points. In March 1886, three columns, each about 1,200 strong, were set in motion against his positions,[1] while every town or point of importance around the Yaqui Valley was sufficiently fortified and garrisoned to resist any hostile demonstration on the part of the Indians. The Yaquis were thus hemmed in on all sides. It was a well-planned campaign, and completely successful. The Indians were driven successively from stronghold to stronghold, till all were taken possession of by the Mexican troops. Cajeme, however, baffled all efforts to capture him, though several of his principal men were caught and executed.
In connection with the Yaqui war, mention must be made of outrages committed by the Apaches in Chihuahua and Sonora during 1885-6. To enumerate in the briefest manner all the murders and atrocities committed by these savages in that short space of time would require a chapter; suffice it to say that, by the combined efforts of the Mexican and United States troops,[2] the scourge has been to a great extent wiped out.
A hope seems to have been entertained by certain schemers in the United States that the acquisition of the northern portion of Mexico by purchase would not be impracticable under the present administration, considering the financial straits in which Mexico found herself when Diaz entered office. The project, however, is a vain one. No people are more opposed to the dismemberment of their national domain than the Mexicans, and any administration that should pro-
- ↑ One under generals Leiva and Carillo, with 2 mitrailleuse from the west: another under Gen. Camano, with 2 howitzers from the south-east; a heavy body of cavalry was also moved from the town of Buena Vista on the northeast; while Gen. Martinez, the commandant, with his headquarters at Barojica, directed his attention to the occupation of Torin, which was the key to the situation.
- ↑ A momentary cloud cast its shallow over the friendly relations between the two nations, occasioned by an unfortunate collision which occurred in 1886 between a Mexican detachment and a body of U. S. troops under Capt. Crawford, who lost his lite in the scrimmage.
