Captain fought off Apaches |
Fort McRae, established in April 1863, lay six or seven miles northeast of modern Truth of Consequences. It was named it honor of artillery Capt. Alexander McRae, who had died a hero's death the previous year at the Civil War battle of Valverde. The best way to reach the Fort McRae site today is by boat across Elephant Butte Lake. The ruins are near the shoreline and when the lake is full, part of the fort goes under water.In those long ago days before the changed the landscape, Fort McRae protected central New Mexico from raids by Mescalero Apaches. One of its valiant officers was a native-born Dutchman named Capt. Albert H. Pfeiffer. At age 22 he had immigrated to the United States from Holland. In St. Louis, young Pfeiffer joined a freight outfit and worked his way to Santa Fe. That was in tire latter 1840s. By 1856, Pfeiffer. now a militiaman, met and married a local girl, Antonia, in a lavish wedding. The bride wore one of the most expensive satin dresses ever seen in the capital. Soon after the founding of Fort McRae, Capt. Pfeiffer and his company of New Mexico volunteers were assigned to the post. Since he had his own officer's quarters, he brought Antonia down from Santa Fe. The captain seems to have been suffering from a skin condition that caused a great deal of discomfort. The post commander, Major Arthur Morrison, suggested that he ride over to some hot springs on the west side of the Rio Grande, take a |
 mineral bath, and see if that improved his condition. The springs were at the center of what is now Truth or Consequences. So there went Capt. Pfeiffer accompanied by his wife and her servant girl and an escort of six soldiers. Just behind the springs rose a rocky shelf or elevation, upon which the officer placed one of his soldiers to serve as lookout. He knew this was a dangerous spot since close by was a ford on the Rio Grande used by Apaches. Pfeiffer peeled off his uniform and slipped into the water of the largest spring, probably the one that at present is called Geronimo Spring, adjacent to the municipal museum. His pleasant bath, however, was almost immediately interrupted. A war whoop pierced the air and the sentinel on the rocky ledge was shot where he stood. According to the official military report, some 15 or 20 Apaches attacked the party. Two men were killed and a third wounded. The remaining soldiers fled the scene. The racing warriors leaned from their horses and snatched up Antonia and her servant. | Pfeiffer leaped from the spring, grabbed his rifle, and killed one of the attackers. Then an arrow struck him in the side going all the way through his body. Stark naked and smeared with blood he sprinted for the river, alongside of which were scattered boulders offering shelter. There, he forted up and held the encircling Apaches for several hours. The Indians finally gave up and disappeared with the captive women. Poor Pfeiffer was in a terrible plight, severely wounded and a half dozen painful miles from the fort. But since there was no help for it, he started walking across the burning sand and rocks barefooted. Major Morrison, meanwhile, had gotten news of the raid from the surviving soldiers who rushed breathlessly into Fort McRae. He immediately started out with a troop and found his captain on the trail, near death. Several soldiers carried Pfeiffer back to quarters where his recovery took many weeks. Morrison led his men in pursuit of the Mescaleros and soon discovered the bodies of the two women, who had been slain as soon as the soldiers were seen. Pfeiffer suffered the rest of his life from the physical and emotional effects of the tragedy at the hot springs. He died on his Colorado ranch in 1861. Marc Simmons is a New Mexico author and historian who lives in Cerrillos. His column appears Sundays |