13 June 1868; Apache Springs, New Mexico: On 6 June, just as the government was finalizing a treaty to move the Navajos back to their homeland, four white men were discovered face down in the water on Twelve Mile Creek, in New Mexico Territory. Navajo arrows pierced the bodies, and three of the victims appeared to have been tortured. Navajo leaders Barboncito, Delgadito, and Manuelito, not wanting the incident to ruin the treaty, cooperated fully in finding the criminals.
The guilty men fled the reservation, but the chiefs reported them to the soldiers at Fort Sumner. Lt. Deane Monahan, with detachments of Companies G and I, 3rd Cavalry, caught up with the culprits before dawn at Apache Springs, less than 20 miles south of Las Vegas, New Mexico. While the soldiers surrounded the sleeping Navajos, the band's leader, Juh Sanchez, awoke and roused his warriors. A fight erupted, but the Navajos, outgunned, were forced into a ravine, where two Indians were killed and Sanchez was mortally wounded. The 11 remaining renegades surrendered soon after daylight.
