28 April 1882; Los Huerigos, Chihuahua, Mexico: Following Loco's Apache band after the Horseshoe Canyon fight, Capts. Tullius C. Tupper and William A. Rafferty and 39 troopers of Companies G and M, 6th Cavalry, with 45 Indian scouts under Lts. Francis J.A. Darr and Albert L. Mills and guides Al Sieber and Pat Keogh, tracked them into Mexico. In the Sierra Enmedio, near the little town of Los Huerigos, about 20 miles south of the border, the soldiers and scouts found the unsuspecting Apaches, apparently secure in their belief that the Americans would not cross the border.
As the scouts moved into attack position around Loco's camp, one warrior and three women, searching for mescal in the predawn, ran into them, so the scouts shot them down, and the battle was on. Tupper's men joined in, firing about 800 rounds in four minutes. Loco's men dove for cover. With the fighting at rock-throwing distance, almost everyone who exposed himself was hit. Lt. John Y.F. "Bo" Blake and his troopers drover off 74 of Loco's horses. Loco called out to the Apache scouts, trying to get him to turn against the troopers, but they only cursed him and fired harder.
By 11:30 a.m., Tupper had only three rounds of ammunition per man left and had to pull out. Moving nine miles north, he halted to rest, where Col Forsyth joined him with seven more companies of the 6th Cavalry. Forsyth wanted to return immediately to the fight, but Tupper's men were exhausted. When the soldiers returned the next day, the Apaches were gone.
The Indians lost 14 warriors and 7 women, and Loco himself was wounded. Tupper had one man killed, a Pvt. Goodrich, and two wounded.
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