APACHE LAST
STAND
AND CAMP HOLLAND
In this vicinity,
June 12, 1880,
the Apaches made their last stand
in Presidio County
when four Pueblo Indian scouts of
General Benj. H. Grierson, U.S.A.
fought and defeated 20
Apache warriors.
A
Erected by the State of Texas
1936
s the small detachment of
Tigua Indian scouts were
preparing to leave their camp-
site near Viejo Pass in the Vieja
Mountains, they were fired upon by an
estimated 20 Apaches. The detach-
ment, under the command of First
Lieutenant Frank Mills, 24th Infantry,
was en route from Fort Bliss to Fort
Davis to equip the scouts. They had
found and followed an Apache trail
into Viejo Canyon, where they
camped for the night before the sur-
prise attack (which Lt. Mills reported
as taking place on June 11 – his report
does not mention the size of his force.
The skirmish lasted some four
hours. Lt. Mills reported, “I sent a
detachment to occupy a height com-
manding the position of the attacking
Indians, and when these men opened
fire the hostilities [sic.] hastily with-
drew.” The only casualty reported
was Tigua scout sergeant Simon
Olguin killed early in the fight. One
horse had been killed, two wounded
badly enough to be put down and one
injured mule was abandoned. Lt.
Mills did not pursue the hostiles as his
detachment was not properly armed
and low on ammunition.
The
Tigua
Indians were set-
tled in the El Paso
area
by
the
Spaniards fleeing
the Pueblo Revolt
of 1680, either as
captives, allies, or
both, from their
original home at
Isleta Pueblo near
Albuquerque, New
Mexico.
They
were friendly with
the Americans and
traditional enemies
of the Apaches.
Lt. Mills contin-
ued on toward Fort
Davis, by way of
the stage stations at
El Muerto and
Barrel Springs, where he met a detach-
ment of 20 troopers of Company K,
10th Cavalry, sent from Fort Davis to
meet him. Second Lieutenant Robert
D. Read, in command of the troops,
decided to try and locate the hostile
band, but lost the trail due to heavy
rains.
It was first thought that the band
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was part of the Warm Springs Apache
leader Victorio's band expected to
cross into Texas from Mexico and
causing a flurry of activity by the U.S.
military in the area. However, it was
later thought that the hostiles were an
independent band responsible for an
attack on a wagon train and stage-
coach in Bass Canyon near present-
day Van Horn.
Victorio's mixed band of mostly
Warm Springs and Mescalero
Apaches was soon driven back into
Mexico, where he was killed by
Mexican forces and his band killed,
captured or scat-
tered. This effec-
tively ended Indian
hostilities in far
West Texas, leav-
ing the area safe for
cattlemen
and
other settlers until
the
Mexican
Revolution of 1910
began to spill across
the Rio Grande.
By
1915,
Mexican bandits
and some revolu-
tionary forces were
taking advantage of
the fighting to raid
ranches in Texas.
The U.S Army sent
troops to protect
the border. A num-
ber of outposts were
established along the river in the Big
Bend area.
Camp Holland was established in
the vicinity of the battle site near the
pass in 1917 as a base camp for
Colonel George T. Langhorne's 8th
Cavalry troops in the western sector of
the Big Bend. Supplies arrived by
train to Valentine, then were carried
by pack train to “Jackass Camp” about
a mile from Camp Holland and over
the mountains by way of Viejo Pass to
the outposts along the Rio Grande. It
became a garrison post in 1918 follow-
ing the bandit raid on the Brite
and Nevill ranches.
The Brite Ranch was attacked by
some 28 Mexican bandits on
Christmas day in 1917. A number of
people gathered for the holiday were
besieged in the home, the store was
looted, horses were stolen and three
men were killed by the bandits who
fled at the approach of a posse from
Marfa. The Nevill Ranch raid took
place on March 25, 1918, when 50
bandits crossed the Rio Grande and
attacked Ed Nevill's home, killing the
housekeeper and Nevill's son Glenn.
They were “shot to pieces, then beaten
with rifles and clubs.” This raid was
blamed on the notorious outlaw Chico
Cano. American troops followed the
bandits into Mexico, killing some 30 of
them (along with a few innocent vil-
lagers). This was the last large-scale
raid in the Big Bend.
Camp Holland was not occupied
after 1921. Today the barracks, black-
smith shop, several small officers' quar-
ters and the Apache skirmish marker
stand on private ranch land west of
Valentine, unused and slowly return-
ing to the earth. They are mute
reminders of troubled times.
Note: This site is on private land. Please
respect the landowners and do not trespass.