The Army And Navy Journal
Volume IX, Number 29
Saturday, March 2nd, 1872
To the Editor of the Army and Navy Journal.
Sir:
I take advantage of your offer to publish any corrections of the
letter which appeared in your issue of the 6th inst., over the
signature of one “Wm. Kruger, chief clerk to Captain C.W. Foster,
assistant quartermaster U.S. Army,” deeming it but my duty to
contradict the statement which so unjustly reflects on an officer
of my regiment. Being personally cognizant of everything
connected with the attack on the Wickenburg stage, and the
subsequent treatment of Mr. Kruger and Miss Sheppard by Captain
R.F. O’Beirne, Twenty-first Infantry, commanding this post, I can
only state to you that there is not a particle, not a shadow of
foundation or truth in anything Mr. Kruger states in his letter,
excepting the mere circumstances of the stage attack and the
particulars of the untimely death of poor Mr. Loring. The facts
in the case are simply these: Word was received at this post
about 8 AM on Monday morning, November 6th, 1871, that the stage
which left Prescott on the 4th for California, had been attacked
about seven miles from Wickenburg, and that six persons had been
killed and two wounded. Colonel O’Beirne at once sent Captain
Charles Meinhold, Third Cavalry, with Lieutenant Simpson and some
twenty odd enlisted men to the scene of the disaster, with
instructions to follow the trail, and if possible discover the
perpetrators of the attack, it being at the time a matter of
grave doubt whether the attack was made by Indians or Mexicans.
He also sent the post surgeon, Dr. Evans, to Wickenburg to assist
in attending to the wounded. The latter returned on Tuesday the
7th, bringing with him the two wounded passengers Mr. William
Kruger, and his fideu Achates Miss Mollie Sheppard, a Prescott
prostitute and keeper of a house of ill-fame, with whom he was
travelling. Mr. Kruger, who was but slightly wounded, was invited
by Colonel O’Beirne to place himself under the doctor’s care at
the post hospital, while Miss Sheppard was taken by the Doctor to
the quarters of one of the laundresses. Everything was done for
these people that it was possible to do. Mr. Kruger occupied the
quarters of an officer who was temporarily absent from the post,
and received every attention, while to Miss Sheppard word was
sent by my wife, through the Doctor, that anything she might need
in the way of wearing apparel was at her service. Mr. Kruger,
however, seemed to be much offended that his companion was not
shown more attention or taken into the quarters of one of the
officers; and as far as I am personally concerned, I confess I
would much rather have shown this attention to her than him, she
being a poor unfortunate woman, while Mr. K. is an intelligent
man, who had already so far degraded himself that Captain C.W.
Foster, whose chief clerk he was, discharged him, and that his
own brother- so at least I am informed by reliable partiesw
ould not recognize or speak to him while at Ehrenberg.
To the Editor of the Army and Navy Journal- Continued.
There being no proper place in the post for Miss Sheppard,
Colonel O’Beirne told the Doctor that as soon as she was well
enough to be moved he would prefer if he (the Doctor) would have
her removed to Mr. Gilson’s ranch, a comfortable house about two
miles from the post, but on the reservation, where she would be
in every way better off, and where the post surgeon could go
every day to attend her. About a week after the arrival of the
“two surviving cripples,” the Doctor reported the woman well
enough to be moved, and they (Mr. Kruger of his own accord
accompanied her) accordingly went to Mr. Gilson’s, where Dr.
Evans attended them daily for several weeks and until they were
well enough to leave.
There is another point in Mr. Kruger’s statement that I desire to
contradict. I quote from the letter published in the Journal of
the 6th.
“That I left my mark with the Indians, there is no doubt, because
two Indians died from gun-shot wounds at Camp Date Creek
Reservation; but the commanding officer refused to have the thing
investigated, for fear he would find sufficient evidence that
they were his pets- that is, Camp Date Creek Indians. At all
events there is no doubt whatever that the outrage was committed
by Indians, and that by Camp Date Creek Indians, those so-called
friendly Indians whom Uncle Sam feeds These citizens
tracked the Indians from the place of outrage to Camp Date
Creek.”
Being myself issuing commissary for the Indians here— ApacheY
umas and Apache-Mojaves, each of whom comes daily to the post to
draw his rations from me, and knowing from my intercourse with
them each individual Indian, I can positively assure you that no
Indian or Indians have ever died from gun-shot wounds on this
reservation, and as on his arrival here, I particularly noticed
Mr. Kruger’s pistol, from which not one single shot had been
discharged, and which did not present the appearance of having
been recently reloaded, I am very much inclined to think that he
did not “leave his mark with the Indians.”
I am furthermore prepared to testify to the fact that every
effort was made by Colonel O’Beirne to discover if these so-
called Camp Date Creek Indians were the guilty parties. The iron
loop of a mail-sack was found with one of them, and at once sent
to the postmaster at Wickenburg, A.T., for identification, who
returned it saying that the mailsacks on the ill-fated stage were
only cut open, but no part of them was missing; some legalt
ender notes were found upon another and taken from him, but were
afterward identified by Mr. Charles B. Genung, of Peeples’
Valley, as money he had paid this Indian for work done upon his
ranch; every effort, in fact, was made, but nothing was elicited
to fix the crime upon the Indians here. Not only this, but
Colonel O’Beirne also went in person to Wickenburg and collected
To the Editor of the Army and Navy Journal- Continued.
the effects of the deceased, which he forwarded to Lieutenant
Wheeler, Corps of Engineers, from which he received a very
handsome letter in reply.
In regard to the statement that the trail led from the place of
attack to this post, I have only to say that Captain Meinhold,
Third Cavalry, went to the place of attack and took up the trail,
which took the direction of this post for about one mile and then
turned southeast and continued in almost the opposite direction
from this place.
I have already taken up more of your space than I first intended,
for the unblemished and Christian character of Captain and Brevet
Lieutenant-Colonel R.F. O’Beirne is to well known throughout the
Army, to be stained with the mire thus thrown at him by Mr.
Kruger, but as his (Kruger’s) letter has been extensively
published and commented upon by the press, I merely wish, in
justice to a brother officer, to correct this foul slander.
Fred H.E. Ebstein,
Second Lieutenant Twenty-first Infantry.
CAMP DATE CREEK, A.T., January 26th, 1872.
