Past Activities

Hembrillo Battlefield Fieldtrip - Feb. 13, 2016
Photos by Bob Gamboa

An older man with a beard, wearing a straw hat, glasses, a light blue shirt, and a beige vest, points to the right while holding a photo of a desert plant. The background features mountains and a partly cloudy sky.

The field trip to the Hembrillo Battlefield  took place on Saturday, Feb. 13.
The battlefield is located on White Sands Missile Range next to where
the Dona Ana/Sierra County line passes through the San Andres Mountains.
The battle was the result of the U.S. Army, under the command of Col. Hatch,
trying to return Apache Chief Victorio and his followers to their reservation.
The battle began with a skirmish at the east end of Hembrillo Canyon on April 5, 1880.
The main battle took place on the 6th and 7th in Hembrillo Basin, at the head of the canyon.

Karl Laumbach gestures as he explains the background for the Hembrillo Battle of 1880. Karl, with Human Systems Research,
figuratively and literally wrote the book on the battle. He volunteered his time to brief the membership during the tour of the canyon.

A group of people outdoors in a desert landscape with shrubs, listening to a man in a straw hat and vest who appears to be leading a tour or giving a talk.

Karl briefs members of the DACHS at "Conline's" skirmish site where the lieutenant and his company of buffalo soldiers exchanged gun fire with Victorio's
warriors toward the evening of April 5, 1880. The skirmish set up the chain of events that followed as any plan for a surprise attack disappeared.

A group of people hiking up a trail in a desert landscape, wearing hats and casual outdoor clothing.

The group snakes its way up a primitive trail to Capt. Henry Carroll's position on the night of April 6, 1880.

Historical information board titled 'The Hembrillo Battlefield' with black and white photographs of soldiers, Native Americans, and historical figures, along with diagrams of the battlefield layout.

The sign on a ridge overlooking Capt. Carroll's position.  The sign was erected by Human Systems Research after their study of the area.

Group of older adults examining a sign or map outdoors in a desert landscape under clear blue sky, wearing hats and sunglasses.

Members find where they are on the sign's maps.

A group of six people on a desert trail listening to a park ranger. The surroundings are arid with cacti and dry bushes.
A person's hand holding two old, weathered artillery shells with black rings on one end and a ring on the finger. The shells are tarnished and appear rusty.

Tour leader Jim Eckles shows the group a couple of intact .45-caliber cartridges found on the battlefield.

Ancient rock wall with red and orange handprint and figure petroglyphs.

Some of the pictographs at a site in the canyon called "Bloody Hands" -- for obvious reasons.

Ancient rock wall with painted red and yellow zigzag and geometric designs.

Other images at Bloody Hands.  The diamond 4 is the mark of Juan Bernall who herded goats in the canyon in the early 20th century.

Group of people sitting on chairs outdoors in a rocky, dry landscape with sparse bushes, some wearing hats and sunglasses.

The group ate lunch under the old cottonwoods at Rock Art Spring

Three women standing behind an open SUV trunk in a desert landscape, with supplies and gear inside. One woman is holding a snack, another is holding a small object, and the third is holding a package. They are dressed casually with hats and sunglasses.
Ancient rock painting of abstract or possibly bison figures on a cliff face.

These are the main images at Rock Art Spring and are both pecked and painted on the rock wall.  They are attributed to the Apache as the left figure is clearly on horseback, meaning it was drawn after contact with the Spanish.

Billy the Kid Tour conducted by Dave Thomas
Photos by Bob Gamboa

On June 17, 2016 Bob Gamboa, Sally Kading, Karla Steen, Frank and Priscilla Parish, and David Thomas meet at Fred's Restaurant in Fort Sumner at 11:30 a.m. for a Billy the Kid Tour. Fred's is the only restaurant open in Fort Sumner.

After lunch, we visited the old Fort Sumner cemetery where Billy is buried, then the two museums in town, the Fort Sumner Museum and the Billy the Kid Museum. On leaving Fort Sumner, we visited the old town of Sunnyside and
the decaying Saint Anthony Catholic Church located there.

Next, in the historic town of Puerto de Luna (PDL to locals), we visited the Alexander Grzelachowski Store, built in 1870, where Billy spent Christmas Day after being captured by Pat Garrett's posse. New construction obscures the view of the building from the dirt road that fronts it. We were lucky as the owners let us walk up to the building, look in its windows, and take pictures. In PDL we also visited the grave of Grzelachowski, the gave of Lorenzo Labadie, the Nuestra Senora de Refugio Catholic Church where Juan Patron is buried, and the Santa Inez Chapel.Grzelachowski's stone was missing from his grave.

From PDL we visited the ruins of the Santa Rosa de Lima Chapel, in Santa Rosa, built 1865. Also in Santa Rosa, we visited Albert A. Garcia, who graciously welcomed us into his home. Garcia is the author of Billy The Kid's Kid, in which he writes about his descendent from Billy the Kid, by way of a male child.

The following morning we visited the San Jose Catholic Church in the tiny community of Anton Chico, where Pat Garrett married Apolinaria Gutierrez on January 14, 1880. There are no public restrooms in Anton Chico and the
nearest gas is 30 miles away.

On the way home to Las Cruces, we visited the site of John Henry Tunstall's killing during the Lincoln County War. The Tunstall site is in dense scrub forest on the plateau above Glencoe and impossible to find without detailed
instructions.

by David Thomas

Group of five people standing outdoors next to a historical marker about Billy the Kid's Tombstone, with a tree and clear blue sky in the background.
Group of five people, including children, visiting the Billy the Kid's Elusive Tombstone exhibit at a museum, with a large sign explaining its history, outdoors on a sunny day.

Billy the Kid's grave - old Fort Sumner Cemetery

A stone memorial with engraved names and dates, set on a brick base, surrounded by a metal fence and greenery.

Lucien Maxwell's grave in old Fort Sumner Cemetery.

A gravestone with the inscription 'Henry McCarty, alias William H. Bonney, alias Billy the Kid, died here, killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett, July 14, 1881'

Roughly marks the spot were Billy the Kid was killed - in Pete Maxwell's house at Fort Sumner.

A red brick church with a steeple topped by a cross, set against a clear blue sky. The church has arched windows and a large wooden door, with small metal domes on the roof and a religious statue in an alcove above the main entrance.
A granite monument with a map and text about Maxwell Grant, a fur trader and landowner born in 1818, located outdoors with a clear sky and trees in the background.
A tombstone for Peter Maxwell, born April 27, 1848, died June 21, 1858, in a cemetery with other gravestones and a small fence.

Pete Maxwell's grave in old Fort Sumner Cemetery.

An old white church with a tall tower, a small side building, and a wooden cross outside. The church is in a desert area with parked cars and a clear blue sky.

St. Anthony Catholic Church in Sunnyside, NM.

Three women standing outdoors near a black metal fence, looking at a hillside with sparse trees and small graves.

Nuestra Senora de Refugio Cemetery in Puerto de Luna, NM.

A group of six people gathered around a grave site in a rural cemetery on a sunny day. They are dressed casually, with some wearing hats and sunglasses, and appear to be engaged in a discussion or ceremony.

Grzelachowski's grave in Nuestra Senora de Refugio Cemetery.

A stone plaque on a brick wall inscribed with historical information, featuring crosses and an arrow.
A small white chapel with a steeple topped by a cross, situated in a rural area with multiple parked cars and trees in the background.

Nuestra Senonra de Refugio church in Puerto de Luna, NM.

Santa Inez Chapel in Puerto de Luna, NM.

An old, weathered house with a rusted metal roof and peeling turquoise paint, situated in a grassy yard with trees and a fence in the background.
A dilapidated stone and plaster church in a cemetery, with several graves marked by tombstones and small statues. The church has missing sections of its roof and walls, with a clear blue sky in the background.

Santa Rosa de Lima Chapel in Santa Rosa, NM.

A small beige church with a wooden door, a cross at the top of the steeple, and a clock on the front, set against a bright blue sky with some clouds and nearby residential houses.

Sacred Heart church in Dilla, NM

A beige church with two tall steeples topped with white crosses, a small entrance porch, and a bright blue sky in the background.

San Jose church in Anton Chico, NM

Two women standing in front of a wooden gate with a stone arch and decoration, behind a rustic wooden fence with signs warning of a dog and security camera, surrounded by greenery and trees.
A metal memorial plaque dedicated to John M. Tunstall, who was killed here at age 24 during the Lincoln County War on February 18, 1878. The plaque is mounted on rocks and surrounded by grass.

Karla and Sally in Anton Chico.

Tunstall murder site.

Three smiling people standing around a historical marker sign at Lincoln National Forest, surrounded by trees and greenery, on a sunny day.

Sally, Bob and Karla at Tunstall murder site.