After the events on the afternoon of February 4th, Bascom ordered the command to move toward, and fortify, the stage station. According to Sergeant Daniel Robinson:
"Our wagons were placed end to end, forming a semicircle, covering one side of the station, and the corral, making a basis for outer breastworks. There was a deep ravine on this side, the head or nearest point of it about a hundred yards from the station. Empty grain sacks were filled with earth and placed on the inner side of the circle."
On the morning of February 5th, "...the Apaches were assembling in force on a hill 800 yards off." They soon dispersed leaving a white flag. Soon a warrior approached the stage station defended by Bascom and his force. The warrior stated that Cochise wished to have a "talk" with our chief. Sergeant Robinson continued:
"The 'talk' commenced by Cochise making a strong appeal for the release of the ... captive Indians. He was told that they would not be released until the boy was given up or found ... In this manner the talk continued for about an hour.
[Butterfield employee James] Wallace approached the ravine at a point above us apparently unnoticed by anyone ... A dash was made by a few Indians from the ravine. They seized and dragged him into it
out of sight. This broke up the talk in quick time."
A firefight ensued between soldiers defending the stage station and Apaches firing from the surrounding hills and ravines.
Three days later, in a final attempt to gain the release of Apache captives, Cochise and his warriors attacked soldiers both at the stage station and Apache Spring. These attacks met without success, compelling Cochise and his followers to abandon Apache Pass and move into the Chiricahua Mountains.
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