The photo above shows the Mescalero-Apache Reservation Agency as it appeared sometime in the 1880s. The neighboring Blazer's Mills would have been located directly to the right of this image. Morris Bernstein is believed to have been killed between the two rises in the background, beyond the buildings.
August 5, 1878; Mescalero-Apache Reservation Agency, Lincoln County, New Mexico Territory---The Lincoln County War has ended, and the Regulators did not win. With Alex McSween dead, they have no cause left to fight for, and their only goal now is survival. The first thing they need to do is replace the horses that were confiscated by Sheriff Peppin and his men, those belonging to the men who were in the McSween house during the Five-Day Battle. Of course, this means that the horses will have to be stolen. They have already stolen several horses from the Casey ranch, but apparently these horses aren't adequate enough for them. The Regulators decide the Mescalero-Apache Reservation Agency will be the best place to strike for better horses. The Agency is already a common place for rustling gangs to raid, so perhaps the Regulators think that a few more stolen horses couldn't hurt the agency.Since the end of the Five-Day Battle, the Regulators' numbers have been drastically depleted. Martin Chaves and almost all of the Hispanics he led have already left, as well as minor Regulators such as Joe Smith and Dan Dedrick. Now, only nineteen or twenty Regulators remain. As the Regulators approach the Agency, they break into two groups, the bigger of which is made up of Anglos, the smaller the Hispanics. As the Anglo group rides to a small nearby spring to water their horses and refill their own canteens, the Hispanic group rides down the road leading directly to the Agency. A group of nearby Mescalero-Apaches who are nearby hunting spot the approaching Hispanics and charge at them, believing they are on their way to the Agency to steal their horses. The Hispanics spot the Apaches and suddenly a running gun battle commences.
At the spring, the Anglo Regulators are watering their horses, while four of them, including Billy Bonney, dismount and begin filling their canteens. When the shooting starts, the four unmounted horses get startled and take off. George Coe then pulls Billy up on the back of his horse, while the rest of the grounded men also ride double with their fellow Regulators.
Meanwhile, at the Agency building, Indian Agent Fred Godfroy and his clerk, Morris J. Bernstein, are handing out rations to Apache women when they hear the shooting. The women become instantly startled and begin running for safety in all directions. Bernstein grabs a rifle, runs out of the building, and heads for his nearby horse. Godfroy tries to stop him, to no avail, so instead he mounts his own horse. Together, they ride off in the direction of the shooting. Bernstein's horse quickly out-distances Godfroy's and he crosses over a hill where the gunfight is taking place. As he rides into the shooting, Regulator (and Lincoln constable) Atanacio Martinez fires a barrage of bullets at him, four of which hit him in the torso, killing him and knocking him out of his saddle. As Godfroy nears the hill's crest, he sees Bernstein's horse with its empty saddle riding back towards the Agency building. Another flurry of bullets are fired Godfroy's way (all miss), as he turns his horse around and heads back to the Agency building himself. Back at the building, Godfroy meets up with a Lt. Smith and four other U. S. soldiers, who ride back with Godfroy into the fray.
While the gunfight between the Apaches and the Hispanic Regulators rages on, Godfroy and the soldiers Charging in pursuit, Godfroy and the soldiers fire approximately 500 shots at the Regulators, none of which hit their mark. The Regulators ride up to one of the Agency's large corrals, which is filled with horses and mules, and quickly open the gate. The four doubled-up Regulators all jump on the barebacks of four horses, while the other Regulators drive the rest of the animals out of the corral. The Regulators then ride off at a breakneck pace and soon meet up with their Hispanic companions, who had managed to finally evade the Apaches. Miraculously, none of the Hispanic Regulators have been wounded, and only one Apache was slightly wounded. Together, the Regulators quickly out-distance the pursuing Godfroy and soldiers. With their herd of stolen horses and mules, they begin riding towards the Rio Hondo ranch of Frank Coe.
Regulators involved
Regulator adversaries
