people.
As with any large wild mam-
mal, one should always use cau-
tion and never approach a bear
or other predator. Their sharp
teeth and claws are fully
equipped to inflict damage on
other creatures, and they have a
lifetime of experience doing just
that.
Several days after this hike I
returned and saw another bear
flipping over rocks and rotten
tree limbs, looking for bugs and
grubs. When it saw me, it imme-
diately bolted up the hill, so it’s
reasonable to assume it was not
the same one. Perhaps it grew up
in an area of low human use, or
maybe it has a naturally skittish
personality.
On our hike back it was sur-
prising how much damage had
been done to the trees by the
bears, so much so that it looked
as if a tropical storm had blown
through. Madrone trees need
certain environmental condi-
tions to thrive, limiting them to
specific areas. I assume they can
survive this destruction from for-
aging bears, but it was disheart-
ening to see the beautiful
madrones damaged to such an
extent. Some of the claw marks
on the tree trunks looked years
old, so this was not the first danc-
ing bear to go a few rounds with
the trees.
We made it to the parking
area and debated whose photo
and video footage deserved the
greatest film awards, but we
were all clear winners. Our
Thanksgiving Day wasn’t spent
gorging on turkey, but we did get
to witness a Texas black bear
enjoying its own feast – and no
doubt giving thanks that it can
do so without fear of rifle, trap
or poison thanks to America’s
best idea, the parks system.
See a video of the bear on YouTube.
Search “Big Bend Bear Breaking
Branches.”
Skillman , cont’d from page 20
route at that time followed the
east bank of the Pecos to near
the New Mexico state line,
then turned west. There were
no relief drivers so Skillman
himself drove for 96 hours into
El Paso. One passenger
described him as “...about
forty-five years of age... he car-
ries several revolvers and
bowie knives, dresses in buck-
skin, and has a sandy head of
hair and beard.”
He had exhibited such
stamina before, riding some
700 miles from San Antonio to
El Paso in six days to warn the
residents there of a con artist
who was fleecing people en
route to California in 1850.
The 1860 Census shows
him living with his common-
law wife Rufina Vigil at
Concordia, now part of El
Paso. His occupation was listed
as contractor, the term then
used for freighter. W.W. Mills
spoke highly of Skillman, but
also wrote of the frontiers-
man’s occasional drinking
sprees – at which times he
would shoot up the town and
ride his horse into stores, telling
the proprietors that he was now
in charge of their establish-
ments. When he sobered up,
he would apologize and pay for
any damage. Skillman would
not, however, allow others to
commit such stunts.
When the Cival War began,
Skillman, like the majority of
El Pasoans, sided with the
Confederacy. After the failed
Confederate attempt to cap-
ture New Mexico, the vast
expanse of Far West Texas was
abandoned by both sides.
Skillman formed a spy (scout)
company, keeping the lines of
communication open between
Confederate refuges in Juarez
and the military in San
Antonio, spreading rumors of
Confederate forces headed for
El Paso and spying on the fed-
eral troops.
In April 1864, Union Capt.
Albert H. French led 25 men
out of San Elizario in search of
Skillman. French found
Skillman’s party camped at
Spencer’s Ranch. They crept
into the camp in the early
morning of April 15 and
called for the surrender of
Skillman and his group.
Fighting broke out. French
reported, “...a large man
rushed out of the bushes – and
said in a loud voice, What the
Hell is all this? Who says sur-
render? I stepped forward and
told him I did, he quickly raised
a pistol and shot at me....”
Skillman missed, but one of the
troopers did not, and Skillman
fell dead. No one knows where
the bones of Capt. Henry
Skillman lie today, but his tracks
are deeply embedded in the
West Texas soil.
Cenizo
Second Quarter 2012
25