USA > Arizona > History of Arizona, Vol. II > Part 18
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"In the year 1870, in accordance with the peace policy which had been decided upon by the U. S. Government, the Pinal and Aravaipa bands of Apache Indians were collected together and placed upon a reservation around Old Camp Grant at the junction of the San Pedro and Aravaipa creeks, about fifty-five miles from Tucson, under the supervision of military sta- tioned at that post. One or two agents for them had been taken from civil life, but in a short time their management proving unsatisfactory, one Royal E. Whitman, a lieutenant of the 3rd Cavalry, U. S. A., was assigned to duty as their agent. Being what is termed a sharp man and of thrifty disposition, he soon saw that there was money in the Apache, and lost no time in the practical application of that knowledge, to do which required outside partners, who were soon found in Tucson. A settler's store was first started, followed by a blacksmith, butcher, and a
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number of others chosen in various capacities, ostensibly for the benefit of 'poor Lo,' 'affidavy' easy conscience witness-men, for the boss, and, as a trite saying goes 'hell was fully inaug- urated.'
"The Indians soon commenced plundering and murdering the citizens of Tucson, San Xavier, Tubac, Sonoita, San Pedro and every other set- tlement within a radius of 100 miles of Old Camp Grant, in the confidence that if they escaped to their reservation, they reached a secure haven. During the winter of 1870-71, these murders and depredations were so numerous as to threaten the abandonment of nearly all the set- tlements outside of Tucson, especially that of San Pedro, the most numerous and most im- portant of them all. In the meantime, the citi- zens of Tucson were aroused, meetings were held upon the occurrence of each new murder or out- rage, representations were made to the right Royal Whitman, that his Indians were plunder- ing and murdering our people, which he denied, and stood ready to prove by every striker on the reservation that his Indians never left the place. Meanwhile, the work of death and destruction kept up with ever increasing force until the slaughter of Wooster and wife on the Santa Cruz above Tubac so influenced the people that an indignation meeting was held at Tucson. A great amount of resoluting and speechifying was indulged in, and it was determined to raise a military company at once for which a paper was drawn up and signers called for, to which eighty- two Americans signed their names. The writer was elected Captain, and all hands pledged to
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eat up every Apache in the land upon the recur- rence of a new outrage. A committee was ap- pointed to visit Department Commander General Stoneman, at the time on the Gila near Florence, consisting of S. R. DeLong, J. W. Hopkins and the writer. The result of the conference with the august personage, General Stoneman, was that he had but few troops and could give us no aid-that Tucson had the largest population in the Territory, and gave us to understand that we must protect ourselves. With this cold com- fort after a trip of one hundred and fifty miles, and the loss of a valuable mule, we returned to our constituents, and although no public demon- stration was made, at a quiet assemblage of some of our ablest and most substantial citizens, it was resolved that the recommendation of Gen- eral Stoneman should be adopted, and that we would, to the best of our ability, endeavor to pro- tect ourselves.
"A few days afterward, in the beginning of April, 1871, the arrival of a courier from San Xavier brought the sad intelligence that Indians had just made a descent upon that place and driven off a large number of horses and mules. The alarm drum-the usual way of collecting our people-was beaten, a flaming cartoon car- ried by a man who accompanied the drummer was displayed with the following inscription :
'Injuns! Injuns! Injuns !- Big Meeting at the Court House-Come Everybody-Time for Action has Arrived.' This device had been so frequently resorted to, and the results had been so unsatisfactory, that it failed to draw. Mean- while a party of citizens had saddled their horses
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and learning from the San Xavier courier the direction the marauding Indians had taken, rode off, hoping to intercept them before they reached Cabadilla Pass. In this they were disappointed because the Indians had gone into the pass before they arrived, but they met the pursuing party from San Xavier and the whole party followed through the pass and overtook the rear Indian driving the stock, on a tired horse, and killed him and recovered some of the cattle-the other Indians escaped with the horses and freshest cattle. Upon the return of the party to Tucson, I hunted up Jesus M. Elias, and had a long con- ference with him in which he said to me: 'Don Guillermo, I have always been satisfied and have repeatedly told you that the Camp Grant Indians were the ones destroying us. I have now posi- tive proof, the Indian we have just killed, I will swear, and others will swear, is a Camp Grant Indian. I have frequently seen him there, and know him well by his having his front teeth out, and, as a further proof, when we overtook the Indians, they were making a direct course for Camp Grant. Now, it devolves upon you as one of the oldest American residents of this country to devise some means of saving us from total ruin, which the present state of affairs must inevitably lead to if not remedied. See your countrymen, they are the only ones who have money to furnish the supplies necessary to make a formal and effective campaign against our im- placable enemies. I know my countrymen and will vouch that if arms, ammunition and provi- sions, however scant are furnished, they will be ready at the first call.' I replied, 'Don Jesus,
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I will answer that at all times I will be ready to do my part, and will at once issue a call for the assemblage of my people at the court house where you can publicly state what you have just told me, and some concerted plan can be adopted which may give the desired relief.' With a sad shake of his head, he answered: 'Don Guillermo, for months we have repeatedly held public meetings at which many patriotic speeches have been made, and many glowing resolutions passed; meanwhile our means of subsistence have been rapidly diminishing and nothing has been accomplished. We cannot resolute the remorseless Apache out of ex- istence-if that could be done, everyone of them would have been dead long since-besides, giving publicity to the course we might pursue would surely defeat any plan we might adopt. You are aware that there are wealthy and in- fluential men in this community whose interest is to have the Indians at Camp Grant left un- disturbed who would, at the first intimation of an intent to inquire seriously into their opera- tions, appeal to the military, whose ear they have, and frustrate all our plans and hopes.' I saw at once the force of his arguments, and re- plied : 'Lay out a plan of action and I will aid you with all the zeal and energy I possess.' He then developed the following plan: 'You and I will go first to San Xavier, see Francisco the head Papago there, and have him send runners to the various Papago villages, notifying them that on the 28th of April we want them to be at San Xavier early in the morning with all the force that they can muster for a campaign
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against our common enemy, the Apaches-Fran- cisco to be prepared to give them a good break- fast on their arrival, and send messengers to me at once.' This matter being satisfactory, we re- turned to Tucson. Don Jesus said: 'I will see all the Mexicans who may desire to participate in the campaign and have them all ready to move on the day fixed. You will make arrange- ments with the Americans you can trust; either to take an active part in the campaign, or render such assistance in supplies, arms, ammunition, and horses as will be required to carry out the expedition. And, on the day fixed, April 28th, news of the arrival of the Papagoes at San Xavier having first been received, all who were to be active participants in the campaign to leave town quietly and singly to avoid giving alarm and rendezvous on the Rillito opposite San Xavier, where the Papagoes will be advised to meet us, and where as per arrangements, the arms, ammunition and provisions were to be de- livered and distributed. All hands having ar- rived at the rendezvous, the command to fully organize by the election of a commander whom all shall pledge to obey implicitly. When thus organized the company to march up the Rillito until the trail of the Indians, who had committed the recent depredations at San Xavier was struck, which was to be followed wherever it led to, and all Indians found on it killed if possible.' Here you have the whole plan of the Camp Grant campaign as proposed by Mr. Elias and con- curred in by the writer.
"For its successful fulfillment, we both went to work with all our hearts, he with his country-
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men, the Mexicans, I with mine, the Americans, and both together with our auxiliaries, the Papa- goes. Early in the morning of April 28th, 1871, we received the welcome news of the arrival of the Papagoes at San Xavier, and that after a short rest and a feed they would march to the general rendezvous on the Rillito. Soon after Elias informed me that the Mexican contingent was quietly and singly leaving town for the same destination, and soon after the writer, having given proper directions to the extremely small contingent of his own countrymen, silently and alone took up the line of march to the common rendezvous. By three P. M. all the command had arrived, also that which was still more essen- tial to the successful issue of that campaign, to-wit, the wagon with the arms, ammunition and grub, thanks to our companion, the Adjutant General of the Territory, whose name it might not be discreet to give in this connection, but who is well known to almost every member of the Society of Pioneers. As soon as the writer was convinced that no further increase was to be ex- pected, he proceeded to take account of the stock with the following result: Papagoes, 92; Mexi- cans, 48; Americans, 6-in all 146 men, good and true. During our stay at the general rendez- vous, a number of pleasantries were indulged in by the different members of the party upon the motley appearance of the troop, and your his- torian got a blow squarely in the right eye from an old neighbor, who quietly said to him: ‘Don Guillermo, your countrymen are grand on reso- luting and speechifying, but when it comes to action they show up exceedingly thin,'-which,
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in view of the fact that 82 Americans had sol- emnly pledged themselves to be ready at any moment for the campaign, and only six finally showed up, was, to say the least, rather humiliat- ing. However, everything was taken pleasantly. Jesus Elias was elected commander of the expe- dition, and at 4 P. M. the company was in the saddle ready for the march. Just then it seemed to me that we had neglected a very important precautionary measure, and I pencilled the fol- lowing note to H. S. Stevens, Esq., Tucson : 'Send a party to Cañada del Oro on the main road from Tucson to Camp Grant, with orders to stop any and all persons going towards Camp Grant until 7 A. M. of April 30th, 1871.' This note I gave to the teamster who had not yet left our camp, who delivered it promptly to Mr. Stevens and it was as promptly attended to by him. But for this precaution, our campaign would have resulted in complete failure from the fact that the absence of so many men from so small a population as Tucson then contained was noted by a person of large influence in the com- munity, at whose urgent request the military commander sent an express of two soldiers with dispatches to Camp Grant, who were quietly de- tained at Cañada del Oro, and did not reach the post until too late to harm us.
"After writing and dispatching the note above referred to, the order 'Forward' was given, and the command moved gaily and confidently on its mission. About 6 P. M. the trail was struck which we proposed to follow, and the march con- tinued through Cabadilla Pass and down the slopes of the San Pedro to the point where the
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San Xavier party had killed the Indian above referred to, when the order was given to camp, as it was about midnight-the moon going down and the trail could not well be followed in the dark. Just at break of day on the morning of April 29th, we marched down into the San Pedro bottom, where our commander determined to re- main until nightfall, lest our command be discov- ered by roving Indians, and an alarm given at the rancheria. We had followed all this time the trail of the Indians who had raided San Xavier, and every man in the command was now fully satisfied that it would lead us to the reser- vation, and arrangements were made accord- ingly. Commander Elias gave orders to march as soon as it was dark, and believing that we were much nearer the rancheria than we really were, and that we would reach its neighborhood by midnight, detailed three men as scouts whose duty it was when the command arrived conveni- ently near the rancheria, to go ahead and ascer- tain the exact locality and report to him the result of their reconnaissance in order to have no guess work about their actual position, and make our attack, consequently, a haphazard affair. Everything being now ready for the final march, we moved out of the San Pedro bottom just at dark. It soon became evident that our captain and all those who thought they knew the distance had made a grave mistake, and that in- stead of being sixteen miles, as estimated, it was nearer thirty miles, so that, after a continuous march through the whole night, it was near day- break before we reached Aravaipa Canyon, so that when we did reach it, there was no time to
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make the proposed reconnaissance, to ascertain the exact location of the Indian camp-which involved the necessity of a change in our plan of attack. We knew that the rancheria was in Aravaipa Canyon, somewhere above the post, but the exact distance nobody knew-we were in a critical position-we were in sight of the post- in either case our expedition would be an abso- lute failure-but our gallant captain was equal to the emergency. Promptly he gave orders to divide the company into two wings, the one to comprise the Papagoes, the other the Mexicans and Americans, and to skirmish up the creek until we struck the rancheria. When the order forward was given, a new difficulty arose, which, if it had not been speedily overcome, would have been fatal. The command was now in plain view of the military post-the Papagoes had all the time been afraid of military inter- ference with us. I assured them that no such thing would occur, and vouched for it. It hap- pened that just as the command was halting I had dropped the canteen from the horn of my saddle, and dismounting to look for it in the dust and semi-darkness, behind the troops, the Papagoes, not seeing me at the front when the order forward for the skirmish was given, re- fused to move, inquiring where Don Guillermo was. Word was immediately passed down the line to me, and I galloped to the front, and with a motion of my hand-without a spoken word, the Papagoes bounded forward like deer and the skirmish began, and a better executed one I never saw even from veteran soldiers. There was not a break in either line from the beginning
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to end of the affair, which covered a distance of nearly four miles before the Indians were struck. They were completely surprised and sleeping in absolute security in the wickiups, with only a buck and a squaw on the lookout on a bluff above the rancheria-who were playing cards by a small fire, and were both clubbed to death before they could give the alarm. The Papagoes attacked them in the wickiups with guns and clubs, and all who escaped them took to the bluffs and were received and dispatched by the other wing, which occupied a position above them. The attack was so swift and fierce that within half an hour the whole work was ended, and not an adult Indian left to tell the tale. Some 28 or 30 small pappooses were spared and brought to Tucson as captives. Not a single man of our company was hurt to mar the full measure of our triumph, and at 8 o'clock on the bright April morning of April 30, 1871, our tired troops were resting in the San Pedro a few miles above the post in full satisfaction of a work well done.
"Here, also, might your historian lay down his pen and rest, but believing that in order to fully vindicate those who were aiders and abet- ters, he craves your indulgence whilst he gives a brief summary of the causes which drove our people to such extreme measures, and the happy effects resulting therefrom.
"Through the greater part of the year 1870, and the first part of 1871, these Indians had held a carnival of murder and plunder in all our settlements until our people had been appalled and almost paralyzed. On the San Pedro the
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bravest and best of its pioneers had fallen by the wayside-instance Henry Long, Alex. McKen- zie, Sam Brown, Simms, and many others well known to all of you. On the Santa Cruz noble Wooster and his wife, Sanders, and an innumer- able host sleep the sleep that knows no waking. On the Sonoita the gallant Remington, Jackson, Carrol, Rotherwell, and others, were slain, without a chance of defense, and our secretary, W. J. Osborne, severely wounded.
"In the vicinity of Tucson, mail drivers and riders, and almost all others whom temerity or necessity caused to leave the protection of our adobe walls, were pitilessly slaughtered-makes the array truly appalling. Add to this the fact that the remaining settlers in the San Pedro, not knowing who the next victim would be, had at last resolved to abandon their crops in the field, and fly with their wives and children to Tucson for safety, and the picture is complete up to that glorious and memorable morning of April 30, 1871, when swift punishment was dealt out to those red-handed butchers, and they were wiped from the face of the earth.
"Behold, now, the happy result immediately following that episode. The farmers of the San Pedro returned with their wives and babies to gather their abandoned crops. On the Sonoita, Santa Cruz, and all other settlements of south- ern Arizona, new life springs up, confidence is restored and industry bounds forward with an impetus that has known no check in the whole fourteen years that have elapsed since that oc- currence.
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"In view of all these facts, I call on all Ari- zonans to answer on their conscience: Can you call the killing of the Apaches at Camp Grant on the morning of April 30, 1871, a massacre ?"
This event caused great excitement through- out the East among the party which was known at that time as the "Indian Lovers." General Grant was President and informed the authori- ties in Arizona that if the men engaged in this, what he termed, outrage, were not brought to trial by the civil authorities, he would place the territory under martial law, as a result of which, at the request of W. S. Oury, and others of the leaders of the expedition, they, with about a hundred John Does and Richard Roes, were in- dicted, arrested, and brought to trial. They were all released. Further particulars of this trial will be fully related in its proper place in this history. W. S. Oury was the first President of the Pioneers' Society at Tucson, and died in that city in March, 1887.
Granville H. Oury was born in Abingdon, Virginia, and came to Arizona in 1856. He commanded the expedition out of Tucson which went to join the Crabb expedition in Mexico, as heretofore related. Upon the seizure of Tucson by the Confederates and the organization of the Territorial Government under Secession rule, he was sent as a Delegate to the Confederate Con- gress at Richmond, where he remained during the war. At its close he returned to Arizona, settled in Florence, where he practiced his pro- fession, that of an attorney, and served two terms as Delegate to Congress in the years 1880-82. He was a brother of W. S. Oury. He died in the year 1891, in Washington, D. C.
PETER R. BRADY.
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CHAPTER XIV.
EARLY PIONEERS AND SETTLERS (Continued).
PETER R. BRADY-GRADUATE OF ANNAPOLIS-
MEMBER OF SURVEYING PARTY-FARMER,
MINER AND STOCKMAN - CANDIDATE FOR DELEGATE TO CONGRESS-DEFEATED BY R. C. MCCORMICK-ASSISTS GOVERNMENT IN DE- TECTING PERALTA-REAVIS LAND FRAUD-HIS PARTING WITH H. F. ASHURST-DEATH OF-MICHAEL GOLDWATER-EARLY BUSINESS MAN IN ARIZONA-LAYS OUT TOWNSITE OF EHRENBERG-MANY BUSINESS VENTURES- MAYOR OF PRESCOTT-DEATH OF-CHARLES TRUMBULL HAYDEN - EARLY SANTA FE TRADER-RIDES FIRST OVERLAND STAGE TO TUCSON-FIRST PROBATE JUDGE AT TUCSON -ESTABLISHES FIRST FERRY AND FIRST STORE AT TEMPE-EXTENSIVE MERCANTILE AND OTHER INTERESTS-DEATH OF.
Among the early pioneers of Arizona, none bore a more prominent part in its development than Peter Rainsford Brady. He came, on his paternal side, from good old Irish stock. His mother, Anna Rainsford, was from Virginia. He was born in Georgetown, District of Colum- bia, August 4th, 1825; received his education, in part, at the Georgetown College, later entering the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, from which he was graduated about the year 1844. After cruising around the Mediterranean Sea in the United States vessel "Plymouth," he resigned from the navy, and left his home Octo-
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ber 26th, 1846, for San Antonio, Texas, where he enlisted as a Lieutenant in the Texas Rang- ers, and served with distinction in the Mexican War. After the war Mr. Brady joined a sur- veying party under Colonel Andrew B. Gray, who made a survey from Marshall, Texas, to El Paso; thence across the country to Tubac and from the latter point made branch surveys, one to Port Lobos on the Gulf of California, and the other to Fort Yuma and San Diego. Mr. Brady served as a captain on this expedition, and was prominent in many Indian fights. When the work was completed, the company disbanded at San Francisco.
Mr. Brady was of an adventurous spirit, and in his younger life preferred the wilderness to the smooth paths of civilization. In 1854 he came to Arizona and settled in Tucson, in which place he resided for many years, bearing his part as a good citizen in those exciting times. After the organization of the Territory, he held several public offices, and was sheriff for two terms. He was married in 1859 to Juanita Mendibles, who bore to him four children, all boys. She died in 1871, and in 1878 he married Miss Maria Ontonia Ochoa, of Florence, Ari- zona, by whom he had three boys and one girl. He settled in Florence in 1872, and made it his home for twenty-seven years. He engaged in farming, mining and stock raising. In 1881 he received $60,000 for his half interest in the Vekol Mine.
He was a Candidate for Delegate to Congress in 1871, against Richard C. McCormick, who was declared elected by a small majority.
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Mr. Brady was in all respects a strong man, not only physically, but mentally; of unques- tioned integrity, and in every position of honor or trust, he reflected credit upon the appointing power. A gentleman of the old school, he was genial, kind and hospitable. The latch-string to his house always hung upon the outside. He served several times in the Territorial Legisla- ture and always with great credit to himself, using his influence at all times to enact laws for the benefit of the Territory.
"In 1894," says his daughter, Miss Margaret A. Brady, "my father was appointed as Special Agent for the Interior Department, in the U. S. Private Court of Land Claims, and he obtained valuable information in behalf of the Govern- ment in the Peralta-Reavis land fraud. His notes are very humorous relative to the ridicu- lous claims of Reavis and his wife. I can say that it was greatly due to my father's information that the Government was able to identify the fraud."
In 1898 he served for the last time in the Upper House of the Territorial Legislature, and from the Arizona Gazette of March, 1898, I extract the following :
"Quite a pathetic little parting scene oc- curred at the Maricopa depot upon the evening of the departure of the members of the legisla- ture. Hon. Peter R. Brady, the veteran coun- cilman of the Nineteenth, whose biography has been closely interwoven with stirring and inter- esting events in the early history of Arizona, stood a little apart from the chatting group. Though still of vigorous constitution and robust
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