USA > Arizona > History of Arizona, Vol. IV > Part 16
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recapture some of the cattle, but in this they were unsuccessful. They found one large ox that had been killed and left lying as he fell. The Indians got away with nineteen head of cattle, worth at the time between three and four thousand dollars. The wounded horse began to recover, but in less than two weeks both the horses, in spite of all vigilance, became the prop- erty of the Apache thieves.
"About this time the harvesting began. The barley was so short that it could not be well cut with a scythe and cradle, so the boys pulled it like flax. The grain was then beaten out with flails, or tramped out with oxen on dirt floors. and the grain separated from the chaff by a man standing on a stool and pouring it slowly on to the ground, thus allowing the wind to blow the chaff and straw away. By repeating this sev- eral times the grain was got pretty clean, ex- cept for gravel and dirt, more or less of which had unavoidably got into the grain from the roots and the thrashing upon the ground.
"In the latter part of July the settlers were scattered about among their respective crops, Lang, Ramstein and Yates across Clear Fork, where they had been camped for two or three days thrashing their wheat, having two yoke of oxen with them; Whitcomb with the herd between the Fort and the river; Culbertson forty rods to the south of him at work in the field, and the other settlers at work to the east of and about the Fort and the cabins.
"About two o'clock in the afternoon rapid firing was heard at the Dutch camp across Clear Fork, and at almost the same instant the Indians attacked the herder, and attempted
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to stampede the cattle. Culbertson immediately rushed to the assistance of Whitcomb, who had been hit with two balls at the first attack, but stood obstinately trying to defend himself and protect the cattle. Culbertson's onset caused the savages to seek cover. The cattle, in the meantime, ran to the corral where they were secured. The Indians, eleven in number, then ran up the river, crossed over, and disappeared. Whitcomb had been only slightly wounded, one bullet striking his pistol, and another wound- ing him in the hands.
"That the camp across Clear Fork had been attacked there was no doubt, but a belt of tim- ber between it and the Fort prevented anything from being seen. Half a dozen brave fellows at once volunteered to go to the assistance of the Dutch Camp, nearly a mile distant, and started at the double quick, when the lookout called their attention to a party of Indians hurrying down the west side of the river in the same direction. This was the band that had made the attack upon Whitcomb, and they were evidently nurrying to join their companions who had made the main attack upon the weaker camp. Matters began to look serious. No time was lost in speculation for there seemed bloody work before them. When about half way through the timber, they met Lang and Yates with one yoke of oxen, and the wagon, Ram- stein lying in the bottom with a severe bullet wound in the hip. It seemed that Ramstein had been alone in the camp when the attack was made, Yates and Lang having gone into the field for a load of wheat. Ramstein fell at the first fire, and Lang and Yates, leaving the team,
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hurried to his assistance, driving the Indians away, but not until they had plundered the camp. Ramstein, by half crawling and half running, managed to get out, and thus save his scalp. The Indians driven from the camp, Lang turned his attention to the oxen, half a dozen Indians being engaged in trying to get them loose from the wagon. With Dutch oaths he started shooting as he ran to save his cattle. The savages had loosened one pair of cattle, but the wheelers were fastened to the pole with a patent catch that the Indians could not un- fasten, so they started to the river with the oxen and wagon. But Lang, swearing at every jump, and flourishing his six shooter, which he had now emptied, forced them to abandon the oxen, and he then drove them to camp, where Ramstein was loaded in by himself and Yates, and started off for the Fort, on the way to which they were met as already stated.
"Determined not to leave the savages in peaceable possession of that side of the creek. it was agreed that the wounded man, accom- panied by all but four men, should go on to the Fort, and that these four should return and give battle to the Apaches, who numbered about seventy-five warriors. C. M. Ralston, Polk, James Boblett, and Swetnam, volunteered for this work, and immediately began a cautious but rapid movement in the direction of the enemy, distant not more than eighty rods, and whose chattering and exulting shouts could be plainly heard. When the boys had reached a spot about forty feet from the open ground, they came to a stop, and Swetnam, getting into the bed of a dry ditch, crawled along to the
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edge of the brush. Cautiously raising his head. he saw a dozen or more Indians, some search- ing the abandoned camp, and others with torches setting fire to the dry and still unthreshed bar- ley and wheat, while west of him and not more than twenty rods from his companions, was such a din, hubbub and chattering as it seemed nothing less than a hundred tongues all wag- ging at once could make. Hastening back with the report of his reconnoisance, the boys changed their course so as to get the edge of the thick brush about one hundred feet to the northeast of where the bulk of the savages were so busily engaged. All this had not taken ten minutes from the time they left the wagon, and in three more minutes they were crouching at the edge of the brush. About fifteen Indians could now be seen across the field at a distance of one hundred and fifty to two hundred yards, but at that distance they might miss, while the boys knew that others, while hidden by a tongue of brush, were in fifty feet of them, still keep- ing up that outlandish chattering. While dis- cussing in whispers what was the best course to pursue, seven or eight stalwart warriors came out from behind a point of bushes not more than fifty steps away, and marched off in single file. in a direction quartering to the southeast.
"The question was solved. Swetnam and James each selected his Indian and fired, Bob- lett and Ralston reserving. Each of the Apaches fell, as is their custom when fired upon from close quarters, and as those who were able arose, Ralston and Boblett sent a couple more leaden messengers into them. The chat- tering was immediately changed into the war
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whoop, and painted warriors poured forth like angry bees from a hive, but the boys simply backed a few steps into the willows, and re- loaded as rapidly as possible. We might here state that all the guns in the valley were muz- zle loaders, useless for long distances, but very effective at any distance under one hundred yards. Before the guns were reloaded, the sav- ages were heard plunging into the river, less than a hundred yards away. The boys then knew the retreat had begun, but they moved from their cover very cautiously. It was pro- posed to follow and give one more volley as they crossed the river, but this suggestion was rejected, such action being considered too haz- ardous as the enemy would be on his guard. The mystery of the chattering was then solved. The captured oxen, which probably weighed fifteen hundred pounds each, gross, had been butchered and distributed within the space of less than half an hour, and to increase the won- der, nearly every particle, even to the intestines, had been carried away, the only pieces of meat found being those dropped by the little bunch of savages fired upon. The boys did what they could to arrest the fire started by the thieves, and then returned to the fort.
"It now became evident that the Indians were bent on destruction, and the settlers felt that they had got their harvest ready and that they deserved protection from the government. Earnest appeals were made to that effect to the authorities at Fort Whipple, and fair prom- ises made that were not fulfilled. Peace reigned again for nearly a month, during which time a party of prospectors left Prescott, nineteen
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in number, crossing the river about fifteen miles above the settlement, then crossing over to Beaver Creek, near which they were attacked by the Apaches with such vigor and obstinacy, that the party gave up the enterprise, coming into the Camp Verde settlement, where they left one man who was severely wounded. Ramstein was lying wounded at the same time, but through the skill of Culbertson, who acted as surgeon and doctor, both men recovered.
"In August the first load of barley was taken to Prescott. It was not choice, but it was the fruit of hard and dangerous labor. In gath- ering the grain up, which was done by hand, the boys were often stung by scorpions, and sometimes a rattlesnake would roll out of the bunch and go wriggling away, but it was the Apache that was the bane of life. On arriv- ing at Prescott with the barley, the quarter- master was asked to buy it at eighteen dollars per hundred, what it cost to get it from San Francisco. He refused because it had gravel in it and was not so good as the California barley. When questioned as to what price he would pay, he answered: 'Don't think I want it at any price.' J. M. Swetnam, who was trying to make the sale, then said: 'This is a shame. Soldiers are sent here by the govern- ment to protect the people and their property, but instead of doing that they lie around the forts where there is no danger, and leave the settlers to protect themselves. Here are a few men who, for the purpose of developing the country, have staked all they had and gone into a region where twice the number of soldiers would not dare to attempt to stop for one month.
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They have gone out in the fields to work in the morning, the chances being even that they would be scalped before night. They have appealed to the authorities here for aid, yet no aid has come. They have taken out ditches, and toiled early and late. Their cattle and horses have been stolen and run off, and part of their crops destroyed, and when a load of grain, the proceeds of all their labors, dangers and disappointments, is offered to a govern- ment quartermaster, he refuses to buy.' The officer smiled and said: 'Come back in an hour and I'll see what can be done.' The end was that he took the barley at seventeen dollars per hundred, and agreed to take all they had to sell at the same price.
"The settlers now had a much easier time; wheat and barley had been harvested; the corn was growing finely; vegetables of all kind were plenty so that, but for the Apaches, it would have been a life of ease, though monotonous. Corn was in roasting ear, and the Indians be- gan to pillage. They would pass through a field of corn at night, and not only carry off, but pull, bite and destroy. This offended the boys very much. The most of the depredations were upon the corn of the Dutch boys across Clear Fork, that being the furthest away. After consultation it was determined to watch the field at night, kill an Indian, and hang him up on a pole as a warning. Lots were drawn for who should stand first, and for each succeed- ing night until all had stood, or the object se- cured. Osburn and Ruff came first, so they left the fort at dark, and slipped over into the field, where they remained until midnight,
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and no Indians appearing, they returned to camp. The next couple was Swetnam and Polk James, the latter a rather mysterious young fellow, claiming to be from Texas, who had been with them not more than a couple of months, and who was as brave as a lion. These two left the camp the next evening, and took their station in the cornfield near the river, where they thought it most likely the thieves would enter. James was armed with a rifle, and Swetnam with a double barrelled shotgun, with sixteen buckshot in each barrel. They also had pistols and knives. They took their position, and sat there, annoyed by mosquitoes, until about ten o'clock, when an ear of corn was heard to snap in the other side of the field. Each sprang to his feet. There was another snap, and another. The Indians were there. Then began a cautious and steady march across to where the Indians were, both stepping at the same time, and trying to time the step with the snapping of the corn. It was tedious work, but after what seemed to be the best part of an hour, they got to the edge of a small piece of Mexican corn which, being the riper, was chosen by the savages for carrying away. It was the night of August 27th. The young moon had sunk behind the hill. A small cloud had gathered almost immediately over them, and it was quite dark, but yet not so dark but what something could be seen indistinctly moving. Swetnam levelled his gun at what he thought was an Indian, and fired. The object fell, and following the report was a stillness that was oppressive. Swetnam stepped forward and
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placed his foot against the prostrate body. At that moment an arrow whizzed between their heads. 'Look out,' cried James, 'there was an arrow.' Before he had finished speaking, an arrow grazed his shoulder. At that moment there came a flash of lightning, the only flash too, as it happened that the cloud emitted, dis- covering to them an Indian crouching only fifteen feet away and shooting at them. Seeing that he was discovered he uttered his war-whoop, and in the double darkness that followed the lightning, although shot at by both the watchers, he escaped. His whoop was answered by several others. When the boys understood their dan- ger, they reached down at their feet, caught and drew the body that had fallen, fifteen or twenty feet back into a taller piece of corn, where they reloaded as speedily and silently as possible. The body they had drawn back with them was only a bag made of an Indian blanket, and filled with ears of corn, and the blanket showed that Swetnam's aim had been good, for he had put the whole sixteen buckshot into one hole. The Indian had the bag, which saved his life, upon his back, and was not more than twenty feet away when the shot was fired.
"The guns loaded, the boys listened breath- lessly for some sound, when there came a rustling in the corn all around them. It was a terrible moment; each felt as if he were surrounded by Apaches ; as if his time had come. For five min- utes they stood, trying by the force of their will- power to quiet the tumultuous beatings of their own hearts. Silence again surrounded them when, the excessive strain relaxing, they sat
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down on their bag of corn to wait. After a lapse of a few minutes more, there was another slight rustling, and again all was still. Quiet as the grave they sat there for an hour, but ere this it began to dawn upon them that the rattling sound that their heated imaginations had wrought into the stealthy movements of a score of crouching, murderous Apaches, was only the rubbing of rank corn blades together as they were stirred by the light breeze. This was proven the next morning when, by daylight, a search was made, and no Indian track found immediately around where they were. The arrows which had been shot at them were found, also the trail by which the Indians had escaped. The blanket was secured and kept by Swetnam for a long time as a trophy. This ended the pilfering, but three weeks later the Indians came in force and, judging by the trail which they made no attempt to conceal, there must have been a hundred and fifty; there were even tracks of children not more than eight or nine years old in the party, and they got away with at least one hundred bushels of corn, worth six dollars per bushel. The theft was not discovered until the next morning. The moon was at its full, and the next evening, a little after dark, ten men started upon the trail, but after a few miles the Indians scattered in different directions, and though the boys followed for fifteen miles, they found no Indians.
"About the middle of September, Lieut. Baty, with sixteen men, was detailed by the com- mander of Fort Whipple for the protection of the settlers of the Verde valley. But they were of little use, several of the men, from one cause
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and another, being unfit for duty, and the lieu- tenant commanding was a coward. On the way down, within seven miles of the settlement, the soldiers were attacked by the Apaches, the com- missary wagon captured and burned, one or two troopers wounded, and two government mules killed. It was a notorious fact throughout the country that Indians would not hesitate to at- tack a party of troops double the number of a party of settlers or miners that would be left unmolested, the reason being that the soldiers had little heart in the fight and, up to the days of General Crook, were poorly commanded, while the settlers and miners were fighting for their homes, for honor, for life itself.
"When the soldiers had been in the valley about one month, the savages made another at- tack, capturing all the remaining cattle except seven, being the last but seven of a herd of fifty- five head brought into the valley less than eight months before. In this raid the direction and management of the defenses was left to the mili- tary, though the settlers joined them with their old-time vigor. Lieutenant Baty gave his orders, detailing a sergeant to execute them, and was immediately taken ill, returning to his tent, keep- ing a man to fan him, and did not come out again for more than an hour, not until the fight was over and the Indians gone. The savages had made the raid from the hills northeast of the fort, and were back again with their booty under cover before the sergeant with nine troopers and eight settlers got started in pursuit. But half a mile back in the bluffs they made a stand, and but for the watchfulness and intrepidity of two of the settlers, Culbertson and Sanford, part of
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the troops would have been surrounded and probably killed. The Indians were well man- aged, a large party of them rapidly retreating, followed by the sergeant and five men, not know- ing that another party of Indians were concealed while the troops were passing them. But sev- eral of the settlers coming at an angle, discov- ered a savage belonging to the concealed band, and knowing that a trap had been set, began firing. This brought the savages from their cover, and made the soldiers aware of their dan- ger. The latter at once began to retreat, and the Indians, leaping forth by dozens, turned their whole attention to the settlers, who stood their ground manfully, and finding that the savages were being reinforced, and that it was retreat or be scalped, Melvin and Ruff immediately sought the shelter of a ravine and escaped un- hurt, but Culbertson and Sanford were not so fortunate. The latter was surrounded, and de- fending himself as best he could, when Culbert- son rushed to his assistance. The savages were then driven back, and the two men then began to dodge from cover to cover, loading and firing as opportunity offered, until assistance arrived and the Apaches fell back. Both men were wounded, Culbertson quite seriously. In the meantime the sergeant had succeeded in extricat- ing his men from what came near being a serious ambuscade.
"Although October, the day was hot, and one of the funny incidents connected with the fight was the appearance of one of the Indians, evi- dently a chief from the active part he took, wearing during the whole time a soldier's heavy cape overcoat.
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"A few weeks after this, Baty was relieved of the command, Lieutenant McNeal, with a small reinforcement, being sent to take his place. McNeal was a very good man, who seemed to realize the situation.
"The government made arrangements to take all the corn and grain which the settlers wished to sell, paying for the corn, without its being shelled, thirteen dollars per hundred. This was some compensation, but when it is remembered that during the season the Indians had destroyed or carried away barley and corn to the amount of nearly $2,000, driven off horses to the value of $500, and cattle to the value of over $6,000, for none of which the settlers have ever received any reimbursement, the profits were not large, con- sidering the labor, anxiety and privations, not to mention the sufferings of the men who estab- lished and maintained the first settlement in the valley of the Verde."
Never in the history of the world did men have to contend against so formidable a foe as did the pioneer settlers of Arizona. Harassed on all sides by the relentless Apaches, cut off from civilization by the desert plains of New Mexico and California, they lived a life of warfare and privations, a few determined men against hordes of savage foes. Many of these hardy settlers fell victims to Indian cunning, and the finding of a few bleached bones in after years was all the record left of their untimely departure.
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CHAPTER XII. EARLY SETTLEMENTS (Continued).
FIRST SETTLEMENT IN LOWER SAN PEDRO VAL- LEY-MILITARY PROTECTION WITHDRAWN- INDIAN DEPREDATIONS-WM. A. BELL'S DE- SCRIPTION OF SETTLEMENT-FISH'S DESCRIP- TION OF EARLY SETTLEMENTS - RUSLING'S DESCRIPTION OF EARLY ARIZONA-YUMA- TUCSON - EHRENBERG - LA PAZ - CASTLE DOME LANDING-DESCRIPTION OF PRESCOTT BY BEN C. TRUMAN-"SAN FRANCISCO EX- AMINER'S" DESCRIPTION OF PRESCOTT-ARI- ZONA HISTORICAL SOCIETY - BIOGRAPHY OF BEN H. WEAVER-HOOPER & CO., FIRST MER- CANTILE ESTABLISHMENT IN ARIZONA-MEM- BERS OF-BIOGRAPHY OF EDWARD N. FISH.
Colonization in the southern portion of the Territory was also begun contemporaneously with the colonization in the north. From the Fish manuscript I quote the following :
"The occupying of the lower San Pedro (the term lower is used to distinguish it from the set- tlements above Benson made later on), was the earliest of any point in this district. On De- cember 15th, 1865, Mark Aldrich, John H. Archi- bald, F. Berthold, Jarvis Jackson, John Mont- gomery and H. Brown, of Tucson, came into the lower San Pedro valley, and located lands. They immediately put in a crop of wheat and barley. In February, 1866, they commenced work on the ditch which was to carry water to their lands. Things went on quite well, and by the 25th of April, all were ready to plant a crop of corn. Houses had been erected and a few
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troops came for their protection, and in a short time there were about one hundred men, women and children in the valley. In September the troops were taken away. The crops for the first year were very good, considering the cir- cumstances. The total amount of grain, such as wheat, barley, corn and beans was about 350,000 pounds.
"The first Indian depredations were in the next year, 1867, when some Mexicans were at- tacked while plowing, and one was killed. Some weeks later the Indians killed the herder, and drove off one horse and four yoke of oxen. Things began to look very discouraging, and some of the settlers in the lower part of the val- ley talked about leaving, but a petition was got- ten up for troops, and General Crittenden sent ten men to aid them. The Indians continued to be troublesome, and in September they stole three more horses. The grain crop this year was not as good as the year before. It amounted to about 250,000 lbs., mostly corn."
William A. Bell, in his work entitled "New Tracks in North America," being, as he himself calls it, a journal of travel and adventure whilst engaged in the survey for a southern railroad to the Pacific Ocean during 1867-68, and who, while engaged in this work, visited the San Pedro Valley in 1867, says:
"I visited a farm in the San Pedro Valley be- fore leaving Camp Grant; it was only four miles from the fort, and yet all the crops that autumn had been cut down and carried off before they were ripe by the Aravaipa Apaches, and all that remained of the stock was a few pigs. Half a dozen soldiers were kept at this ranch all the
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year round to try and protect it, so that the fort might be supplied with fresh farm produce; yet during three years this farm has changed hands thrice; the first man was killed, the second was scared away by the frequency of the attacks upon him, the third is now thoroughly disgusted, and talks of settling amongst the Pimas on the Gila."
Of the early settlements in Arizona Fish, in his manuscript, says :
"In the early days of American occupation Arizona was considered by all Americans an utterly barren and worthless waste of shifting sands and rock-ribbed mountains, probably rich in minerals, but of no agricultural value what- ever. The early explorers, trappers, and pros- pectors, had no thought of seeking farms in Arizona, but having come to these sandy and rocky wastes in search of silver and gold, they began to till the soil in spots to supply their necessities, and found it wonderfully productive wherever water could be obtained. Since that period progress has been constant, though at times not very rapid. It is known that the lands around the Pima Villages have been cultivated for over three hundred years, raising two crops a year, and still they produce as plentifully as ever, and their cultivation may extend centuries back of that period. The soil formation is as variable as that of California, ranging from the white pebble to the red clay and black alluvium, differing greatly from the geological rules in other sections of the Union. Sands are found along streams where fine soil might be expected, while the dark, strong formation is often found upon the mesa, where only vegetation of semi-
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