USA > Arizona > History of Arizona, Vol. IV > Part 17
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sterility grows. Most of the valleys served as a colossal receptacle for a vast, rich deposit of the decompositions of the surrounding mountains, which has been carried and swept into them by the rains and winds of centuries. This makes these regions the most fertile spots in the world, lacking only water, and being destitute of this, they are deserts or wastes that cannot be used. Up to the time of the subjugation of the Apaches, little attention was given to farming. A little land was cultivated in spots in the Santa Cruz Valley, a few patches were under cultivation in the vicinity of Prescott and the Verde; some little in the vicinity of Florence, and some in the Salt River Valley, where Phoenix had just been established. The amount of land under culti- vation at this period was very small indeed, but there had been a cause for this, which the war- like Apaches could have explained."
Notwithstanding the rather pessimistic view taken by Mr. Fish, quite a number of settlements were made in Arizona during the years 1865 and 1866, and also in the latter part of 1864.
Joseph Ehle, and his son-in-law, John H. Dickson, took up a claim in Skull Valley in the fall of 1864. The next spring they plowed and put in some corn, but the Indians ran them out of the place. In the spring of 1866 they put in about 50 acres of corn. It yielded nearly 50 bushels to the acre, which they sold to the govern- ment for the soldiers stationed nearby, at ten cents per pound.
A location was also made in Williamson Val- ley, James Fine starting a home there in 1866, but the settlement did not grow very fast, as the
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next year the place could only boast of having two or three settlers.
General Rusling, in his work, "Across Amer- ica," says: "The military posts, like the smaller settlements, were lonely places, and far removed from civilization. At Fort Mohave, early in 1867, the only white woman was the wife of an officer. She was the only white woman within a hundred miles of the place."
He visited Arizona in the winter of 1866-67 on a tour of inspection of the Pacific coast, being then a Brigadier-general in the United States Army. Besides his report he kept a private journal. Of Arizona, on page 400 of his work, he says :
"The population of the Territory was var- iously computed at from three to four thousand only, of whom the majority by far were Mexi- cans and their descendants. The other whites were mainly Arkansans and Texans, many of whom, no doubt, exiles from the east 'for their country's good.' Of course this was not a very favorable basis for a commonwealth, and the Territory, it appeared, was about at a stand- still. As evidence of this there was not a bank, or banking-house, or free school, or Protestant church, or missionary even, throughout the whole of Arizona, a region some four or five times as large as the great State of New York."
Yuma, at that time, was the main point of the southwest, and the center of trade for most of the Territory. In 1866 the place contained a population of about five hundred inhabitants, all told. Many of the settlers were of a worth- less class. They knew how to drink and swear, and were not of that class which was termed
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"good citizens." These rough characters, with the soldiers at the posts, had a very bad effect upon the morals of the Indians. Their licen- tiousness was disgusting. Rusling said: "On one occasion the commanding officer bade Pas- qual (the chief of the Yumas), to order his squaws away from the post. 'My squaws!' he indignantly responded, 'no my squaws now! White man's squaws! Before white man came squaws good-stay in wigwam-cook-fish- work in field-gather barley-heap good, but white man made squaws heap bad. White man keep 'em!' "'
On page 361, Rusling says: "Both sexes, as a rule, were naked from the waist up, and many of them were superb specimens of humanity, but all seemed corrupted and depraved by con- tact with the nobler white race. The open and unblushing looseness and licentiousness of the riffraff of Arizona City with these poor Indians was simply disgusting, and it is a disgrace to a Christian government to tolerate such orgies as frequently occur there, under the very shadow of its flag. Great blame attaches to the army, in former years, for ever admitting these poor creatures within the precincts of the post there at all."
In 1866 the headquarters of the military were removed from Prescott to Tucson. The town received somewhat of a boom for, in Arizona, particularly, prosperity seemed to follow the flag. The entire population of Arizona was engaged in something tributary to the United States Paymaster. Mexicans got out wood, hay and beef for the army. They would come into
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town, bringing vouchers for two or three hun- dred dollars, which were for two or three months' work. These they would trade to the merchants for goods, according to Fish, and get a small portion in cash. On the next arrival of the paymaster, the merchant would get his money. The paymaster came only twice a year, and when he arrived his appearance created great excitement. A general good time fol- lowed. Everyone had money, and plenty of it; gambling flourished on a large scale, and the saloons reaped a rich harvest. Business would boom, and last some two months, when the vouch- ers would begin again.
At the commencement of the year 1867 there were about half a dozen stores in the place, well stocked with all kinds of merchandise. Coal oil was $8 per gallon, sugar seventy-five cents a pound, coffee a dollar and a half, a bar of soap fifty cents, boots fifteen to twenty dollars a pair, flour sixteen to eighteen dollars a hundred pounds. Twenty-five cents was the smallest piece of money in use, just as a nickel is here to-day. These prices were in gold.
Tucson was the headquarters of the military, and the chief depot for the several posts. Stores for Camps Lowell, Cameron, Wallen, Bowie and Grant were all received here from Yuma. The total cost from San Francisco to Tucson for transportation, was twenty cents per pound in coin. These prices were ruinous to every enter- prise, and was the main thing, next to the Apaches, against the Territory, and the mer- chants and officials were clamoring to get trans- portation from a gulf port, either La Libertad
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or Guaymas. Many investigations of this route were made, this being one of the objects of the visit of General Rusling. The changing of the routes, it was thought, would save at least two hundred thousand dollars to the Government annually.
During the rule of Maximilian in Mexico, there was a considerable influx of Liberals into Tucson from Sonora, but when Juarez came into power, many of them returned to their former homes. Many of the acquisitions made from these parties did not help to promote good order, for they were desperate, undesirable characters. This added to the disorder and few men died a
natural death, and this led to the formation of a Vigilance Committee in Yuma, and a Law and Order Society in Tucson, whose object it was to protect society against robbers, thieves, and murderers. There is no record that any of these societies ever took the law into their own hands, but the mere fact that the law-abiding citizen- ship along the border being organized into these societies had, no doubt, a most salutary effect upon the lawless class.
Tucson was badly governed in the early days. "For some time," says Fish, "the Mexican Alcalde dealt out justice in the old-fashioned way. This did not suit the Americans, and the whipping-post had seen its day. Judge Chas. Meyer (an account of whose administration is given in a preceding volume), and Jimmy Doug- lass were appointed to effect a change. The first thing they did was to establish a chain-gang, and enlist in its ranks every offender that was caught. Jimmy did the most of the catching,
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and the Judge 'sent them up.' The shyster lawyers, who had been running the machinery of justice to suit themselves, tried to overthrow the chain-gang with the constitution of the United States, but their efforts availed nothing. The Judge did not propose to fool with the con- stitution until he had thoroughly tested the chain-gang. His process was as summary as the results were gratifying, and in a short time all the wild, rough characters who had ruled the town, were employed in levelling its streets. Judge Meyer was justice of the peace for many vears afterwards. His policy had changed things considerably, and the streets soon pre- sented a motley crowd, where almost every phase of life was presented. Kid-gloved men, fresh from the eastern cities were there, full of the idea of plundering Arizona and going back to enjoy the results; brawny, broad-shouldered stockmen, and hardy, open-faced miners, repre- sentatives from a score of different nations; Indians scattered around, and dogs without number, made up the street scenes of Tucson. Immigrants came in slowly, and improvements were gradually made."
It is claimed that as early as 1858 one R. Jack- son put up a flouring mill in Tucson. The mill, however, was the property of Captain Roulett & Brothers. It was erected at an enormous ex- pense. The timbers were hewn out of cotton- wood logs, and it was roughly but strongly built. Wheat was brought from Sonora, and com- manded enormous prices. At that time it was claimed that there were but eight or ten Ameri- cans in Tucson. A modern flouring mill was
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built in Tucson in 1872 by James Lee and W. F. Scott, who, two years later, sold out to E. N. Fish.
Ehrenberg, a hundred and thirty miles above Yuma, named for Herman Ehrenberg, was started in 1863, and called Mineral City. In the early days the California & Arizona Stage Line crossed the Colorado at this point, the ferry being established as far back as 1862. A con- siderable amount of freight was landed at this point for Prescott and the interior.
La Paz, six miles above Ehrenberg, was the first county seat of Yuma County. The placer mines being worked out in the vicinity, most of the inhabitants went to Ehrenberg, and other places.
Castle Dome Landing, thirty miles above Yuma, was a flourishing place for a short time during the excitement of placer gold mining.
In the early part of the year 1867, Mr. Ben C. Truman, special agent of the Postoffice De- partment, wrote a letter to the "San Francisco Bulletin," from which I extract the following:
"On the whole, Prescott is an interesting as well as thriving and delightful place. Good order prevails to a greater extent than in any mining town I ever visited. The people, for the most part, are industrious and properous. The climate is charming, and the site is pic- turesque. The country around and about seems like an enchanted land. From Capitol Hill, about four miles outside the city, a panorama of exquisite loveliness and long drawn beauty dazzles the view of the beholder. Sixty odd miles to the north San Francisco Mountain up-
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lifts itself majestically, fifteen thousand feet above the level of the sea, a very giant among its fellows. It is evidently a volcanic mountain, about twelve miles in length, of a granite forma- tion, with a cluster of peaks clothed in wintry garments of perpetual snow, and circling this lofty mass are a number of hills traversed with belts of spruce and pine timber, and intersected here and there are gigantic avenues of granite rock, which slope in a symmetrical formation to a beautiful valley below through which rove and gambol innumerable deer.
"San Francisco Mountain belongs to the Mogollon Range, and, looming up, as it does, it seems to be a detached spur rather than a con- necting link of the above-named chain. North- west of this mountain, at a distance of about fifty miles, are the Moqui Indians, celebrated for their industry and for their uniform goodwill and peaceful disposition toward the whites. Fifty miles to the northwest is Bill Williams' Mountain, nine thousand feet high, and between it and the San Francisco Mountain, are other well-known earth giants. The most noted are Mts. Kendrix and Sitgreaves. The country between here and the San Francisco Mountain is valuable and consists of mountain, forest and plain, while here and there are groves of pine and juniper. Looking to the west a thimble- shaped mountain, called Mt. Thumb Butte, some four miles from the town, is the prominent attraction. Picacho Mountain, between Blue Water and Prescott, situated as it is in a forest of towering pines, is detached from its neighbor- ing mountains. To the right, ten miles further,
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Granite Mountain lifts its rugged sides, scat- tered over with rocks, shrubs and dwarf oaks, also pines and junipers. This mountain has been called by some, Mt. Gurley, in honor of the first Governor of the Territory. Along the passes of this mountain, and through a large agricultural field called Miller's Valley, mean- ders the Mohave road, upon which many a pil- grim has been sent to his long account by the hostile savages who infest these mountain dis- tricts. To the east and to the south, and in the lingering distance, heavily timbered with pine and black walnut, range after range of moun- tains tumble one upon another, while still fur- ther back are the mountains of precious metal which are at present attracting the attention of thousands. Here are the Lynx Creek, Turkey Creek, Big Bug, Quartz Mountain, and other large mining districts, in which are located no less than ten mines, many of which are already in active operation. The clear, sparkling, never-failing streams which run in every direc- tion through these mountains, form the head- waters of the Verde River, Agua Fria and Has- sayampa, the chief tributaries of the Salina and the Gila."
In January of the same year, the correspond- ent of the San Francisco "Examiner," gives the following description of Prescott:
"I promised in my letters a description of the town of Prescott which is situated on the banks of Granite Creek, in an amphitheater formed by the mountains and hills which surround it. The site is well chosen and prettily laid out. It looks huge, but has somewhat of an embryo appear-
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ance in reality. There are one or two private residences that are quite respectable, some taste being displayed in their construction. There is but one brick building, erected expressly for the printing office of the "Arizona Miner," a semi- occasional paper that claims to be supporting no particular party, but professes to be open to all. As to the rest of the town, there are eight or nine stores, all in plain board shanties, with the ex- ception of the building occupied by the Messrs. Bowers, which is constructed of adobe, and is, by far, the most commodious building Prescott can boast of.
"The present merchants are Gray & Co., also of San Francisco and La Paz; Campbell & Buffum, a branch of the Los Angeles firm; Mr. Hardy has a large store here, well stocked with hardware, and Wormser & Co. appear to have a pretty good business. After these, one or two small traders, three or four small drinking saloons, a hotel and a restaurant may be said to comprise the entire business of the place.
"Of public buildings there are none, except an old log building used as a courthouse and for sundry other purposes, too numerous to men- tion. We have no jail. That is speaking well for the morals of the community ; and no church, perhaps that speaks the other way, but I am not quite sure. The courthouse answers the purpose very well, with a lager beer saloon at- tached. This useful courthouse is situated on one side of what is termed the 'Plaza,' a large quadrangle, that looks green and pleasant in the summer. A large flagstaff graces the same, from which floats the Star Spangled Banner.
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Granite Creek comprises the rest of the town, which is below the Plaza on the north. As is usual, the houses on the lower side are built a little too near the stream, and are in danger of being washed away during freshets.
"The Governor's residence is on the opposite side of the creek, and is by far the most sub- stantial private dwelling in Prescott. Fort Whipple is situated a little over one mile from town, and is a substantial adobe structure, and is, at present, occupied by a detachment of the 14th Infantry, commanded by Captain Krautz
"I had almost omitted to mention what I con- sider one of the most useful institutions in Pres- cott, 'The Arizona Historical & Pioneer Asso- ciation.' This association was incorporated two years ago by an act of the Legislature of Ari- zona, as 'The Arizona Historical Association,' for the purpose of collecting and preserving the war relics and evidences of a very remote civ- ilization that abound in the Territory. They have established a library and reading-room, which is well supported by both home and for- eign papers, farmers' periodicals, and a few standard works. The shelves contain several specimens of the rich and various minerals found in the Territory of Arizona. There are some curious relics from the past, and it will, some day, be a valuable collection."
The Arizona Historical Society had only a brief existence. After the removal of the cap- itol from Prescott, it was abandoned, probably for want of supplies.
Prescott, about this time, was a very lively place, typically western. Those who had money
Y
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shared with those who were impoverished. No need for anyone to go hungry who had any snap or energy. Every man packed his own arsenal. Many of them were crack shots. Neri Osborn speaks of two expert shots, Leroy Jay and Tom May, whose custom it was, after imbibing quite freely, to step off about ten or fifteen paces, and put a pine burr on the top of one of their heads, which the other would shoot off, and then they would do the same thing over, the other fellow doing the shooting. In 1866 they were hauling ore for Bill Behrens, and the Indians jumped them and killed them.
Mr. Osborn says: "There was a great deal of killing in the early days, but it was not as peo- ple generally imagine it. It was not done in a spirit of mischief, but usually where two fellows had a grievance, and decided to fight it out."
One of the early comers to Prescott was Ben H. Weaver, who came to that city with Secretary McCormick upon the latter's return to Arizona from a visit to California, in 1865. Mr. Weaver was born in Palmyra, Michigan, in 1837. When he was fourteen years of age he was apprenticed to the printer's trade, and was connected with Michigan newspapers for about four years. He tried farming in Illinois for about three years, and then returned to Michigan. In the year 1859 he started with horse teams with the inten- tion of going to Pike's Peak, but changed his plans and kept on through to California. In 1860 he went to Virginia City, Nevada, but re- turned to California and, in 1861, enlisted in the California Volunteers, being assigned to the quartermaster's department, and travelling
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through Arizona and New Mexico to the Rio Grande.
In the fall of 1862 Mr. Weaver returned to California and took a contract for carrying the Government and military mail across the desert for a hundred miles to and from Yuma. After one year in this service he became connected with the "Wilmington (Cal.) Journal," where he stayed for about a year. As above stated, he came to Arizona with Secretary McCormick in 1865, and then took a position on the "Arizona Miner," the first newspaper published in the Ter- ritory of Arizona. After working on this paper for about a year, he commenced farming in the Chino Valley, but soon afterwards, with John H. Marion, purchased the "Miner," retaining his interest in that paper until 1874, when he estab- lished a general merchandise store on Monte- zuma Street in Prescott, in which enterprise he was successful for fourteen years, after which he became connected with the transfer and freight- ing business.
During his early life in Arizona Mr. Weaver had many experiences with the Indians. He had one fight with them while he was farming in the Chino Valley when the Indians ran off his stock. With five neighboring ranchers he pursued the Indians and succeeded in putting them to rout. On another occasion, while engaged in freighting between Prescott, Mohave and Ehrenberg, in the year 1867, one of his wagons broke down. Its load was transferred to another wagon, and the driver of the broken-down wagon was directed to return to Mohave, the starting point. This driver was overtaken by the Indians and mur- dered, and four of his six mules killed. Another time while accompanied only by his partner, Mr.
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Adair, each driving a wagon, one of the wagons broke down, and Mr. Weaver stayed alone with the broken-down wagon while Adair went for assistance. This happened in Bell's Canyon, and the pioneer freighter, Freeman, who has been mentioned in these pages, came along shortly afterwards and soundly berated Mr. Weaver for his indiscretion in staying alone. This was soon after Freeman's fight with the Indians in Skull Valley.
Mr. Weaver held many positions of trust, among them being those of coroner, county supervisor, and school trustee. He was married in 1868 to Miss Caroline Stephens, who came to the Territory in 1864 with her parents. This
union was blessed with five children, one son and four daughters, who are still living. Shortly after the birth of the first child Mrs. Weaver, hearing a noise in their yard at night while Mr. Weaver was at the printing office, and thinking it was Indians, took the child on one arm, and with a revolver in the other hand, and a candle, went into the yard to investigate. Mr. Weaver arriving about that time, found his wife, as de- scribed above, searching for Indians. Instead of Indians they found a burro which had caused the alarm. I recite this simply to show the terror which the Indians inspired in the minds of all the early settlers. Had it been really Indians Mrs. Weaver's life would have paid the forfeit of her rashness.
Mr. Weaver had the misfortune to lose his wife in the early part of the present year. He is still a resident of Prescott.
Probably the earliest mercantile establishment in Arizona was that of Geo. F. Hooper, which was established in Arizona City, now Yuma. An
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account of the establishment of, and changes in this business has been furnished me by James M. Barney, a resident of Phoenix, and a nephew of Col. James M. Barney, formerly one of the mem- bers of this concern. This account is as follows : "One of the early business houses of Arizona City was the mercantile establishment of George F. Hooper, first established in the year 1851, when much travel to the California gold fields passed by that place.
"The business continued to expand from the start until-besides the original founder-the firm was represented by the following partners : Francis J. Hinton, Maj. William H. Whiting, James M. Barney and John S. Carr.
"On December 1st, 1868, George F. Hooper sold out his interest to his partners, the firm name then becoming Hinton, Hooper & Co., and so continued until May 1st, 1869, when Hinton withdrew from the partnership, which then be- came known as Hooper, Whiting & Co. Under this partnership Maj. Hooper looked after the firm's interests at San Francisco, Gus Whiting after its business in New York, Jim Barney was in charge at Arizona City, while Johnny Carr looked after its Arizona branches, which were then established at Fort Yuma on the California side of the Colorado, at Maricopa Wells, Saca- ton, Sweetwater, and Camp McDowell.
"On August 15th, 1871, the firm established a large branch wholesale and retail house at Eh- renberg on the Colorado, under the management of Col. Barney. At this place they were agents for Wells, Fargo & Co.'s Express; Peter Doll being the clerk in charge. In December of 1871 it also contained the postoffice, when Col. Bar- ney was appointed to succeed Joe Goldwater as
Hooper, Whiting & Co.'s. Store, Yuma, Arizona, 1866.
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postmaster. At the same time Johnny Carr was appointed postmaster at Arizona City.
"On October 2nd, 1871, Whiting disposed of his interest in the firm and retired, the remain- ing partners taking over the business and con- ducting it as formerly, with Major Hooper at San Francisco, Col. Barney at Ehrenberg, and Johnny Carr at Arizona City. On September 13th, 1873, Carr withdrew from the business, which was continued by Major Hooper and Col. Barney, without change.
"On September 1st, 1875, Major Hooper re- tired from the firm, which he had joined in May, 1866, the business being continued as formerly by the last of the partners, under the firm name of 'James M. Barney.'
"Referring to this last change in the firm, the following item appears in the "Alta" of San Francisco :
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