USA > Arizona > History of Arizona, Vol. IV > Part 9
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23
Three years had been spent in war against the Indians since the advent of the California Column, and it became apparent to the military authorities that the force in Arizona was not sufficiently large to cope successfully with the Indians. On March 22d, General Drum wrote to the United States Judge at La Paz, stating that a sufficient number of troops for the wants of the public service were on the way to Arizona, and that the citizens of the Territory would receive full protection. Judge J. P. Allyn re- plied that the people were then leaving the Ter- ritory in consequence of the Indian hostilities, and he feared that the coming of the troops would be too late to stop them.
On February 4th, 1865, Arizona was trans- ferred from the Department of New Mexico to the Department of California, and on the 20th of the same month, General McDowell assigned General John S. Mason to the command of this department, with a re-enforcement of California Volunteers, raising the force to about twenty- eight hundred men.
This re-enforcement included the Seventh In- fantry California Volunteers under Colonel Charles H. Lewis, and the First Battalion Na- tive California Cavalry under Major Salvador Vallejo, and, later, Captain John C. Cremony. In addition to these were the four companies of Arizona Volunteers already mentioned, which, as we have seen, were mustered out in July, 1866.
124
HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
The California volunteers were also mustered out the same year.
General Mason arrived in Yuma on May 14th, 1865 and immediately set about arranging his command for the protection of the settlers. He ordered Captain Kendall to proceed to Prescott via Fort Mohave, and Company E was ordered to La Paz by steamer, with instructions to pro- ceed to the Wickenburg District. General Mason found himself greatly in need of supplies, and to give the soldiers all the freedom possi- ble in the use of their arms, he arranged to get citizens to haul supplies so as to relieve the troops from this duty. In his report he stated that the whole Territory was virtually in the hands of the Indians; that he was preparing to start Colonel Lewis with three companies of his regiment and some two hundred Papago In- dians on a campaign in northern Arizona, also to start a force of cavalry and two hundred Pimas and Maricopas for the Tonto Basin, into the center of the Apache nation. The chief of the Maricopas, Juan Chiavria, was willing to furnish one hundred men. For his services he wanted to visit San Francisco, as other chiefs had been there, and he did not wish to be behind any of his neighbors in becoming acquainted with the whites.
Colonel Lewis did not accomplish much, and on June 15th he was ordered to abandon the post at Tubac, and establish his command at Cala- basas. That part of the Territory south of the Gila River, and east of the Pima villages, was made a sub-military district. A few feeble efforts were made against the Indians. Colonel C. E. Bennett left Fort Bowie on June 26th,
125
THE INDIANS AND THE MILITARY.
1865, going by a circuitous route to Fort Good- win, and, traveling nights to avoid being seen by Indians, he returned by another route, and, on July 3d, discovered a rancheria. The In- dians escaped, but he destroyed what effects fell into his hands. The next day a few Indians were discovered, who made their escape, but twenty-seven head of cattle were captured and taken to Fort Bowie, where the command ar- rived on the sixth. Colonel Bennett started out again on the 10th, this time to explore for a wagon road via Fort Breckenridge to Maricopa Wells. Upon this trip he did not meet any In- dians, but saw signs of them. On July 13th, 1865, Captain Messenger, with thirty men, left Tubac for a scout in the Huachuca Mountains. On the 22d he and fifteen men were surrounded and attacked by one to two hundred Indians. After about an hour's fight the Indians were driven off. Two of the soldiers were killed and one wounded. Captain Messenger returned to Tubac on August 4th.
In June, 1865, General Mason visited Fort Bowie. and changed the location slightly, and on the 29th arrived at Fort Goodwin. Governor John N. Goodwin accompanied him on this trip. They remained at Fort Goodwin for a few days, during which time not a single Indian visited the post, although they had been notified of the coming of the Governor and the General. They evidently feared some treachery, as it is stated that during the previous year five flags of truce had been violated. The General reported that the commander of the post, Major Gorham, was rendered incompetent on account of intoxicat- ing liquors. On this account, and because of
126
HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
blunders made at the time of the change of the department, matters were delayed for some time, and things were not in readiness for a campaign against the Apaches until November. From Maricopa Wells, General Mason proceeded to Prescott where, on October 31st, 1865, he issued General Order No. 11. Article V of this order says : "All Apache Indians in this Territory are hostile, and all men large enough to bear arms who may be encountered, will be slain wherever inet, unless they give themselves up as prison- ers. No women or children will be harmed; these will be taken prisoners. All rancherias, provisions and whatever of value belonging to the Indians that may be captured, will be de- stroyed, except such articles as may be of value to the United States, which will be turned into the proper officers and duly accounted for."
The campaign was to commence on the 25th of November and continue until the Indians were exterminated or brought to terms. A plan of operations was laid out for Colonel Lewis, com- manding at Calabasas; Colonel Wright, com- manding at the mouth of the San Pedro; Lieu- tenant-Colonel Pollock, commanding at Fort Goodwin; Major Benson, commanding at Fort Whipple; Captain Grant, with a company at Date Creek; Lieutenant Gibbs, with a detach- 'ment at Wickenburg, and Lieutenant-Colonel Bennett, commanding a force of friendly In- dians, probably Pimas and Maricopas, who was ordered to scout up Salt River, and to take care "that these Indians do not through mistake, come in contact with scouting parties of whites." A few of these expeditions were of some effect, but on the whole the campaign was a failure,
127
THE INDIANS AND THE MILITARY.
and General Mason was even less successful than General Carleton had been, and, in consequence, he received the customary abuse which was al- ways in plentiful supply for those who failed; no matter what cause led to such failure.
General Mason's policy was to place the In- dians on reservations, offer them food and pro- tection, and, on the other hand, to keep up inces- sant attacks upon them from all directions, which he thought would insure success, but his plan was interrupted by the withdrawal of the volunteers, and, in May or June, 1866, General Mason was removed. His plan was not much different from General Crook's who finally achieved success, but he lacked the means to carry it out. :
During this period there was a lull in hostili- ties in the southeast, but settlers were still way- laid and murdered. One of the pioneers of that section was Charles A. Shibell, who was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1841, and attended the high school at Davenport, Iowa, and the Iowa College. He left St. Louis with his father, travelling with horse teams via St. Joe, the North Platte, and the Sweetwater, Humboldt and Carson route, through South Pass, to Cali- fornia, the trip from St. Joe consuming sixty days.
After a short period as a clerk in Sacramento, in the fall of 1861, Mr. Shibell entered the gov- ernment employ as a teamster. February 15th, 1862, he arrived at Fort Yuma, and from there started toward the Rio Grande with the First and Fifth California Infantry, and the First California Cavalry Regiments. During this ex- pedition he visited Tucson. On the 1st of Janu-
128
HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
ary, 1863, he was transferred to Arizona, and returned to Tucson, then a small town. After a few months more of government service, he turned his attention to mining, later engaged in ranching and in transportation between Tucson and Yuma. He acted as Treasurer of the Tuc- son Building & Loan Association, and also of the Citizens' Building and Loan Association. From 1865 to 1868, he engaged in farming sixty- five miles south of Tucson. In 1876 he was elected sheriff of Pima County, and was re- elected in 1878, serving four years. Next he became interested in the hotel business, oper- ating what is now the Occidental Hotel. In 1888 he was nominated county recorder on the Democratic ticket, and was duly elected. So satisfactory was his service that he was re- elected successively in 1890, 1892, 1894, 1896, 1898 and 1900, the last time without opposition, and with the endorsement of the Republicans.
By his first marriage Mr. Shibell had four children: Mamie A. and Lillie M., of Tucson; Charles B., of Los Angeles, California, and Mer- cedes A., Mrs. Green, of Los Angeles. The second marriage of Mr. Shibell took place in San Francisco, and united him with Miss Nellie Norton, a native of Alabama. To this union were born two children: Lionel J., who is in the employ of the Southern Pacific Company, and Orpha. Fraternally Mr. Shibell was connected with the National Union, and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In the Arizona Society of Pioneers he held the offices of Secretary and President. During the three years in which he was a member of the board of school trustees, he was for one year president, and for two years
129
THE INDIANS AND THE MILITARY.
clerk of the board. He died in Tucson on the 21st day of October, 1908.
The following is from an address which was given by Mr. Shibell to the Pioneer's Historical Society, and it gives a very graphic account of conditions in Pima County in the early days of its settlement :
"In the early part of the year 1862 I arrived in Tucson in the employ of the government, and after a trip to the Rio Grande, returned here in February of the year 1863, and, leaving the gov- ernment employ, became a permanent resident of the Territory. During the latter part of 1863, I went to Los Angeles, via Yuma, and re- turned to Mohave, spent two or three weeks there, and took a canoe trip from Mohave down the Colorado to Yuma in company with one Stebbins and James Gardner, who was after- wards murdered at Texas Hill in the latter part of the year 1864. From Yuma I returned to Tucson, and was in the employ of Gen. J. B. Allen from January to June, at which date the California Volunteer troop which had been sta- tioned at Tucson was ordered to proceed to Las Cruces on the Rio Grande, to be mustered out of service. In the latter part of June I went to the Cerro Colorado mine in company with Al- fonzo Rickman, John H. Behan, Charles Rob- erts and George Blair, where I remained until November in the employment of the company. While there I first became acquainted with Charles T. Etchells, W. W. Williams, C. H. Lord, John Miller, James Walters, and numer- ous others. During my sojourn at Cerro Colo- rado, a number of murders were perpetrated by the Indians, the names of most of the murdered
9
130
HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
it is impossible to recollect. I recall among the murdered were William Wrightson, the man- ager of the Salero Mining Company, and after whom one of the peaks of the Santa Ritas is named, and the genial, pleasant, affable friend and companion, Francis A. Hopkins, who was a member from Pima County in the first Arizona Legislature; also a Mexican, name unknown, their servant, killed in the latter part of the year, 1864, at Point of Rocks, near old Fort Buchanan, now known as Camp Crittenden; Edward Stevens and J. S. Mills were killed near Patagonia in the early part of the year. In the fall of 1864 I returned to Tucson, remained un- til January, 1865, again returned to Cerro Colo- rado, where I was employed until May. Upon leaving went to Tubac, from which point I went to the Sonoita to try my hand at ranching, on what was the Finley ranch, now known as Maish's lower ranch in that valley, being then the most exposed settlement in the southwestern part of the country. William Rainey was my partner in ranching, and during the year 1865 the ranch was attacked three times; each time the Indians succeeded in running off all our stock. At that time there was no other ranch on the Sonoita, and our nearest neighbor was on the upper Santa Cruz, known as the Hua- babi, occupied by a Mexican by the name of Rafael Saavedra. Indian murders were very numerous during the year, and were confined amongst the Mexicans, whose names I cannot recall. In January, 1866, a party of Mexicans established a vineterillo or mescal factory at Casa Blanca, upper Sonoita, but in the course of a few weeks they were driven out, their stock
131
THE INDIANS AND THE MILITARY.
stolen, and two of their number killed, after which they abandoned the place. In April, 1866, they attacked the ranch, and although they did not succeed in killing anyone, they captured all our working animals and killed some of the cattle. Before the attack on us they had attacked the Huababi ranch, killing a Mexican, a woman, two children, one three the other five years old, and the owner, Rafael Saavedra. The circum- stances under which Rafael Saavedra was killed showed the heroic mould in which pioneers were cast. The Indians had set fire to all the out- buildings and huts near the main house in which were Saavedra and his family, who could have protected themselves against the attack. The Indians had captured a woman, one of the peons or servants, and were dragging her away. Her heart-rending cries calling for someone to save her, reached the ears of Rafael Saavedra, who, resisting the appeals of his family not to leave them, rushed out, attacked. the Indians, suc- ceeded in saving the woman, but at the expense of his own life. He received a mortal wound from which that same night he died. This heroic act, if portrayed by the pen of Scott or Tennyson, would render immortal the name of Rafael Saavedra.
"During the year 1866 we remained at the ranch, but were not attacked, although parties of Mexicans were killed, along the southern border in our vicinity, the names of whom were unknown to us, our own personal loss being the stock driven off as fast as we could replenish it. During the latter part of the year one of our men, a Mexican, name impossible to recall, other than Juan, was killed within one hundred yards
132
HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
of the house. After harvesting the crop we abandoned the ranch and moved to Tubac. Dur- ing the same year the Indians attacked a party of Mexicans at the Arroyo de San Gayetano, about five miles south of Tubac, killing two men, two women and two children."
Mr. W. N. Kelly, an old pioneer of Prescott, furnished me with the following data relating to the principal Indian fights in the northern part of the Territory during the year 1866.
According to his statement, the Apaches and Mohaves gave great trouble to the pioneer set- tlers during this year. A band of them fol- lowed Freeman's train into Skull Valley, and when he went into camp the Indians came out on the hills and wanted to come into the camp. They professed to be friendly. They left their bows and arrows behind, but all of them had knives which they had secreted. They sur- rounded the train and became "sassy" and wanted Freeman to give up his supplies. After a little while an old squaw came into the camp and wanted to know why the Indians did not start in and kill the white men off, and at that they drew their knives and started for the team- sters who all jumped for their guns. Freeman had an old fashioned goose gun, both barrels loaded with buck shot. The Indians then took to the woods for their bows and arrows. Old Freeman turned his goose gun loose just as the Indians were leading away from him in Indian file, and he must have got six or seven Indians in one shot, which disheartened them. They had quite a little fight, but the Indians finally took to the woods. It is said that the woods were full
133
THE INDIANS AND THE MILITARY.
of corpses from that fight. Freeman did not lose a man. He afterwards died in Phoenix.
Binckley had a team and a train with Free- man. He had lost an eye in the Battle Flat fight, and he said that he had got even with the Indians. Every teamster had bows and arrows and other things which they took from the Indians. Fred Henry was one of the heroes of that fight.
The Indians engaged in that fight were from the La Paz reservation on the Colorado, and it was proved afterwards that they had followed Freeman's train more than one hundred miles to find a favorable opportunity for making the attack, leaving the river in small parties by dif- ferent routes, and concentrating at different points.
In the fall of 1866 Poindexter was the mail carrier between Prescott and Hardyville, and was escorted by soldiers of the 14th U. S. In- fantry, Pat McAteer, Ed May, and one other. They arrived one evening at Fort Rock and made a stop for the night. The day they got there Thad Buckman, the son of the man who kept the station, a boy of about fourteen or fif- teen years of age, had made a little playhouse in front of the cabin in the form of a crescent of stones, about twelve or fifteen inches high. As Poindexter and his escort were ready to pull out the next morning, the Indians charged them. At the first shot they shot Thad Buck- man through the leg, and his father through the groin, and the shots came so thick and fast that Buckman and McAteer could not get back into the cabin, and the two men and the boy dropped into the little playhouse, inside of the stones,
134
HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
McAteer at the north corner, and the little sol- dier, whose name is unknown, at the south cor- ner, and J. J. Buckman lay on his back inside the enclosure. The boy, with Poindexter and Ed May, finally got inside of the cabin and shut the door. McAteer set up a rock about eight or ten inches high and six inches thick, and lay so that when he shot that guarded his head.
There was a clump of bushes about two hun- dred yards from the cabin, and all day long Mc- Ateer was shooting into that clump of bushes, but as fast as he picked one man off, another took his place. The Indians had a Henry rifle.
Poindexter and May had guns which had de- fective sights so that they could not shoot well, and they loaded guns for Thad Buckman, and he would do the shooting. They would hoist him up to a loophole, and he would shoot from the inside of the cabin.
The little soldier of the 14th Infantry was shooting to the south all day, and keeping the force of Indians on that side from joining the others. The Indians were shooting at the cabin from three or four different points, and this meant keeping the fight up all day long against the whole tribe of Wallapais, of whom there were more than a hundred. There was one big Indian on a black horse riding back and forth, giving orders, and the little soldier said: "I be- lieve I can get that fellow," and McAteer said : "Do it." The little soldier raised his sights, shot at the big chief, and dropped him.
They kept that up all day long, and next morn- ing a train going into Prescott came along, and the Indians scattered.
135
THE INDIANS AND THE MILITARY.
Mr. Kelly also gave the following description of the fight between Mint Valley and Skull Valley.
There was a six mule team, driven by Joe Phy who was absolutely fearless. He had one escort with him by the name of McNulty. They were coming into Prescott, loaded with supplies, and had reached about where the hill known as Wool- sey's Hill is. The Indians charged them and told Joe that if he would go off and leave his team and the supplies, they would let him go. Joe took one of the lead mules, put McNulty on it, and sent him back to Skull Valley. Joe took the other lead mule, and hitched him to the back of the wagon, and held the Indians off until McNulty had gone to Skull Valley and brought back help, and when the Indians saw them com- ing, they dispersed. He must have kept up the fight for three or four hours. The date of this fight is somewhat in doubt, but it occurred in 1864 or 1865.
Joe Phy was afterwards killed in a personal encounter with Pete Gabriel in Florence. His name will appear frequently in this history.
Fish's manuscript gives the following ac- count of the fight with the Indians, known as the "Battle Flat" fight. Fish says that this ac- count was taken from a manuscript shown him by Judge Brooks in Prescott in 1900, giving the whole details of the fight. It varies somewhat from the account given by Hamilton in his work, "The Resources of Arizona," and I am of the opinion that it is the true version, for the reason that it was taken from an original manuscript owned by Judge Brooks, whom all settlers in
136
HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
Prescott will remember as reliable in all re-
spects. The account is as follows :
"In the latter part of May, 1864, Stewart Wall, Frank Binckley, DeMorgan Scott, Samuel Herron and Fred Henry, started from Walnut Grove on a prospecting trip. They took three pack animals and a good supply of provisions. They took their time passing the Hassayampa and Turkey Creek, and camped on the 2nd of June on what has since been known as 'Battle Flat.' About two hours before daylight the next morning they were attacked by a large body of Indians. The Indians would, doubt- less, have waited until daylight, but one of the boys raising up, led them to believe that they
were getting up.
Every man was wounded and
two of the horses killed before daylight. There was a continuous shower of arrows coming from the enemy, who were all around in fearful odds, and the boys were driven from their camp, tak- ing up their position some three hundred yards away where they were still surrounded by the foe. The Indians took possession of the camp and made a breakfast upon the two dead horses. The boys found themselves in a terrible condi- tion-all wounded and some of them in a fright- ful manner. Henry was wounded in the arm, but his legs were all right, so it was decided that he should break through the enemy's line and go for help. He took Frank Binckley, who had a ball through the bridge of his nose which drove a bone into an eye putting it out, with him. It was feared that Binckley would go insane if left. The two attempted, at about eleven o'clock in the forenoon, to crawl through the brush, but were soon discovered, and a running fight was
137
THE INDIANS AND THE MILITARY.
then kept up for some distance. The men took a circuitous route to avoid being ambushed and to have the advantage in the ground. The party being aroused from their beds so sud- denly, and in warm weather, had but little on, and these two wounded men made the run through the mountains from eleven a. m. until eight a. m. the next morning, barefooted. When they reached Walnut Grove a company of ten men soon started out and found the other boys, who had fought the Indians until in the fore- noon, when the hostiles left, probably thinking that the game was not worth the cost. The boys were all taken in and all recovered but Sam Herron, who died nine days after."
The following account of the killing of George W. Leihy, Indian Agent, is taken from Hamil- tons' "Resources of Arizona":
"Hon. G. W. Leihy was the Indian Agent at La Paz, and had the utmost confidence in those under his charge. Though warned that he had offended some of them and should be on his guard or they would kill him, he laughed at his advisers and would go about the country alone and unarmed. He made a visit to Prescott either in the fall of 1865 or 1866 with only one companion. About ten miles below Skull Valley the road passes for more than a mile through a rocky defile, where, in 1864, two prospectors named Bell and Sage were killed by Indians- hence the name, Bell's Canyon. On his return from Prescott, Leihy and his friend were way- laid and killed in Bell's Canyon by his own wards, and their bodies horribly mangled. His murderers at once returned to the reservation and spread the news, whereupon for two days
138
HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
and nights there was great rejoicing among the tribe. Horses were killed and eaten, as was their custom on their days of feasting or celebra- tion, and the residents of the town of La Paz wondered what the occasion was, until informed by some squaws that Leihy was killed, a state- ment soon confirmed by the next traveller over the road."
The Indian account, by Mike Burns, of the killing of Agent Leihy, is given in a preceding volume.
In September, 1865, Fort McDowell was es- tablished, with five companies of California Vol- unteers, as a point from which to operate against the Indians of the neighboring mountains. The post was situated on the west bank of the Rio Verde, about eight miles from its junction with the Salt River, and is about eighteen hundred feet above sea level. The sickly place called Camp Date Creek, about sixty-five miles south- west from Prescott, was first established as Camp McPherson in 1866, the name being changed in November, 1868. It afforded con- siderable protection to travellers between Pres- cott and the Colorado River.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.