USA > Arizona > History of Arizona, Vol. V > Part 18
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"In 1868 George Bowers, one of the brightest young men of Prescott, was killed on the road coming from Camp Verde to Prescott. In 1869, a party of thirteen prospectors outfitted in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and came into the eastern por- tion of Arizona looking for placer diggings. They were successful in finding gold, but the Indians attacked them while at work, killed four or five of the party and got possession of their camp, provisions and animals. The remainder made their way across the mountains to the Verde settlements, and coming down Clear Creek approached the camp of a detachment of soldiers who took them for Indians, and fired more than fifty shots at them before the ragged,
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half-starved wretches could convince them of their mistake.
"C. Davis, better known as 'Jeff' Davis, of Yavapai County, had a lively experience in those days. He lived on a lonely ranch near the head of the Hassayampa, and was engaged in farm- ing and stock raising. The latter pursuit, how- ever, was not a success, for whenever he had accumulated a few head of stock the Indians were sure to steal them. 'Jeff' was a great hunter, and on one of his expeditions he came upon a band of Indians in the heavy pine timber. Stepping behind a tree he waited until the fore- most savage got within range when his trusty rifle rang out and the Indian fell to rise no more. The astonished redskins looked around to see from whence the attack came, and ere they could recover themselves two more bit the dust. The remainder fled panic stricken, while 'Jeff' pumped the lead after them while one remained in sight."
Orick Jackson in his "White Conquest," says :
"During the carnival of blood that extended from 1863 to 1873, over 600 white men were killed by the Indians in that zone lying north of the Gila and Salt Rivers. These fatalities were confined principally to 'picking off' travelers in parties of from two to five. Organized bodies were very seldom molested, excepting of course the military operations in a general fight. Many ranchers fell in the field while at work or in going from home to a neighbor. Invariably the white victim was scalped and horribly muti- lated otherwise."
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The following from the pen of Thomas Thompson Hunter, an old timer, shows the atti- tude of the Indians at this time :
"In the fall of 1867 I entered the Territory of Arizona with a herd of cattle gathered in Central Texas and driven across the plains, seeking a market at the Government Posts, the only beef supply available at the time for the different army posts. The trip was a dreary one from the start, accompanied with dangers and hardships innumerable. Every inch of the distance across was menaced with hostile Indians, who never lost an opportunity to attack our outfit. For weeks at a time we subsisted solely upon our herd, for beef straight was our only ration. Apache Pass was the first place reached in Arizona of any note. A small com- pany of U. S. Infantry occupied the military post there, known as Fort Bowie. On the day of our arrival at Bowie, it looked pretty gloomy and lonesome for the few soldiers stationed there. The Indians were hooting and guying the soldiers from the cliffs and boulders on the mountain sides. They spoke mostly in Spanish, but several of their number could make them- selves understood in our native tongue (Eng- lish).
"A few days before our arrival at Fort Bowie happened a sad incident that impressed me very much. The Commander, a captain of the Post, could not believe that there existed such a thing as a hostile Indian. He had never been close to one. An alarm was given by some of the herders that they had been attacked by In- dians. The captain indiscreetly mounted his
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horse, with only one assistant, and galloped off to where the Indians were last seen. The wily Apaches concealed themselves, and when the captain approached near enough, instead of shooting him as they generally did, they roped him, jerked him off his horse, and dragged him to death. On the day of our arrival, one of the Indians rode up on the captain's horse, and charged around, yelling and hooting and defy- ing the soldiers. I could relate other just such performances by the reds.
"It was near Bowie a few years later that Col. Stone and his escort were murdered by Apaches. Old Fort Bowie, now abandoned, is a dreary, lonesome place, yet the Indian war is over, but it gives one the shivers to go through that pass and recall the horrible deeds that have been committed thereabouts. While there in 1867 I looked at the little old stone cabin built by Butterfield's men, and while I am relating dark tales of old Apache Pass, I'll just relate an incident that I never heard of in print. A friend of mine was stationed there about the time that Butterfield's lines were drawn off. A fine looking young man, known to the em- ployees as 'John,' I think an Ohio boy, was the keeper of the station. The stages brought in what little grain was used by the stage com- pany's horses from the Pima villages. At this
time old Cochise's band was friendly with the whites, and at the time would camp in and around the station. On one occasion, John, the keeper, discovered one of the Cochise men steal- ing corn out of a little hole in one of the sacks. John, acting upon the impulse of the moment,
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kicked the Indian out of the cabin. In a little while afterward, the old chief Cochise came and made a bitter complaint to John about his abusing one of his best warriors-that it was the act of a coward, and he demanded that John fight his warrior like a brave man, that he could not tolerate such an insult to one of his best men, whereupon Cochise staked off the distance. His man toed the mark, with an old Colt cap and ball six-shooter. John, the boy keeper of the station, accepted the challenge readily, and took his station in the door of the cabin facing his antagonist, with a duplicate of the same arm that the warrior had.
He looked the true speci-
men of frontier manhood that he was, with two white men his only backers, while the Indian had his able chief with his tribe to back him. The critical moment had arrived. John, the Ohio boy, represented the white race of America, while the Indian represented the Indian world. Would John weaken ? Could John face such an ordeal ? The great chief stood for fair play, and he gave the signal by dropping something from his own hand. The two fired nearly to- gether. John's dark, curly locks touched the wooden lintel over his head. The Indian's ball was a line shot, but too high by about half an inch. John's ball centered the Indian's heart, and he fell dead in his tracks. The old chief stepped forward and grasped John's hand, and told him that he was a brave man. This closed
that particular incident, and the white boys and the Chiricahua Indians remained good friends until the stage line was taken off-an act of the Civil War. About this time there were many
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terrible crimes committed. Arizona was cer- tainly a bloody battle field.
"As we entered the Territory north of Stein's Pass, we crossed through Doubtful Canyon in the night time. At the divide where we turn down on the slope of the San Simon, we ran upon a gruesome scene. A number of dead men were scattered around. We passed along as rapidly as we could in order to reach the plains before daylight. At the very time that we were passing through Doubtful Canyon, the signal fires were burning on the mountain side (Apaches), telling each other of our movements. We passed on to Fort Bowie as fast as we could. In going up the mountain side entering Apache Pass, we saw where a battle royal had been fought. Just before we got there, the party who had contracted to deliver the U. S. mails was at the time very hard pressed. It was so discouraging, so many riders had been killed and stock lost, that the contractor would hire men for the trip to carry the mails from Bowie to Las Cruces and return. One hundred and fifty dollars would be paid for the trip. The boy who made this fight, whose name was Fisher, had agreed to make the trip to Las Cruces. He left Bowie one afternoon mounted upon an old condemned government mule, armed with two 45 six shooters. When about half way down the slope toward San Simon flats, the enemy at- tacked him, and if he had had a decent mount. I believe to this day that he would have won out. They forced him to zigzag along the side of the mountain, their numbers driving him to the hills, and preventing him from getting them in
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the open. All along his trail were dead ponies that Fisher had shot. We never knew how many Indians he got, as they removed their dead. Not a thing did I know about this boy except that his name was Fisher. After ex- hausting his ammunition, they finished him up, after a fight against fearful odds, the equal of which never came off in any other fight by a single lone boy in all of Arizona's Indian wars. Fisher was one of God's own boys, and the splen- did leather in his makeup was duly respected by the Apache nation. The record left on his mutilated body was evidence sufficient that he died game,-his heart was taken out and prob- ably eaten,-a custom of the Indians practiced in those days by them, a belief that it would make them brave like their victims. His stir- rup foot (the left) was skinned,-a mark of honor and respect to a fallen brave enemy, as also his right hand, the bridle hand. The In- dians honored the brave boy in his death, and nature did the rest by erecting the grand old brown mountains for his monument, which will last through Eternity.
"We leave Apache Pass now and travel on toward Tucson, the next place of any note, ex- cept that I might mention Pantano, the historic place where W. A. Smith made one of the best fights on record. He and three companions were attacked early one morning by the Indians. He was the only one of the four men left to tell the tale. Is there any one person to-day in all of Arizona who can possibly realize or appre- ciate the position of this man, fighting for his V-19
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life with his three dead comrades piled around him, he with his big old shotgun carrying death and destruction at every discharge of the ter- rible old weapon-justly earning for himself the name of 'Shotgun Smith.' Afterwards, the Indians in relating the battle, said that the man who handled the shotgun killed or wounded seven or eight of their number. Old 'Shotgun Smith' is an old man now, and lives at the Sol- diers' Home at Santa Monica, California, a personal friend of thirty years' standing-a friendship that has grown with the years. Many other horrible deeds were committed in and around Pantano, but I got through O. K., and arrived in Tucson in time to take my Christ- mas dinner in 1867, which I might state con- sisted of a can of jelly and a piece or two of Mexican sugar panoche. This was a luxury for cow boys after our drive, and a fare of prin- cipally beef broiled upon a stick, and oftentimes not even that much. Oh, how I did love the old city then, a place of rest, a place of refuge. I could spread my blankets on the ground and sleep so good, with my system relaxed-no hor- rible dreams, no nightmare. For once I was happy and contented, and had not a single desire to move on and hunt something better. At that early date I felt that Arizona was good enough for me. Already I loved her grand old brown mountains. I felt at home in the strange un- known land of my adoption. Tucson was pe- culiarly afflicted with Apache depredations at this time. The government at Washington could never hear the cries of distress from the pioneers-people who were struggling against
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such fearful odds to maintain themselves. Our petitions and prayers were ignored, and at times of unusual activity on the part of the enemy, we felt like giving up the unequal contest. The policy of the Government at this time was cer- tainly contemptible. Under the guns at Fort Grant, with the strong arm of the Government protecting a gang of Apache cutthroats, and issuing rations to them, maintaining their families, in order that the bucks could more easily raid Tucson, murder her citizens and steal the stock, and maintain a reign of terror for unfortunate old Tucson. There must be a beginning and an ending of all things, and, like the old Kentuckian who, summing up the political situation, said, 'when politics got bad it's mighty hard to mend them, but when they got d-d bad, they just tear loose and mend themselves,' the Apache situation had reached this point, and something was going to happen. Only one of those old pioneers of Tucson who faced that crisis and made himself an outlaw in order to save his country, is alive, old and feeble Sidney R. DeLong. (Since deceased.) W. S. Oury and his friends were the leaders in leading a band of Papago Indians to old Fort Grant, surprising the Government renegades, and exterminating the whole outfit. Tucson enjoyed a rest after this, but the Federal Grand Jury afterwards arraigned Sidney R. DeLong and one hundred others, but the only ยท thing that did happen was that the Govern- ment ordered General Crook to Arizona, and my old friend DeLong's action was the begin- ning of the end of the terrible Apache war.
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The war continued for years, many crimes were committed, many pioneers were murdered after this, but DeLong's action forced the Washing- ton authorities to listen to our prayer and peti- tions for the first time. The war is now over, peace reigns supreme. Let us cover the past with the mantle of charity, forget the past in so far as we can, and when the true history of Ari- zona is written, may it remind the future genera- tion of its obligation to the old pioneer Sidney R. DeLong, who is spending the evening of his useful life in the old historic town of Tucson that he loved so well.
"As we take the western trail from Tucson, we pass on to the Gila River, and enter the Pima and Maricopa Indian country. These Indians were found in a pitiful condition, poverty stricken in the extreme. They made their boast to us that they had never taken white blood. It was very easy to see why this was the case. They were being hard pressed by the Yumas, Apaches and other Indians. They were com- pelled to accept the whites as allies, otherwise they would have been exterminated root and branch in a few years more. We felt safe among them from the hostiles. The greatest trouble was their stealing propensities, which were thoroughly developed. Our stock was get- ting so poor and worried with travel that we camped some days in this section. Quite a num- ber of immigrants fell in with us for protection from the Apaches, and while here at Maricopa a few pioneers came over from Salt River to tell us about the wonderful country over there, and induce the immigrants to settle with them.
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They also held out the inducement to us that there was plenty of grass there also, and that it would be a fine place for our cattle."
The "Miner" of September 21st, 1867, says :
"News was brought to town last evening from the Point of Rocks, about four miles from Pres- cott and three miles from Fort Whipple, that about 20 Indians had made an attack upon Hon- orable Lewis A. Stephens' home with the evident intention of murdering the inmates and stealing the stock. At the time of the attack there were on the place but two persons, Mrs. Stephens and a hired man. The house is situated about a hun- dred yards from an immense pile of rocks, which contains numerous caves and little valleys. As luck would have it, Mrs. Stephens and the man saw the murderous villains as they emerged from the rocks, and ran for their guns, opening fire upon the thieves, who returned the fire for some time, trying at every turn to get posses- sion of the horses, but the quick eyes and steady fire of Mrs. Stephens and the hired man, cowed the savages and they were forced to skulk back to their hiding places without accomplishing the object of their raid. Many a man placed in the same position as Mrs. Stephens would have taken to his heels and ran for dear life, but she stood her ground and fought them like the heroine that she is. Shortly after the In- dians left, Mr. Johns, who lives on a neighbor- ing ranch and heard the firing, started with some men for Stephens' and followed the Indians into the rocks, but failed to find them. He then started to town bringing the news, and a request from Mrs. Stephens to her husband, who is a
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member of the legislature, to send her some buck shot, 'A little more shot, Mr. Stephens.' Bully for Mrs. Stephens; she is our favorite candidate for the Commander of the District of Arizona."
In the Fish manuscript another version of this story is given. In this version it is stated that Mrs. Stephens' message to her husband was as follows :
"Lewis, the Indians are here; send me plenty of powder and lead. Don't neglect your duties by coming home, for I am master of the situa- tion and can hold the house."
The following is from the "Miner" of Oct. 3, 1867 :
"Troops on the Colorado, with Col. Price, take warpath against Wallapais." Also,
"The Legislature petitions Maj. W. R. Price to sustain a company of cavalry at the Vegas Ranch for the protection of the road and the settlements in Pah-Ute County."
The "Miner" of Sept. 30, 1867, copies from the "San Francisco Call" the following editorial, which shows the feeling in the West against the hostile Indians :
"Indian raids still continue."
"Everything connected with the Indian busi- ness of the country seems to be a failure, except massacres by Indians. They flourish 'like a green bay tree' and fill the land with their butcheries. The shrieks of unfortunate women and children while being tomahawked, scalped or disem- boweled on the plains, nightly rend the air; yet nothing is done to put an end to the out-
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rages. Sherman, who 'rode from Atlanta to the sea,' has proved a big failure as an Indian fighter. Several months ago he made a trip through the borders of the Indian country, and positively announced that there was no danger to be apprehended from the Indians; that all the stories of Indian outrages are false; that there was no cause to fear anything from the Indians; and that, in effect, but few troops were needed to protect the routes of travel, etc. Gov- ernment, and the people not threatened by In- dians, listened to Sherman's oracular sayings, and acted accordingly. The result is before us. Not only are white travelers and settlers being mercilessly slaughtered and their dead bodies shockingly outraged every day, but the Indians have stopped telegraphic communications al- most entirely, intercepted the mails and cap- tured railroad trains; they have also endangered the very existence of General Sherman's troops. It cannot be denied that Sherman's manage- ment of Indian affairs has resulted in the great- est failure of the day. His pompous assertions at the outset have been falsified by events, and the Indians have constantly grown in strength in spite of him. These things happened partly because he was too wise in his own conceit, and, therefore, above listening to those who knew more of Indian fighting than he did, and partly because he has persisted in fighting the Indians on moral suasion principles, rather than ac- cording to the only system they can compre- hend, that of destructive force. He has shown himself to be more of a missionary than a sol- dier in the last Indian campaign, and has con-
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sequently, relied for success more upon talking than fighting. The amount of it is Government made a mistake in allotting Sherman to the Western District. Sheridan should have been there and Sherman in Louisiana. The former knows how to fight Indians, while Sherman does not. But even Sherman's failures in Indian fighting do not do away with the fact that our whole Indian policy is wrong. We could cease to bestow Indian annuities, to make presents ; to recognize Indian nations and tribes. We should give the Indians to understand that they should respect life and property everywhere, or else suffer the most serious consequences. A war of extermination against the Indians would be better for all, than the merciless and con- tinuous butcheries that have been going on." The "Miner" of Sept. 11, 1867, says :
"W. M. Saxton, Cummings and Manning, were attacked by Indians at Round Valley. Sax- ton killed, Cummings and Manning wounded. Indians defeated."
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CHAPTER XIV. INDIAN TROUBLES (Continued).
INDIAN QUESTION NOT SOLVED-GENERAL MASON SUCCEEDED BY COLONEL WALLEN AND COL- ONEL LOVELL-GENERAL GREGG AND GEN- ERAL CRITTENDEN SUCCEED COLONELS WAL- LEN AND LOVELL-ARIZONA DECLARED MILI- TARY DISTRICT BY GENERAL HALLECK-GEN- ERAL MCDOWELL MAKES VISIT TO ARIZONA -RAIDS AND MASSACRES CONTINUE-EXPEDI- TION BY GENERAL GREGG-ATTACK ON MIL- LER'S RANCH-BRAVERY OF MRS. MILLER- A. M. ERWIN, MEMBER OF LEGISLATURE,
KILLED BY INDIANS - GENERAL ORD SUC- CEEDS GENERAL MCDOWELL-CHARLES SPEN- CER AND PARTY ATTACKED BY INDIANS - EXPEDITION BY GENERAL ALEXANDER - LA PAZ THREATENED BY INDIANS - ATTACK UPON JOSEPH MELVIN AND J. P. GIBSON- JOSIAH WHITCOMB AND PARTY ATTACKED BY INDIANS-GEORGE D. BOWERS AND PARTY ATTACKED, BOWERS KILLED - BEGOLE AND THOMPSON ATTACKED, THOMPSON KILLED- FIGHT AT BURNT RANCH - JAKE MILLER KILLS INDIAN CHIEF AND SAVES RANCH AND STOCK-E. A. BENTLEY, EDITOR AND PRO- PRIETOR OF "MINER" KILLED BY INDIANS- MURDERS AND RAIDS IN SOUTHERN PART OF ARIZONA DETAILED BY CHARLES A. SHIBELL -SOL BARTH'S EXPERIENCE WITH COCHISE.
From the Fish Manuscript:
"The Indian question in Arizona had not been solved and many plans to arrange the small
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military forces were proposed so that they would accomplish the best results. In 1866 Arizona was divided into what was called the north and south districts, and Mason's successors were Colonel H. D. Wallen in the north, and Colonel Charles S. Lovell in the south. These two did not hold their positions very long, nor does it appear that they did much. They were suc- ceeded by General J. I. Gregg in the north and General T. L. Crittenden in the south, early in 1867. General Crittenden came from Cali- fornia with three hundred men and arrived on the lower Gila early in the year. He had a diffi- cult time in getting through, encountering some very bad sand storms as well as unfavorable weather.
"Regular troops had been sent in to take the place of the volunteers and now numbered from fifteen hundred to two thousand, and were soon increased. In October, Arizona was formally declared a military district by order of General Halleck. In December, General McDowell made a visit to this part of his department which did not result in much good. He was not well liked by the people of Arizona, and while he was acknowledged as a gentleman, he was wholly incapable of comprehending the nature and re- quirements of Indian warfare. As a cabinet officer he may have had few equals in the ser- vice; but for Indian campaigning it would have been difficult to select another so poorly quali- fied.
"Raids and massacres still continued, and there was some agitation in the south during the winter of 1866-67, in consequence of the Im-
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perialists leaving Mexico and going to Cali- fornia by way of Yuma. When Maximilian first came there was an exodus of the liberals, but now Juarez had triumphed and the Imperialists emigrated in large numbers. These agitations on the border were continually occurring, and the Indians never slackened their vigilance, and thefts and attacks upon the emigrants were constant. During this winter a party came into southern Arizona, camping one night at a sta- tion on the lower Gila. They secured their ani- mals by putting them in an adobe corral, and then lay down at the entrance for the night. The Apaches got to the back of the corral and with strips of rawhide sawed out a section of the wall, and when the Americans arose in the morn- ing, they found themselves left afoot.
"In April, 1867, the Apaches made an attack on a ranch three miles east of Prescott and drove off several head of cattle. A detachment of troops was at once sent out from Fort Whip- ple, and though they marched seventy-five miles in twenty-four hours, they failed to come up with the redskins. The officer in command re- ported that the hostiles were strong in numbers, and had fled in the direction of Hell's Canyon. General Gregg, then commanding the northern district, immediately started with two fresh companies of cavalry, himself at the head, and made a forced march by night, in order to sur- prise the enemy. Next morning at daybreak he was at Hell's Canyon, but no Apaches were to be found there nor any trace of them. After scouring the country down the Verde, he re- turned to Fort Whipple. However, a day or
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