USA > Arizona > History of Arizona, Vol. V > Part 19
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two afterwards a detachment of cavalry suc- ceeded in finding and surprising a rancheria of Apaches to the southwest of the Verde, and kill- ing five and wounding twice as many more at the first fire. The rest fled but soon rallied and came on in such numbers that the troops were compelled to fall back to the main column. It was then thought best to retire to Fort Whipple as their rations were about exhausted. Subse- quently Gregg sent them out again, and this time they succeeded in damaging the Apaches considerably.
"The main roads and trails from Prescott to Antelope, Rich Hill, Date Creek, Wickenburg, and Ehrenberg, on the Colorado river, went through Skull Valley, and at least fifty white men were killed on them during the war times. A small detachment of soldiers was stationed at the lower end of the Valley in 1866 to escort the United States mail, and to protect the set- tlers along the roads. Lieutenant Hutton was in command of this force which was made up of Mexican volunteers.
"In 1867 S. C. Miller's ranch at the edge of Prescott was attacked by Indians, who com- menced to drive off the stock. Miller was not at home but Mrs. Miller, who was alone, took her husband's gun and opened fire on them. Miller, who was on his way from town, heard the fir- ing, and soon came to the rescue, but it was through Mrs. Miller's pluck that the stock was saved.
"The year 1868 does not record as many mur- ders as usual, but among them were those of A. M. Erwin, a member of the Legislature, who
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was killed by Indians, and George Bowers, one of the brightest young men in Prescott, while on the road coming from Camp Verde to Pres- cott."
Notwithstanding the statement made by Mr. Fish in the paragraph just above quoted, the following items taken from the files of the Ari- zona "Miner" for the year 1868, speak for them- selves :
"February 29th, 1868.
"Band of Indians stole horses and mules near Wickenburg. A band of twenty-four men was organized at Wickenburg and followed them into Tonto Basin. It was charged that the In- dians were some of those who have been fed all winter at Camp Reno by the Government, who stole the animals. It goes on to say that the tracks of all animals stolen from this section of the country have been seen going in that direc- tion. If this be the case, and from our knowl- edge of the Indians and their country, we be- lieve it is so, we are sorry that the officers in command of the troops en route to Reno do not keep their friendlies at home. The Mexicans, Pimas and Maricopas say that the Apache cares nothing for treaties, and they look upon a treaty with an Apache as a farce, and claim they are friendly with the military at some government post in their country, where they can draw ra- tions from the commissary, and upon them travel to settlements, steal and kill, and hurry back with their booty. We do not blame the officers at McDowell and Reno for trading with
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the Indians, as we suppose they are carrying out instructions from their superiors."
In the same paper appears the following :
"General Ord, who succeeds General Mc- Dowell, declares that they may talk of Peace Commissioners, but the only way to make peace with the Apaches is to kill them off, the sooner the better."
Under date of April 4, 1868, the "Miner" says :
"Hualapais attack a mail party, kill the es- cort, wound one rider and capture the mail, within three miles of a camp of U. S. Volunteers. They brutally mutilated the lifeless bodies of their victims, cut off their limbs, etc. Under this heading is given this description of the fight :
"Camp Willow Grove, Arizona, "March 23, 1868.
"I am extremely sorry to have to inform you that Mr. Charles Spencer has been severely wounded by Indians, but I am happy to state, not mortally. He is now in the hospital at this post and is doing as well as could be expected.
"He and the escorts started from this post with the mail for Hardyville and Grant, on the morning of the 21st inst., at the usual time, nine o'clock. Before they got into the cotton-woods four miles from here, they were fired upon by a party of Hualapai Indians, and the escorts, con- sisting of Corporal Troy and Private Flood, were killed at the first fire, as was also the mule which the mail carrier was riding. Spencer, as
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quickly as possible, disengaged himself from the saddle, grabbed his seven shooting rifle, and ran behind a green wood birch, which was the only shelter close at hand. Soon after getting be- hind this cover he saw a party of savages go up to the dead body of the corporal, strip and mutilate it. While they were engaged in this bloody work Spencer kept up a steady fire upon them, and had the satisfaction of killing two of the red devils. The others then ran for shel- ter. Spencer did the same, and, on reaching a safe retreat, and just as he was about to get securely covered, he was fired upon by about a dozen Indians who were hidden behind some rocks. One of the shots hit him in the thigh, passing through the fleshy part, causing him to fall. They then rushed towards him, thinking they had him sure. In this they were mistaken, for Charley had not yet commenced to fight. He soon gathered himself up and made the sav- ages hunt their holes. He then crawled into a cave between some rocks, and took a rest, which he needed. During all this time a party of the Indians were stripping the bodies of the mur- dered soldiers and cutting up the carcasses of the horses and mules, which occupied them for about twenty minutes. They then surrounded Spencer and tried to shoot him out, but he could shoot and they found that that was no good. Then they tried to scare him out with yells, but he yelled back defiance at them and, whenever an opportunity offered, sent a bullet after them.
Changing their tactics, they tried to flatter him by telling him to go home; that they did not want to kill him. About 4 P. M. they got up
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and left the place. The cause of their leaving was the appearance of a squad of soldiers sent out to learn the cause of the firing which had been heard at camp. The men came upon the dead bodies of the corporal and the escorts. Hastening to camp they reported, and a wagon and twenty men were sent out under Lieu- tenant Robinson to bring in the bodies. Spencer heard the rumble of the wagon, but being unable to go to it on account of his wounds, he yelled and discharged his pistol, by which means he attracted the attention of the lieutenant to his situation. He was immediately placed in the wagon and brought to camp here. All the care and attention necessary was and will be ren- dered him by the officers and men. He says there were all of seventy-five Indians, one-half of whom were armed with guns. The officers were censured for not sending troops to the scene of action sooner as the reports of the fir- ing were heard at the military camp several hours before they moved."
Under date of June 6th, 1868, the "Miner" had the following :
"Camp O'Connell.
"On the 3d of March General Alexander and Major Clendenin arrived at Camp O'Connell with their force which numbered about 170 men, and had a talk with the Indians, some two hun- dred in number, under two chiefs, Delchayha and Skivitkill. The former is the miraculous gentleman I have spoken of before. The lat- ter the War Raven Chief, and a Pinal. The general wished them to remain in camp until
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he returned, and if they wished to give him a dozen men as scouts or guides, all well; if not, to remain in camp and they would be safe; but any caught outside would be shot. To this they agreed and sung all night. Next morning they received a beef, and as soon as the cavalry made its appearance over the hill coming into camp, Skivitkill and his tribe took to their heels and made for the mountains. The other chief took it coolly and remained, but during the forenoon most of his men left, and about noon he departed in peace. At two o'clock the com- mand was under way, and camped in Tonto Creek the night of the 3rd. The next morning they proceeded direct for the mountains of the east. As we reached the canyon, on the left was a small hill on which the Indians were standing, almost over the trail. The guide being ahead, the Indians motioned him to come up, which he did, and found Delchayha was there. They immediately lit cigars, and were joined by the Apache interpreter, the Spanish interpreter be- ing about half way up the hill. When the gen -- eral at the head of the command arrived, he wished to know of the chief what he wanted. The chief was not alone, an Indian orderly standing about twenty paces in the rear, the re- mainder being behind rocks. The chief stood upon a rock that projected over a hill, with his gun in his hand and having on a blouse, shoulder straps and a black hat. He said he had come there to meet the Capitania to declare war against the Americans as he had made up his mind to that since the night before. He re- V-20
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quired blood and wanted the general to leave his country. He said that the Capitan Little, meaning Lieutenant Dubois, was a good man, but the Capitanias Grandes were bad, and he would not hear of peace with them. Skivitkill, with a thousand of his warriors was coming to attack our camp, and we would be wiped out of the country in no time. All this was accom- panied by formidable gestures, and at last the 'Gentleman' broke into the most abusive lan- guage. The general called to the guide and the interpreter to come down, and told some of the men to shoot the chief up. The words were not finished when about half a dozen bullets greeted the chief, leaving nothing to be seen of him but his breechclout, the Apache national flag, floating for an instant, and then disappearing. The infantry and cavalry as- cended the hill immediately, but the Indians were nowhere to be found; nothing but a tin pail remained. The general, not wishing to lose time, moved on, and when the rear guard was passing, the Indians came to the front but with- out injury to either party. The march was con- tinued to Red Rock Canyon, where we camped for the night, and started the next morning for Meadow Valley, and arrived there about three o'clock Sunday, the 5th, and saw no Indians.
"Monday evening we started back again, but the general, Major Clendenin, and the cavalry, started southeast in the direction of Fort Grant. As the infantry climbed the hill, a sergeant of Company L, 8th Cavalry, who was some distance in the rear, leading his horse which had given out, a shot was fired from the woods, hitting
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the horse in the flank with a charge of buck shot. The sergeant and the Indians had it pretty warm for about fifteen minutes, when a squad of the rear guard went back, dislodged the Apaches, and brought off the horse, which was shot soon after. On arriving at the top of the hill and looking in the direction that the cavalry was taking, the country was covered with slopes as far as the eye could reach. From Meadow Valley the infantry marched in two days to this camp, losing a number on the road. I forgot to say that after firing on the chief, the general immediately dispatched a corporal and six men into camp, with orders to capture all the Indians in and around there. Some half dozen were still around, but were soon put in confinement. The next night one buck bolted, was fired on and missed, and on reaching the hill over the camp, made quite a speech, cursing all Ameri- cans. The day after, four Indians came in under a flag of truce from Skivitkill, saying as well as could be understood, that the chief was scared on seeing so many Americans and ran away, but did not intend to be hostile, and, see- ing that the general meant him no harm, he wished to come in right away. These four were confined also. Two Apache-Mohaves came in a day after the scout left, but were hunted out. The most of the Apache-Mohaves have soldiers' clothes on, and may be from the reservation. The other Indians say they are great thieves. In a few days a scout will leave for Green Valley, which is to be Camp Reno instead of the first place located. This valley is ten miles from Meadow Valley west, and a little north of it.
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A splendid place for a post and to hunt Indians. With another post between this and Grant, with plenty of cavalry, the Apache will be kept hop- ping. Let the posts be planted in the homes of the reptiles at any expense, roads made there, and it is the end of the hostile Apache in Ari- zona. Hunting them, we can follow them and accomplish nothing. Infantry they laugh at, but cavalry and Pimas they dread, the latter the most. For anything but garrison duties and road making, the infantry is useless."
Also, under date of October 10th, 1868, the "Miner" says:
"La Paz threatened by Indians. The citizens and seventy or eighty Chimehuevi Indians pre- pared to defend the place against the combined hostile force of Apache-Yumas, Apache-Mo- haves and Yavapais. Forty families are re- moved to Ravena's large store. Pickets were placed outside the town, and the Chimehuevis were actively scouting the country and advising their white friends of the movements of the hostile savages."
NOTE: These Indians were supposed to have been on the Colorado Reservation in charge of Mr. George W. Dent, Indian Agent.
On October 31st, 1868, in an editorial, the "Miner" gives the following in reference to hos- tile Indians and attacks upon settlements :
"The first attack was made upon Mr. Joseph Melvin and Mr. J. P. Gibson while they were going from the Agua Fria to the Verde, the particulars of which are as follows :
"While riding along the road near Ash Creek they were waylaid and fired upon by a large
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band of Indians, when Mr. Gibson received four bullets in his arm, and two in his right breast. The bullet passed through Mr. Melvin's boot leg, and he having so miraculously escaped un- hurt, held his friend Gibson on the saddle while they retreated toward the Agua Fria, pursued by the murderers. When shot at, Gibson tried to take his shot gun out of the gun leather on the pommel of his saddle, but a rope by which he was leading a pack mule was fastened to the pommel, and in order to facilitate matters he pulled his knife and cut the rope, when, un- fortunately, the gun dropped to the ground, and both it and the mule fell into the hands of the Indians.
"Upon reaching Willow Springs, Gibson, from loss of blood became too faint to ride further, and Melvin was forced to leave him and ride to the ranches for assistance. He procured a wagon and hauled the wounded man to his home.
"Sunday night Messrs. Brainard, Lount and others started from town for Gibson's ranch, and brought him to Fort Whipple hospital where he now lies. This is the second time within the past two years that Gibson has been attacked by Indians.
"Sunday last, about four o'clock in the after- noon, Josiah Whitcomb, William King, and Boblett were coming to Prescott from their ranches at the Toll Gate, and when near the Burnt Ranch about four miles from Prescott, fire was opened upon them from both sides of the road. Whitcomb was shot dead and King, while in the act of firing at the savages received
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a severe bullet wound in the left leg. Boblett, who rode on the seat alongside of Whitcomb, escaped without a scratch. A discharged sol- dier who rode behind the wagon also escaped. Upon being shot, Whitcomb, who was driving, dropped the reins, and would have fallen out of the wagon had not Boblett taken hold of him. Boblett then got hold of the reins and drove out of the trap as fast as possible. When the attack was made upon the party, a large body of recruits were coming on behind them close enough to hear the firing, but not near enough to render assistance. Mr. Lee, of the American ranch, informed us that the ground in the vicinity of the place where the attack was made was liter- ally covered with arrows. Mr. Lee was with the volunteers coming into Prescott.
"Mr. Whitcomb was buried in this place on Monday, resting in the Masonic burial ground. He leaves a wife and three small children, and an aged father and mother, all of whom reside in this vicinity.
"The next day, Monday, about ten o'clock, another party of Indians attacked a party of five men, composed of Mr. George D. Bowers, Joseph C. Lennon, and three soldiers, as they were coming from Camp Lincoln to Prescott. The attack was made upon this party at a point about one mile east of the Cienega. At the time of the attack Bowers was in the lead, fol- lowed by a soldier; next came Lennon, who was followed by two soldiers. The first intimation the party had of danger was the seeing of a blazing fire issuing from the mouths of about thirty guns which the Indians had leveled upon
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them from both sides of the road, accompanied by showers of arrows and deafening savage yells. Poor brave George Bowers was shot in the abdomen and the soldier who rode behind him was shot from his mule and wounded in six places. Lennon and the two soldiers who rode behind him escaped. After managing to get the wounded soldier upon an animal, the party re- treated, Lennon holding Bowers in the saddle, and the two soldiers doing the same with their wounded comrade. They were followed for about a mile and a half by about sixty yelling, fiendish red skins. They were met by Lieu- tenant Derby and about twenty men, who were coming to Fort Whipple with some wagons. They put the wounded man in a wagon, and returned to Camp Lincoln.
"Wednesday night Augustus Begole and B. F. Thompson were attacked three-quarters of a mile from Prescott by a large band of In- dians who were hidden in the rocks. Thomp- son was killed by the savages, and Begole was wounded severely in the shoulder. After firing all the shots out of his revolver, Begole ran to the house, got his rifle, and prevented the sav- ages from taking the team."
Probably the most desperate attack which was made by the Indians during this period was that which is now known as the fight at the Burnt Ranch. Judge E. W. Wells, of Prescott, gives the following account of this fight :
"This occurred in 1865 at a small camp north- east of Prescott, established by Jake Miller, father of Sam Miller, now residing near Pres- cott, and the last surviving member of the
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famous Walker Party. Miller was an old man who had pioneered and fought Indians from the Ohio river westward. With one companion he had built a small log cabin northeast of Pres- cott, and was engaged in making shakes out of the pine timber abundant in the section, shakes at that time being in great demand in Pres- cott.
"The little cabin was in one of the best grassed sections of the country, and this fact led E. W. Wells, who owned a small band of cattle, to arrange with Mr. Miller to care for them, keeping more or less herd of them by day, and corralling them in a pen of logs at night. This corral was perhaps five hundred feet long, and the gate to it joined the cabin, so that the cattle could not be taken out unobserved. Mr. Miller and his friend were both armed with muzzle loading rifles, and well supplied with ammunition. One afternoon Mr. Miller went to drive up the cattle feeding in the valley just below him, it being his custom to bring them in early, thereby avoiding the danger of an even- ing brush with prowling Indians. At this time the Apache-Mohaves, or Date Creek Indians were very troublesome, and miners were killed and stock stolen almost within the limits of the town. As Mr. Miller neared the cattle and be- gan to round them up, he noticed a raven flit from one clump of oak brush near him to an- other. A second and a third raven followed- flitting from point to point-till an incautious movement revealed the head of an Indian in- stead of a bird. Mr. Miller had his gun, but he continued rounding up the cattle, and hurried
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them toward the corral. When the Indians saw they were discovered, they sprang out in open pursuit, but, being armed only with bows and arrows, feared to close in at once. Hurrying the cattle, Mr. Miller fired and brought down the foremost Indian. This stopped the others for a moment, and Mr. Miller had with him a big brindle bull-dog, which at once leaped on the dead Indian and began worrying the body. As the other Indians ran up the dog fought with them till he was killed, but he had created suffi- cient diversion to allow time for the cattle to be penned and the gate fastened securely. Inside the cabin the two men made ready for a siege, for the Indians were approaching in large num- bers, so sure and confident of success that they did not hurry. Had they rushed the attack it is more than likely that they would have met with success, for with only two muzzle loading rifles, the defenders would have been at serious dis- advantage, but with the overwhelming numbers the Indians had decided to capture the white men alive, and they made their advance in a leisurely manner unusual in savage warfare. They did not try to kill the cattle-it being always their preference to drive off the stock for use as desired. Inside the cabin the two men watched, with loaded rifles,-passing from point to point they would remove a bit of chink- ing from between the logs, fire, and then hastily replacing the block be away in another part of the room as soon as possible,-for whenever a puff of smoke came from a chink, that spot was immediately made a target for Indian fire. The white men wasted very few shots, both were
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expert with the rifle and Miller particularly so. He kept cool and fought calmly ; the young man was excited and often during the first half hour made some mistakes in loading, by one of which mistakes a bullet was caught half way down the barrel of his rifle. He could neither draw it out nor ram it home, and the rifle was rendered use- less. The fight now devolved upon Miller, who continued to pick off the Indians as they crawled along the log corral in their efforts to get nearer the cabin. The unarmed man was stationed with the axe to fell any savage who might succeed in rushing the door. Slowly the battle pro- gressed until Miller had just one shot left in his rifle. In those days no man spent his last shot ; it was always saved for himself, for the methods of torture practiced by the Indians of the plains were tame when compared with those of the Apache tribes of the southwest. All this time the chief of the Indians had lain close against the log cabin, just in the place where the corral joined it, directing the movements of his men while in safety himself. He lay close to the ground, hugged against the logs. . There was no point within the cabin from which he could be reached. Miller and his companion discussed the matter, and decided to risk their last bullet in an effort to get this man, for once he was killed or wounded they knew the fight would be over, for the time at least, since the loss of their leader always threw these Indians into a panic. They did not know the exact location of the chief outside, and Miller decided to reconnoitre. He crawled under his bunk, built at the back of the room, cautiously removed a bit of chink-
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ing, and poked his rifle through. The end of the gun was caught by the Indian, but Miller wrenched it away from him and sprang up. As he did so, he displaced the bed clothes and ac- cidentally put his hand on an old horse pistol loaded with buckshot which he had forgotten. This gave him one more chance-one more shot. He also remembered what in the fight he had forgotten,-a small square hole like a window near the head of his bed, which was closed with a board which could be removed at will. With much caution he opened the hole and peeped out -the chief lay directly below him, watching the hole in the chinking through which the rifle had just been pulled. His broad breast was ex- posed as he cramped his body to see better. Silently Miller lifted the pistol and poked it through the hole-then he fired, and the Indian sprang up and backward twenty feet before he fell-his breast torn in a dozen places.
"The Indians rushed to him wildly, yelling and bearing him among them, stampeded up the hill. As they ran old man Miller flung open the door and, with a yell of triumph, sent his last bullet after them and brought down an Indian. Late that evening the mail carrier passed the place and stopped to water his mules. By him Miller sent in word of the fight to the troops at Fort Whipple, and a note to Mr. Wells telling him to come and get his cattle.
"Mr. Wells went out the next morning and found the two men packing up their belongings ready to leave. Miller said that he had fought Indians since boyhood, all over the United States from Kentucky to Washington, and this
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