USA > Arizona > History of Arizona, Vol. VI > Part 2
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The trip from thence to Tucson, nearly a hun- dred miles, was traveled over a good road, but there was a want of water everywhere. Fre- quently our travelers went from twenty to thirty miles before reaching a stream or spring. In the early days of Arizona there was less popu- lation on that road than on the Gila until they struck the Santa Cruz near Tucson, where ranches again thickened up and flocks and herds on a moderate scale were not infrequent.
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
The weather was beautiful all the way down and their ride was a delightful one. They heard of Apaches at one or two points, but it was always a fortnight before, or several miles ahead, and they went through unmolested.
The Tucsonians had heard of their coming and had, according to custom, held a town meet- ing, in which an organization was made to give them a grand reception. A band of string in- struments was arranged for, and an orator was chosen for the occasion, but before the committee completed its arrangements, our travelers en- tered the Old Pueblo with their jaded teams, much to the disgust of the old settlers who pro- posed to make it a kind of a holiday or general fiesta, with a procession and accompaniments.
General Rusling says :
"Tucson we found to be a sleepy old town, of a thousand or so inhabitants, that appeared to be trying its best to take things easy, and suc- ceeds in doing so. * * *
"The town itself is built wholly of adobe, in thorough Mexican or Spanish style, and its population fluctuated. During the rule of Maximilian in Mexico, there was a considerable influx of Liberals here from Sonora, so that the town at one time numbered perhaps fifteen hun- dred souls. But with his 'taking off,' and the rise again of Juarez, many had returned thither ; so that the population was then only about a thousand or so, as above stated, of whom fully two-thirds or more were Mexicans, originally or by descent. Its streets are unpaved, and all slope to the middle as a common sewer, as in Spain. It boasted several saloons, one rather
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CONDITIONS IN 1867 AND 1868.
imposing, and some good stores; but had no bank, newspaper, schoolhouse, or church, ex- cept a rude adobe structure, where a Mexican padre officiated on Sunday to a small audience, with much array of lights, images, drums and violins, and afterwards presided at the cus- tomary cockfight. As specimens of ruling prices, grain (barley and wheat) sold at $3 per bushel, hay at $40 per ton, lumber at $250 per thousand, all coin, and other things in propor- tion. The lumber came from the Santa Rita Mountains, fifty miles away, and was poor and scarce at that.
"The basis of Tucson's existence, it appears, is the little Santa Cruz river, which flows along just at the edge of town, and irrigates some hundreds of surrounding acres, green just then (March 13th-18th), with wheat, barley, oats, etc. There is a good breadth of fine land here, and near here, and the river ought to be made to irrigate the whole valley. No doubt with proper husbanding and utilizing of the little stream, thousands of acres might be cultivated, and the whole region, both above and below Tucson, be made to produce largely. Peach trees were in bloom down by the river side when we were there; the grape, the orange, and the olive ap- peared in many gardens; and both climate and soil seemed all the most fastidious could wish. But Tucson lacks energy and capital, and be- sides, it seemed, the Apaches claim original, and pretty much undisputed, jurisdiction over most of the country there. Merchants com- plained that the Apaches raided on their teams and trains en route, and ranchmen, that the wily
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
rascals levied contributions regularly on their livestock, as soon as it was worth anything, and did not hesitate to scalp and kill, as well as steal, if it came in their way. Farming or grazing under such circumstances, it must be conceded, could hardly be called very lucrative or entic- ing, and the Tucsonians are entitled to the bene- fit of this explanation.
"The livest and most energetic things, how- ever, that we saw about Tucson were its in- numerable blackbirds, that thronged the few trees about the street, and awoke us every morn- ing with their multitudinous twittering and chattering. How those birds did chatter and sing, from daylight well on into the morning; and what a relief they were to the dull and prosy old town! The men and women, wrapped in their serapes or blankets, sunned themselves by the hour in the doorways. The dogs and cats, the goats and pigs, slept on in the streets, or strolled lazily about at will. But these plucky birds sung on and on, with all the heartiness and abandon of the robin or mocking bird in the East; and Tucson should emulate their in- trepidity and zeal. She should shake off some- what of the spirit of Rip van Winkle, and remember she is under Yankee Government now, and in the latter half of the nineteenth century."
Evidently Tucson did wake up, for when the capital was moved there about a year after this writing, she began to put on cosmopolitan airs. Large mercantile firms located there and it be- came the distributing point for all merchandise to the military posts in the southern part of the territory, and a trade centre for large business
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CONDITIONS IN 1867 AND 1868.
with Sonora. The stores for Camps Wallen, Cameron, Lovell, Bowie, Goodwin, and Grant were all received there from Fort Yuma by con- tractors' trains, and then re-distributed by army teams to these posts as needed. This, of itself, gave a renewed impulse to the business of the town.
Of the Mission of San Xavier del Bac, Gen- eral Rusling says :
"South of Tucson, some ten miles, on the road to Tubac and Mexico, on the banks of the Santa Cruz still, is the famous church of San Xavier del Bac, a venerable relic of the former Spanish rule in Arizona. The road thither leads through dense mesquite and palo verde bottoms, with water enough in the Santa Cruz to irrigate them all; but, as yet, they were unbroken by husband- men. The church itself seems to have been built about a hundred years ago, and, though aban- doned, is still in a good state of preservation. It is not of adobe, but of large, red, kiln-burnt brick, rough-coated with a yellowish cement that seems well nigh indestructible. It is cruci- form in style, with thick and solid walls, and its antique front and towers have originally been decorated with saints, angels, griffins, etc., in niche or bas-relief, though many of these are now mutilated or destroyed. Inside it is hand- somely frescoed, and was no doubt once rich in paintings, ornaments, relics, etc., though these have now mostly disappeared. Its roof seems to be a sort of asphaltum or concrete, and ap- pears as tight and firm as when first laid. In one of the towers, there is still a fine chime of bells, that came no doubt originally from Castile
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
or Arragon. The age of the church is variously reported, but from a cursory examination it appeared to have been erected about the year 1797, although we were shown a mutilated reg- ister of marriages, birth, deaths, etc., that began in 1752. This last, however, seemed to ante- date the church, as if it had been in use by the Spanish settlement here in early times, before they were able to achieve such an edifice. This church was no doubt a link in the chain of Span- ish Missions, that the Jesuits a century or more ago established, from the City of Mexico to Northern California, and was abandoned like the rest of them, with the subsequent collapse of their priestly power. No doubt, in its time, it was the centre of a considerable community there; but now, only a squalid village of Papago Indians crouches at its feet, who regard the aged structure with a superstitious reverence, and will not permit its fine chime of bells to be re- moved to Tucson, for fear of Our Lady's dis- pleasure. The padre at Tucson comes down and says mass occasionally, and baptizes their young children; but he cannot cajole them out of their bells, and doubtless they would fight, rather than lose them. Altogether, this church is now the best and oldest civilized structure to be found in Arizona. Very slight repairs would fit it for occupancy and worship again; but, un- fortunately, there are no inhabitants there now to occupy and worship in it, except the Papagos aforesaid-and as specimens of good clean Christians, they don't amount to much now-a- days, whatever they were once."
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CONDITIONS IN 1867 AND 1868.
From Tucson our travelers returned to Mari- copa Wells. There had been very heavy rains at Tucson during their stay, and a great melt- ing of snows in the mountains to the east, so that the usually sluggish, half dry rivers, were now full and booming. The Gila had over- flowed its banks, and its whole valley below in many places was inundated. "Ranch after ranch had been swept away, and in several in- stances the scant inhabitants had barely escaped with their lives, from its treacherous waters. The fine mesquite bottom at Gila Bend was re- ported four feet under water, and Mr. James' house, corral, etc., there-the finest we saw com- ing up the Gila-were all gone. The freshet was said to be the highest known there for years, and inflicted a loss on the Gila valley alone, it was alleged, of many thousands of dollars. The road was submerged or washed out in many places, and all travel to and from Yuma was interrupted for weeks, except such as could make its way around over the hills and mesas, by the old Indian trails."
The two rivers, the Gila and the Salt, lay di- rectly across their path to Fort Whipple and Prescott, for which point they were bound. Both rivers were swollen and turbid. No one had forded them for a month. They were still at freshet height, and rising, without bridge or ferry. So they decided to halt at Maricopa Wells for a few days, as they could neither go forward to Prescott, nor backward to Yuma. The delay was most vexatious at such an out of the world place where the mail was intermit- VI-2
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
tent and the freshest newspaper more than a month old. Finally, after waiting a week, which time they employed in investigating the Pimas and Maricopas, and writing up their note books, they heard of a little rowboat owned by a German down at the McDowell crossing of the Gila (probably near Sacaton), which it was re- ported would suffice to ferry them over, if they took their ambulances well to pieces, and then they would have to mount the boat on a wagon and transport it thirty miles or so, overland, to the Salt, and there repeat the operation. It was slow work ferrying over these two swollen rivers by piecemeal, and was attended by many dan- gers and difficulties, but was accomplished with- out accident. It took them two days to cross the Salt, which they did at the McDowell crossing, some fifteen miles below Fort McDowell.
"Late in the afternoon of the second day, leaving our teamsters and little escort to get the ambulances together and repack them, we proceeded up the Salt River to Fort McDowell- the commandant here having heard of our ap- proach, and sent an ambulance to bring us. It was some fifteen miles, part of the way through a dreaded Apache canyon; but we passed safely on, though we did not reach the post until after nightfall. We found the post-the largest and finest in Arizona-short of rations, and wholly out of forage, as it had been for several weeks, because of the spring freshets as it was alleged, though there was plenty at Maricopa Wells, which it would seem might have been got there, if we could. This was suggested to the officer
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CONDITIONS IN 1867 AND 1868.
in charge, and no doubt was well heeded. We remained there until the next afternoon, in- specting the post and its bearings (it seemed admirably located for its work, well into the Apache country, protecting the valley of the Salt and the Gila) and then returned to our ambulances at the crossing. The next morn- ing, by sunrise, we were up and off, for the Prescott road-if we could find it. At Fort McDowell, they told us we could never reach it. Some said it was thirty miles off-others claimed it was fifty or sixty, with an impassable country between. The only thing known defi- nitely was, that there was no road at all down the north bank of the Salt, though we were sure to strike the regular Prescott road, if we kept along down that bank of the river far enough, and could get through. We might meet Apaches anywhere, they said, for it was one of their favorite tramping grounds, or we might go through unmolested, depending on circum- stances. We had expected to get an escort of a dozen cavalrymen here, to accompany us to Prescott; but six cavalrymen, and six mounted infantrymen, were all the post could spare. The horses of these, though the best on hand, were so broken down for want of forage, that part were sent back before we got three miles out; and of the balance, only five went through to Prescott with us, by extra care and regular feeding with the grain which we had taken the precaution to bring along from Maricopa Wells. An army wagon, with a six mule team, also from Fort McDowell, furnished transportation
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
for our escort, as the cavalry horses successively gave out.
"For the first fifteen miles or so, after leav- ing the Crossing, we found a well broken road, used the year before as a hay road from the river bottoms to Fort McDowell. (This was probably the road built by J. Y. T. Smith to deliver hay at the Fort in 1866-67). But, ulti- mately, this ended in a bend of the Salt, and from there on all was wild and unbroken-a veritable terra incognita. We found the Salt crookeder than a ram's horn, or a mesquite tree, or anything else that is most crooked and in- volved. Laying our course partly by the com- pass, and partly by the Salt's fringe of cotton- woods, we struck across from bend to bend of the river, sure only of one thing, and that was- keeping near to water. We found the river bottoms, as a rule, thick with chemisal, relieved here and there by dense mesquite groves, look- ing in the distance like old orchards, through which it was almost impossible to penetrate with ambulance or wagon. Now and then we had to flank a slough, or flounder through a quick- sand, and sundown still found us pushing along through these bottoms, though we had made fully thirty miles since morning. We went into camp by the river side just at dusk, thoroughly worn out, and not without a degree of anxiety, as we had crossed a number of Indian trails during the day, though none seemed fresh. Our animals were well blown, especially the cavalry horses, and the best we could do for them was a bite of corn, as we had no hay along, of course, and it was too late to graze them."
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CONDITIONS IN 1867 AND 1868.
They were on the road early the next morn- ing, and a struggle of three miles or so brought them to an ill-defined track running in the sup- posed direction of Wickenburg, and so to Pres- cott, which they resolved to take, though quite certain that it was not the regular road. It was lucky they did for, in a short time, this road struck directly across the Agua Fria, and came into the true Prescott road near White Tanks. "This Agua Fria, usually one of Arizona's 'dry rivers,' we found with three feet of water in it, and bad quicksands beneath that. However, we discovered a practicable crossing, and soon after nightfall reached the vicinity of White Tanks, some thirty miles, since morning."
From the White Tanks to the Hassayampa was a difficult journey. The narrative con- tinues :
"The Hassayampa itself flows through a wild and rocky canyon, with high precipitous walls on either side; and it was soon apparent that our only alternative was either to flounder through its quicksands, or retrace our steps to Maricopa Wells. The latter was out of the question as our rations and forage were both about exhausted, and, besides, our improvised ferry boat had returned to the Gila; so that the only thing left for us was to try the Hassay- ampa, and get through, somehow, at all haz- ards. We had heard of a trail, across the ridge and over the mountains, by the Vulture Mine, and so into Wickenburg, by a roundabout course; but a careful reconnaissance revealed no trace of it. We called a 'council of war,' and discussed the 'situation,' pro and con, with
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
due gravity, and finally decided that there was nothing for us to do, but to ascend the Has- sayampa; and so, into it we plunged. And, verily, it was a plunge. Nothing but a pro- longed flounder and plunge, from ten A. M. to six P. M .! Now into the stream; now out on a sandbank; now deep into the quicksand; crossing and recrossing, from side to side, to take advantage of any land-not less than fifteen or twenty times in the course of the twelve miles! Sometimes a cavalryman on horseback, 'pros- pecting' the way for the ambulance, would go down, until it seemed impossible to extricate him and his horse. Again, an infantryman, on foot, would suddenly sink in to his armpits, and call out to come and rescue him. The ambulance would slip to one side, and half of it commence sinking, while the other half remained on solid ground. Then our six mule team would go in, and half of the mules would flounder over the tongue, or turn a summerset out of the harness, and, perhaps, come near drowning, before they could be extricated, while the rest would be all right. Now we would be all ashore clambering along the rocky walls of the canyon, to give the ambulance a better chance; and now, all hands would be out into the water, to start a stalled team, and then such a whooping and shouting, such a whipping and tugging at the wheels, one seldom sees equalled. I campaigned with McClellan, on the Peninsula; I was with Burn- side in his Mud Campaign, after Fredericks- burg; we had bad roads down in Tennessee and Georgia, when after Joe Johnson and Hood. But this tedious and toilsome drive, through the
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CONDITIONS IN 1867 AND 1868.
canyon and quicksands of the Hassayampa, beat all these; and we never would have got through had we not had light loads, and skilful, plucky, magnificent drivers."
Evidently this trip was made from some- where about Smith's Mills or Seymour into Wickenburg as the distance was twelve miles and was up the canyon along which the Phoenix & Prescott road is now built. By good luck they made the trip and got into Wickenburg about dusk, with animals thoroughly blown and men pretty well used up. It had taken just a week to come from Maricopa Wells, usually a drive of a day or two, or three, at the farthest, but the Gila and the Salt were still unfordable, and they would have been detained at the Wells probably a fortnight or more longer had it not been for Louis Heller's boat. They were the first party to pass through in a month, and no one was expected to cross the Hassayampa either way, for a month or so to come.
"Of course," the narrative continues, "with such rivers and roads-rivers without either bridges or ferries, and roads that follow the beds of rivers-our only conclusion was, that Arizona was in no hurry, for either population or business; and, I judge, this is about so. She must bridge her streams, and construct good substantial roads-at least between all chief points-before she can expect to grow and pros- per. This is fundamental in all civilized com- munities, and she would have recognized it long since, had her population been more from the busy North, than from the indolent, happy-go- lucky South."
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
Evidently our author was somewhat preju- diced against Southern people and while, ac- cording to his own statement, Arizona had a ter- ritorial area at that time, including Pah-Ute county, of about a hundred and twenty-seven thousand square miles, she had only a popula- tion of about three thousand people, the native Americans being about equally divided between the citizens of the Northern and Southern states, most of whom were engaged in trade, farming and teaming, and she was not able to construct bridges across the treacherous streams of Arizona. All Arizonans know the expense at- tending such enterprises, and when we had an assured population, the legislatures were con- stantly giving franchises for ferries, etc., over the rivers, particularly along the Colorado, but they had to be supported by travel, and were rather primitive affairs at best. The Apache was the disturbing element, preventing real de- velopment in all lines of industry. As we shall see later on, when this menace was removed, Arizona went forward by leaps and bounds, in- creasing rapidly in both population and wealth.
Wickenburg was found to be an adobe hamlet of perhaps two hundred inhabitants, depending chiefly on the Vulture mine. Here the party halted for two or three days to rest and recruit, which afforded them an opportunity to visit the mine. The General reports it as follows:
"It is really a fine specimen of gold-bearing quartz, off in the mountains, some fifteen miles west of Wickenburg, whence the ore was then wagoned to the mill, on the Hassayampa at Wickenburg. It consists of a fine vein of free
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CONDITIONS IN 1867 AND 1868.
quartz, from five to fifteen feet wide, and mostly devoid of sulphurets, or other refractory sub- stances. Seventy or eighty men-half of them or more Mexicans-were hard at work, sinking shafts and getting out ore; and already a large amount of work had been done there. One shaft was already down a hundred feet, and an- other half as far-it being intended to connect the two by a lateral gallery to insure ventila- tion, etc. Unfortunately, no water could be found near the mine, and all used there then was transported from Wickenburg, at a cost of ten cents per gallon. So, all the ore taken out had to be wagoned, from the mine to the mill at Wickenburg, at a cost of ten dollars per ton. The cost of everything else was about in the same proportion. Nevertheless, we were told the mine paid, and that handsomely, and I sin- cerely trust it did.
"The mill at Wickenburg, belonging to the same company, was a fine adobe structure, roofed with shingles, and had just gone into operation. They had previously had a small five stamp mill, which paid very well; but this new mill ran twenty stamps, and would crush forty tons of quartz per day, when worked to its full capacity. Their ore was reputed to aver- age from fifty to seventy dollars per ton, though of course 'assaying' much more, and we were assured would pay for working, if it yielded only from twenty to thirty dollars per ton. If so, we thought stock in the Vulture Company must be a 'gilt-edged' investment; and their noble mine was certainly the best looking enter- prise we had yet seen in Arizona. It appeared,
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
however, to be a sort of 'pocket' vein, as pros- pecting on either side of it as yet had failed to discover other points worth working. Fine as it was, the mine was embarrassed by financial difficulties, and was then in the hands of credi- tors, authorized to work it until their claims were met, though these troubles it was thought would soon end."
This was the time when Charley Genung took hold of the mine as one of the creditors, and paid it out of debt by working the ore.
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CONDITIONS IN 1867 AND 1868.
CHAPTER II.
CONDITIONS IN 1867 AND 1868 (Continued).
GENERAL RUSLING'S DESCRIPTION CONTINUED- SKULL VALLEY-BARRENNESS OF COUNTRY- ANCIENT RUINS AND ACEQUIAS-POSSIBILI- TIES OF GILA AND SALT RIVER VALLEYS- PRESCOTT-INDIANS-THEFTS AND RAIDS BY APACHES-POINT OF ROCKS-FORT WHIPPLE -WILLIAMSON VALLEY-HARDYVILLE-MO- HAVE, WALLAPAI, PAH-UTE AND OTHER HOS- TILE INDIAN TRIBES-INDIAN DEPARTMENT BLUNDERS-FORT MOHAVE-W. H. HARDY- GENERAL SUMMING UP - PETE KITCHEN'S DESCRIPTION OF TRIP TO SONORA.
Our travellers passed from Wickenburg to Prescott, via Skull Valley, some eighty-four miles, without mishap. They made the distance in two and a half days and rolled into the capital, "just as the last rays of the setting sun were pur- pling the triple peaks of the distant San Fran- cisco Mountains."
Skull Valley was a narrow vale of perhaps a thousand or two acres, but devoid of timber, and inaccessible in all directions, except over bad mountains. A few ranches had been started and a petty military post was there to pro- tect them, but this post had been ordered away, the location was so faulty, and with its depart- ure, Skull Valley, as a settlement, seemed likely to collapse.
Skull Valley and Wickenburg were the only settlements, indeed the only population, they
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
found between Maricopa Wells and Prescott, a distance of nearly three hundred miles by the way they travelled. The narrative continues :
"The whole intervening country, as a rule, was barren and desolate, and absolutely with- out population, except at the points indicated, until you neared Prescott. There were not even such scattered ranches, or occasional stations, as we found in crossing the Colorado Desert, and ascending the Gila; but the whole district seemed given over, substantially, to the coyote and the Indian. The Apaches and Yavapais are the two main tribes there, and were said to infest the whole region, though we saw nothing of them. In the valley of the Hassayampa and across the Aztec Mountains, they certainly had an abun- dance of ugly looking places, that seem as if spe- cially made for ambuscades and surprises. If they had attacked us in the canyon of the Has- sayampa, while floundering through the quick- sands there, they would have had things pretty much their own way-at least, at first, vigilant as we were. They had killed a wandering Mexi- can there, only a few days before ; but we did not know it, until we reached Wickenburg, and came through ourselves unscathed. * * *
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