USA > Arizona > History of Arizona, Vol. VIII > Part 20
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to make the trip-two to go and two to come, and one day in town. I went to see Crook and took my friend, Herbert Bowers, who was post trader at the time, to introduce me, and my In- dian, Tom. I found Crook much different from other commanding officers that I had met in Arizona. He was more like a pioneer miner or prospector to meet-just a common plain gentle- man. He told me that Mr. Bowers had told him of my efforts to get the other commanders to em- ploy the Yavapais as scouts and trailers, and asked me if the Indians would like to do it. I assured him that he could enlist every Yavapai that was able to go. He then asked me how long it would take to get the Indians together so that he could have a talk with them at Date Creek. I told him that a week would give them plenty of time. That was a good talk for me, for I had been trying for several years to do just what Crook had proposed, but there never was a man in command before that who had sense enough to do it. When I told Tom what Crook wanted, he was highly elated.
"On my return to my ranch I killed an Indian in Kirkland Valley by Tom's advice, and when Tom knew he was dead he said General Crook had commenced to kill Tontos, which was true, for if Crook had not sent for me when he did, I should not have found the Indian at the station in Kirkland Valley.
"It was more than a month before I heard from Crook again. Then he wrote me asking me if I could get the Indians in to Date Creek by a certain day. I wrote and told him that I
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could get all of the ablebodied men in by the ap- pointed time. This correspondence was done by couriers.
"I had a young Indian captain named Waw ba Yuma, working for me, and most of the twenty-five working Indians that I had were of his band. I told him that General Crook wanted all the strong young men of his tribe to go with the soldiers and fight the Tontos. The Indian said to me : 'You tell General Crook that, when I am done work here I will go and so will all of my young men.' I said to him, 'You had better go and see the General and tell him your- self.' 'You can talk for me and for my people,' said Waw ba Yuma. I sent out Indian runners and had all of the young men of the tribe at Date Creek on the appointed day. I met General Crook there and we called the meeting in front of the officers' quarters on the south side of the parade ground. I was a little surprised to meet Irataba, the head chief of the Mohaves there, but thought nothing of it at the time. The white men were seated with backs against the buildings, Irataba just in front of us and the Yavapais sitting on the benches and standing before us. Crook had brought a man named Charles Spencer from Mohave County to in-
terpret for him. Spencer had done a little talk- ing for Crook when Irataba got up and began to pass pieces of tobacco to some of the Indians, and in a few seconds had passed out eight or ten pieces, when some soldiers who had been stand- ing among the Indians began to grab the ones to whom the tobacco had been given, at the same time drawing their revolvers. The Indians, be-
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ing surprised and scared, struggled desperately and several of the arrested ones escaped; the soldiers began shooting, and those that had no revolvers ran to their quarters and got their rifles and began shooting at every Indian that they could see. Crook, myself and Col. Jas. M. Barney were the only ones present who did not take an active part in some way in the fracas. We just stood by and looked on. The Indians had left their guns at their camp with the women and children and some of the soldiers ran to the camp which was about one half mile from the post, and secured all the guns and bows.
"When I realized what had been done I went and got my arms and hunted up Crook and asked him what he meant by inducing me to get the Indians into the post under pretense of friendship and then killing a lot of them-eight I believe were found. He said that Irataba had told the agent at the Colorado Reservation that the Yavapais had murdered the Loring party, a short time before, while en route by stage from Wickenburg to Ehrenberg, and that the pieces of tobacco were handed to the ones that Irataba had learned were of the party who attacked the stage and killed seven people. I told Crook that it was a lie; that I knew it was Mexicans who had done the killing and robbing of the stage. I was getting madder every minute and told Crook that if anything happened to my family through this treachery that I should hold him personally responsible; that I was living in the midst of the Indians and that I could expect nothing but that they would blame me for all the trouble. He said in reply to my talk that he
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would see that I had protection. I mounted my horse and rode as fast as I could to the camp on the road. I told the Indians what had hap- pened and told them that I could not keep them at work any longer and that they must go into the mountains and stay until I made a signal smoke at a certain high place on my ranch. Waw ba Yuma did not like the idea of going but I made him understand that all the people would be afraid and that I should have to stop work anyhow until I had a chance to see and talk to all the Yavapais.
"It was nearly a month later when Lieut. Trout, the quartermaster at Camp Date Creek. Frank Murray, the butcher at the post, and a soldier came to my ranch about noon. Trout asked me if I had seen any Indians since they left my camp, which I had not, nor had there been one seen at or near the post. He said he wanted to get them back, if possible. I went out to the place agreed upon and raised a big black smoke. In a very short time my friend Tom, his squaw, and one more Indian came to the ranch. I told Tom what Trout said and told him that Trout would issue rations to all who went for them. I had a lot of talking to do and told the Indians that they could come and camp near my house if they wanted to. Tom asked me what all the soldiers were doing there, Crook having sent a company of cavalry to my ranch as soon as he could get them there after the af- fair at Date Creek. I explained the matter as well as I could, and after Trout and his party had left I had a lot of talk and explained the matter, placing all of the blame on Trataba,
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and he was the one to blame for the whole trouble. Irataba was jealous because the Yava- pais were getting better treatment from the offi- cers at Date Creek than his people were receiv- ing from the Indian Department, hence the jealousy.
"I had to do a lot of talking to get the Indians to go back to Date Creek to meet Crook the sec- ond time, he having promised to return their guns and other things that the soldiers had taken from their camp. Finally I told them that if they would come and meet Crook that I would be there and see that they got their guns and that I would be right beside Crook, and if the soldiers tried to bother them that I would have my pistol in my belt and would shoot Crook three times. A few, those who had lost their guns, went in to the post on the appointed day. I was there and told Crook that we would do our business with the Indians in front of the sutler's store instead of going onto the parade ground as on the other occasion. There were no seats pro- vided but Crook had ordered all the stolen property to be brought out and placed on the ground near where we stood. I told the In- dian, Tom, to get his gun. When he picked it up and examined it, I asked him if it was all right. His reply was 'Kely-eppy,' meaning 'no good.' I told another one to go get his gun, and that was 'kely-eppy' also. I showed Crook that there had been screws taken out of the locks. He at once ordered the commander of the post to bring out some guns that were there and twenty rounds of ammunition for each gun. They were turned over to those who had lost
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their guns without any ceremony. When the old guns that the soldiers had taken were exam- ined, it was found that there was not one but what had been ruined for the use of the Indians. If a screw was taken out the Indian had no pos- sible means of replacing it. Twenty rounds of ammunition was a great prize. The only way that an Indian could get ammunition was to go to La Pas or Yuma and get some white man to buy it for him. That act restored confidence in General Crook. He enlisted a lot of these In- dians, agreeing to take care of all who were left in camp, i. e., the women, children and old men. The first thing he did with the new soldiers was to go out and thrash the Hualapais; then en- listed some Hualapais to help clean up the In- dians of the country east of Prescott."
Again quoting from J. M. Barney :
"From Camp Date Creek General Crook re- turned to Fort Whipple and had been there but a short time when a dispatch from Dr. Williams was received by him, in which he was informed that Jemaspie, chief of the Apache-Yumas, with about a hundred of his people, had returned to the reservation and expressed a desire for peace. "General Crook immediately returned to Date Creek and found upon arriving there that the Indians were not then prepared to talk, owing to the fact that the wife of one of the principal chiefs was sick. On the morning of the third day after his arrival, however, a council was held at which these Indians agreed to practically all the conditions imposed by the General-to stay upon the reserve; to report the fact to their
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agent whenever any bad Indian came among them; to help the white citizens chastise hostile Indians whenever called upon to do so; and, lastly, to aid the authorities in bringing to jus- tice those Indians who had murdered the stage passengers.
"This being all the General desired the Apache-Yumas to do, he promised, on the part of the Government, to do everything necessary for their welfare as long as they lived up to this agreement.
"Having also heard that they intended to take the life of the friendly Mohave chief, Irataba, for having betrayed the Apache-Mohaves, he warned them not to do so, explaining at the same time that Trataba was not the first person who had given information about the murderers.
"General Crook then returned to Fort Whipple and commenced immediate prepara- tions for extensive operations against the Apache-Mohaves and other hostile tribes, which were later carried out with encouraging success."
Captain John G. Bourke, in "On the Border with Crook," gives the following account of the attempt upon General Crook's life, which is sub- stantially the same as the foregoing :
"Sixty-two miles from Prescott to the south- west lay the sickly and dismal post of Camp Date Creek, on the creek of the same name. Here were congregated about one thousand of the band known as the Apache-Yumas, with a sprinkling of Apache-Mohaves, tribes allied to the Mohaves on the Colorado, and to the Huala- pais, but differing from them in disposition, as
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the Date Creek people were not all anxious for peace, but would now and then send small par- ties of their young men to raid and steal from the puny settlements like Wickenburg. The culmination of the series was the 'Loring' or 'Wickenburg' massacre, so called from the tal- ented young scientist, Loring, a member of the Wheeler surveying expendition, who, with his companions-a stage-load-was brutally mur- dered not far from Wickenburg; of the party only two escaped, one a woman named Shep- pard, and the other man named Kruger, both badly wounded.
"General Crook was soon satisfied that this terrible outrage had been committed by a portion of the irreconcilable element at the Date Creek Agency, but how to single them out as individ- uals and inflict the punishment their crime de- served, without entailing disaster upon well meaning men, women and babies who had not been implicated, was for a long while a most serious problem. There were many of the tribe satisfied to cultivate peaceful relations with the whites, but none so favorably disposed as to im- part the smallest particle of information in re- gard to the murder, as it was no part of their purpose to surrender any of their relatives for punishment.
"It would take too much time to narrate in detail the 'patient search and vigil long' attend- ing the ferreting out of the individuals con- cerned in the Loring massacre; it was a matter of days and weeks and months, but Crook knew that he had the right clew, and, although many times baffled, he returned to the scent with re-
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newed energy and determination. The culprits, who included in their ranks, or at least among their sympathizers, some very influential men of the tribe, had also begun, on their side, to sus- pect that all was not right; one of them, I under- stand, escaped to Southern California, and there found work in some of the Mexican settlements, which he could do readily as he spoke Spanish fluently and once having donned the raiment of civilization, there would be nothing whatever to distinguish him from the average of people about him.
"Word reached General Crook, through the Hualapais, that when next he visited Camp Date Creek, he was to be murdered with all those who might accompany him. He was warned to be on the lookout, and told that the plan of the con- spirators was this: They would appear in front of the house in which he should take up his head- quarters, and say that they had come for a talk upon some tribal matter of importance; when the General made his appearance, the Indians were to sit down in a semi-circle in front of the door, each with his carbine hidden under his blanket, or carelessly exposed on his lap. The conversation was to be decidedly harmonious, and there was to be nothing said that was not perfectly agreeable to the whites. After the 'talk' had progressed a few minutes, the leading conspirator would remark that they would all be the better for a little smoke, and as soon as the tobacco was handed out to them the chief conspirator was to take some and begin rolling a cigarette. (The Indians of the southwest do not ordinarily use the pipe.) When the first
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THE WICKENBURG MASSACRE.
puff was taken from the cigarette, the man next to the chief was to level his weapon suddenly and kill General Crook, the others at the very same moment taking the lives of the whites closest to them. The whole tribe would then be made to break away from the reserve and take to the in- accessible cliffs and canyons at the head of the Santa Maria fork of the Bill Williams. The plan would have succeeded perfectly, had it not been for the warning received, and also for the fact that the expected visit had to be made much sooner than was anticipated, and thus prevented all the gang from getting together."
Digressing at this point, Captain Bourke gives the following account of the death and burial of Captain Philip Dwyer, 5th U. S. Cav- alry, which is pathetic in the extreme, and goes to show the sufferings of our soldiers in these frontier posts ; the officers and men dying, often- times without the aid of physician or priest. much less the tender ministrations of women.
"Captain Philip Dwyer, Fifth Cavalry, the officer in command of the camp, suddenly died, and this took me down posthaste to assume com- mand. Dwyer was a very brave, handsome, and intelligent soldier, much beloved by all his com- rades. He was the only officer left at Date Creek-all the others and most of the garrison were absent on detached service of one kind and another-and there was no one to look after the dead man but Mr. Wilbur Hugus, the post trader, and myself. The surroundings were most dismal and squalid; all the furniture in the room in which the corpse lay was two or VIII-21
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*
three plain wooden chairs, the bed *
and a pine table upon which stood a candle- stick with the candle melted and burned in the socket. Dwyer had been 'ailing' for several days, but no one could tell exactly what was the matter with him; and, of course, no one sus- pected that one so strong and athletic could be in danger of death.
"One of the enlisted men of his company, a bright young trumpeter, was sitting up with him, and about the hour of midnight Dwyer be- came a trifle uneasy and asked: 'Can you sing that new song, "Put me under the Daisies" ?'
"'Oh yes, Captain,' replied the trumpeter ; 'I have often sung it, and will gladly sing it now.'
"So he began to sing, very sweetly, the ditty, which seemed to calm the nervousness of his su- perior officer. But the candle had burned down in the socket, and when the young soldier went to replace it, he could find neither candle nor match, and he saw in the flickering light and shadow that the face of the Captain was strangely set, and of a ghastly purplish hue. The trumpeter ran swiftly to the nearest house to get another light, and to call for help, but upon returning found the Captain dead.
"Many strange sights have I seen, but none that produced a stranger or more pathetic appeal to my emotions than the funeral of Phil Dwyer ; we got together just as good an apology for a coffin as the timberless country would furnish, and then wrapped our dead friend in his regi- mentals, and all hands were then ready to start for the cemetery.
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THE WICKENBURG MASSACRE.
"At the head marched Mr. Hugus, Doctor Williams, (the Indian Agent), myself, and Lieu- tenant Hay, of the Twenty-third Infantry, who arrived at the post early in the morning; then came the troop of cavalry, dismounted, and all the civilians living in and around the camp; and lastly every Indian-man, woman and child- able to walk or toddle, for all of them, young and old, good and bad, loved Phil Dwyer. The sol- diers and civilians formed in one line at the head of the grave, and the Apache-Yumas in two long lines at right angles to them, and on each side. The few short, expressive and tender sentences of the burial service were read, then the bugles sang taps, and three volleys were fired across the hills, the clods rattled down on the breast of the dead, and the ceremony was over."
Continuing his description of the attempt to murder General Crook, Captain Bourke says:
"As soon as General Crook learned of the death of Dwyer, he hurried to Date Creek, now left without any officer of its proper garrison, and informed the Indians that he intended hav- ing a talk with them on the morrow, at the place designated by himself. The conspirators thought that their scheme could be carried out without trouble, especially since they saw no signs of suspicion on the part of the whites. General Crook came to the place appointed, without any escort of troops, but carelessly strolling forward were a dozen or more of the packers, who had been engaged in all kinds of melees since the days of early California mining. Each of these was armed to the teeth, and every revolver was on full cock, and every knife ready
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for instant use. The talk was very agreeable, and not an unpleasant word had been uttered on either side, when all of a sudden the Indian in the centre asked for a little tobacco, and, when it was handed to him, began rolling a cigarette; before the first puff of smoke had rolled away from his lips, one of the warriors alongside of him levelled his carbine full at General Crook, and fired. Lieutenant Ross, aide-de-camp to the General, was waiting for the movement, and struck the arm of the murderer so that the bul- let was deflected upwards, and the life of the General was saved. The scrimmage became a perfect Kilkenny fight in another second or two, and every man made for the man nearest to him, the Indian who had given the signal being grasped in the viselike grip of Hank Hewitt, with whom he struggled vainly. Hewitt was a man of great power, and able to master most men other than professional athletes or prize- fighters; the Indian was not going to submit so long as life lasted, and struggled, bit, and kicked to free himself, but all in vain, as Hank had caught him from the back of the head, and the red man was at a total disadvantage. Hewitt started to drag his captive to the guardhouse, but changed his mind, and seizing the Apache- Mohave by both ears, pulled his head down violently against the rocks, and either broke his skull or brought on concussion of the brain, as the Indian died that night in the guardhouse.
"Others of the party were killed and wounded, and still others, with the ferocity of tigers, fought their way out through our feeble lines, and made their way to the point of rendezvous at the head of the Santa Maria."
INDEX.
INDEX.
ADAMS, CAPTAIN-With Col. Barnard in fight with Apaches, 29. ADAMS, C. S .- One of victims in Wickenburg massacre, 293.
AGUERRA, E .- With his clerk and two passengers, murdered by Indians, 139.
AGUILAR - .- Mexican outlaw shot by party of Americans, 203.
AGUIRRE, MISS TRINIDAD-Killed by Indians, 146, 165.
AIKEN, BENJAMIN-Killed by Indians, 138.
AINZA -.- Hlas train attacked by Indians, 145.
ALDRICH, MARK-First settler in valley of San Pedro, 207.
ALEXANDER -.- Killed by Indians, 128.
ALEXANDER, GENERAL-Mention of scout against Indians, 24.
ALLEN - -.- Has large number of mules stolen by Indians, 139; has fine cows stolen by Indians, 140.
ALLEN, ADJT .- GENL. J. B .- Alleged to have furnished supplies to participants in Camp Grant Massacre, 159.
ALTMAN, JOHN-Killed by Indians, 131.
ANDREWS, GEORGE L .- Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Arizona, 2.
APACHE-MOHAVES-Placed upon reservation at Date Creek, 10; later removed to reservation at Camp Verde, 10.
ARIOLA -.- Has large number of mules stolen by Indians, 133. ARNOLD, WALES-Has horses and mules stolen by Indians, 149. ARNY, W. T. M .- Indian Agent, mention of, 222.
AUSTIN, F. L .- Testifies in behalf of Indians massacred at Camp Grant, 243.
BAKER -.- Killed by Indians, 142.
BAKER -.- And family murdered by Mexicans at Blue Water station, 202.
BAKER, JOHN C .- Killed by Indians, 130.
BALL, S .- Wounded by Indians, 135.
BALLON -.- Killed by Indians, 137.
BANTA, A. F .- Discovers "Meteorie Crater," 31; with C. E. Cooley and Henry Wood Dodd, goes on prospecting trip into Indian country, 33 et seq .; makes friends of Coyotero Apa- ches, 38; induces Capt. Barry to disobey orders to massacre Apaches, 57 et seq .; writes of conditions in Arizona, the mili- tary, etc., 92 et seq.
BARBA - -.- Killed by Indians, 136.
BARBE, JOAQUIN-Suspected participant in Wickenburg Mas- sacre, killed by Joe Fye and Milt Ward, 301.
BARBOUR, CHARLES-Member of coroner's jury on victims of Wickenburg Massacre, 294.
BARCLAY, W. J .- Member of scouting party after participants in Wickenburg Massacre, 296.
BARK, JIM-Anecdotes of C. E. Cooley, 76, 77.
BARNARD, COL. P. F .- Fight with Apaches under Cochise, 27.
(327)
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INDEX.
BARNES -.- Attacked by Indians; store burned and effects carried away, 138.
BARNETT, AARON-Member of corouer's jury on victims of Wickenburg Massacre, 294.
BARNEY, COL. JAMES M .- Assists General Crook in investiga- tion of Wickenburg Massacre, 306.
BARRY, CAPT. JOHN-In command of expedition to massacre Apaches, 50; is induced to disobey orders by Banta, Cooley and Dodd and has charges preferred against him by Colonel Green, 57 et seq .; expedition mentioned by Genl. Ord in re- port, 81 et seq.
BASHFORD, LEVY-Mention of, 193.
BEACH .- Train attacked by Indians, 143, 144.
BEAN, C. C .- Mention of, 172.
BEAN, R. C .- Killed by Indians, 131.
BEAUCHAMP, "JACK" -- Killed by Indians, 127.
BEDEL -.- One of party of Americans, shot by Gandara, 203. BELNAP -.- Killed by Indians, 127.
BENDELL, H .- Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Arizona, 2; assists General Crook in investigation of Wickenburg Mas- sacre, 306.
BENJAMIN -.- Killed by Indians, 142.
BENTLEY, E. A .- Killed by Indians, 129.
BENTON -.- Killed by Indians, 138.
BERRY, THOS. N .- Killed by Indians, 132.
BIRESLEY, DR .- Post Surgeon at Camp Grant; account of condi- tion of victims of Massacre, 160.
BLANCHARD -.- Killed by Indians, 148.
BLANCHARD, J. C .- Ranch attacked and destroyed by Indians, 141.
BLOWE -.- Wounded by Indians, 142.
BLUE WATER MASSACRE-Baker and family murdered by Mexicans, 202.
BOGGS, T. W .- Has horse stolen by Indians, 150.
BOONE, WM .- Killed by Indians, 129.
BOUNS, MRS. (DONNA TOMASE)-Gives J. M. Bryan warning of Wickenburg Massacre, 299.
BOURKE, LIEUT. J. G .- Assists General Crook in investigation of Wickenburg Massacre, 304 et seq .; gives account of attempt on General Crook's life, 318 et seq.
BOWERS BROTHERS-Have herds stolen by Indians, 147, 149. BOWERS, GEORGE-Killed by Indians, 131.
BOWERS, HERBERT-Indians steal stock from, resulting in sue- cessful citizen expedition against them, 171 et seq.
BOYCE ---.- Member of citizen expedition against Indians, 170 et seq.
BRODERICK, JOHN-Killed by Indians, 129.
BROOKS, H .- Has sheep and goats stolen by Indians, 133.
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