USA > Arizona > History of Arizona, Volume I > Part 17
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"The laborious part of their toilet-that in which all their taste and skill are put in requisi- tion-consists in painting. Warriors dye their faces jet black, with a stripe of red from the forehead down to the nose and across the chin.
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Women and young men usually paint with red, and ornament their chins with dots or stripes of blue or black. Around their eyes are circles of black. Their bodies are generally of a dark red, and polished with an oily substance, so as to re- semble well cleaned mahogany. The face and body are sometimes fancifully striped with black. Of their hair they are quite proud, and take great care in dressing and trimming it. It falls naturally from the crown of the head, and is neatly and squarely trimmed in front to reach the eyebrows; the rest is matted into plaits, and falls upon the neck, reaching nearly to the ground.
"Strings of broken shells, called 'pook' are highly valued among them. They consist of cir- cular pieces of seashells, with holes very nicely drilled in the center. They are very ancient, and were formerly used as money. A string is now worth a horse. An Indian dandy is never dressed without them, and the number of strings worn indicates the wealth of the possessor. The figure of the young dandy, though large, is so faultless in its proportions that, when I have seen him dressed in his clean white breech-cloth, with no other covering to his carefully painted person, except the graceful plume upon his head, and the white bracelet of leather, with buckskin fringe and bright brass buttons, which serve as mirrors, upon his left arm, I could but applaud the scorn with which he looked upon European dress, and the resolute firmness with which he re- fused the proffered gift of pants.
"The Yumas (or, as those near the mouth of the Gila call themselves, Cuchans) appear to be
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skilled in none of the arts. They have neither sheep, cattle nor poultry. Horses and a few pet lapdogs are the only domestic animals found at their ranches. The men are warriors, and occa- sionally fish and hunt. The women not only at- tend to their household duties, but also cultivate fields of maize and melons, and collect grass seed, which they pound to flour for bread."
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INDIAN RAIDS AND OUTRAGES.
CHAPTER XV. INDIAN RAIDS AND OUTRAGES.
THE OATMAN MASSACRE-CAPTURE OF OLIVE AND MARY ANN OATMAN-DEATH OF MARY ANN OATMAN-EFFORTS OF LORENZO OATMAN AND HENRY GRINNELL TO RESCUE OATMAN GIRLS -RESCUE OF OLIVE OATMAN-MARICOPAS ATTACKED BY YUMAS AND MOHAVES-DEATH OF CHIEF FRANCISCO-DEATH OF OLIVE OAT- MAN.
During this time many outrages were com- mitted by the Indians upon those emigrating into California, upon what is now Arizona soil, the most notable of which is known as the Oatman Massacre, which occurred at what is now known as "Oatman Flat," about a hundred miles east of Yuma. Royce Oatman with his wife and seven children, left Independence, Missouri, with a company of some fifty persons, in August 1850. Part of the company remained in Tucson, and the rest at the Pima Villages. Oatman left the latter place with his family in February, 1851, to make the trip alone down the Gila and into California. They were short of provisions and their cattle were in bad shape, consequently their progress was very slow. A man by the name of John Le Count who had passed over the road several times, told them that he had encoun- tered no Indians, and considered the road safe, which probably was the reason why Royce Oat- man undertook this perilous journey alone. The party encountered no Indians until after passing
17
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what is now Gila Bend, and reaching the place now known as Oatman Flat. Here a party of Indians, nineteen in number, armed with clubs, bows and arrows, came into their camp, and de- manded food. Oatman protested, saying that he would be robbing and starving his children if he gave the Indians food, but he finally gave them some bread. They asked for more, which he steadily refused. Retiring a short distance, they held a brief consultation, and then, with savage yells, set upon their victims. All of the Oatman party were killed with the exception of two daughters, Olive, aged 16, and Mary Ann, aged 10, and a son, Lorenzo, aged 14. The lat- ter, being taken for dead by the savages, was thrown over an embankment twenty feet deep, and left for dead. Finally regaining conscious- ness, he found his way back to the Pima Villages and there joined an expedition into California. Olive and Mary Ann were held by their captors, the Tonto Apaches, for something over a year, when they were sold to the Mohaves. The price paid for them is said to have been two horses, a blanket or two, some vegetables and some beans. The youngest girl died while a captive among the Mohaves, and Olive remained with them in cap- tivity for about five years.
In the meantime her brother, Lorenzo, using every means at his command, was endeavoring to rescue his sisters from their terrible fate. In October, 1854, he went to Los Angeles, intent upon this object. He joined several parties of prospectors to search for gold beyond the Colo- rado, and one of the parties penetrated the country bordering on Bill Williams' Fork in
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1855, without getting any trace of the captive girls. In December of that year he searched through Southern California for them, but with no success. He then tried advertising in the newspapers, and in this way succeeded in arous- ing public sympathy, and learning that his sister, Olive, was reported to be a captive among the Mohaves, he preferred a petition to Gov- ernor Johnson of California, for men and means to recover her, which was signed by many people of Los Angeles County. The Governor replied that he had no authority to grant the request, and referred him to the Indian Department. He prepared a memorial to the Indian Department, and forwarded it in the month of February, 1856.
During this time a humanitarian was at work in his behalf and in that of his sisters. There came to Fort Yuma in 1853, one Henry Grinnell, a nephew of Henry Grinnell, the philanthropist who fitted out the Advance and Rescue for De Haven's search for Sir John Franklin's party in the Arctic Sea. Grinnell was an humble carpen- ter, but took a lively interest in the fate of the Oatman girls, and questioned emigrants and In- dians alike for tidings of them. One night, in January, 1856, a friendly Indian, by name Fran- cisco, came to him and asked him: "Carpenter, what is this you say so much about two Americans among the Indians ?" Grinnell informed him that the Americans knew of two white girls who were captive among the Indians, and that unless they were surrendered, the whites would certainly make war upon the tribe. Pretending to read from a copy of the Los Angeles Star, in which
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Lorenzo had made his first appeal for assistance, and translating as he read, he told Francisco that a large army was being prepared that would anni- hilate the Mohaves and all tribes that assisted them in concealing the captives. Francisco was much impressed. He remained in Grinnell's tent that night and the next morning Grinnell took him to Colonel Burke, the commander of the fort. Francisco said: "You give me four blankets and some beads, and I will bring her in just twenty days, when the sun is there," indi- cating about four o'clock in the afternoon. Col- onel Burke thought it some trickery on the part of the savage, but Grinnell told Burke to give him the goods and charge them to him. The goods were furnished and Francisco departed.
The arrival of Francisco with his message to the Mohaves created no little consternation in their camp, and they ordered Francisco to leave and not to return under penalty of torture, but the Indian, after much persuasion and many powwows, succeeded in his mission. On the twentieth day, Grinnell, who, in the meantime, had been made the object of many jests by his comrades who believed that Francisco had clev- erly worked upon his sympathies to the extent of the goods furnished him, was rewarded for his patience and faith in the Indian. At noon three Yumas appeared, and announced that Francisco was coming. "Is the girl with him?" asked Grinnell, eagerly. "Francisco will come when the sun is there," replied the Indians, indicating the point that Francisco had indicated, and no more satisfaction could be had from them. As the hour indicated approached, Grinnell, watch-
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ing with strained eyes, caught sight of three In- dian men and two women approaching the ferry on the opposite side of the river. "They have come," he cried, "the captive girl is here." Olive, not wishing to appear in public in her scanty bark dress, was quickly furnished with clothing by an officer's wife, and soon presented to the commander amid wild enthusiasm. Men cheered, cannon boomed, and the shrill whoops of the Yumas joined in the general acclamation of joy.
Two days after sending his memorial to the Indian Department, Lorenzo Oatman saw in the Los Angeles Star a brief statement of Olive's re- covery. Hastening to the editor he was told the report was reliable, as it had been based upon a letter from Colonel Burke. A friend furnished him with transportation and accompanied him to Fort Yuma, which place he reached after ten days' riding across the Colorado desert. The brother and sister were united and clasped in a fond embrace. Strong men wept, but their tears brought to them no dishonor. Brother and sis- ter returned to Los Angeles, and went thence to southern Oregon to live with an uncle who had heard of their trials, and invited them to share his home. Afterwards they attended school in Santa Clara Valley in California, and, in 1858, removed to New York. Francisco, the Indian, being held in high esteem by the whites, was made chief of their tribe by the Yumas. He was known thereafter as El Sol Francisco, was arro- gant in his new station, but was always friendly thereafter with the whites.
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In 1857, the Yumas and Mohaves organized a joint expedition against the Maricopas. They raised a large band and attacked the Maricopa villages about the first of September. They burned some houses, and killed some women and children, which was speedily avenged. The Pimas and Maricopas were reinforced by the Papagoes until their numbers were equal to those of the invaders. At Maricopa Wells, about four miles west of the present station of Maricopa, on the Southern Pacific, they fought a great battle, in which the Yumas were defeated with the loss of over two hundred warriors. Out of the Yuma warriors only three returned alive. Francisco fell in this fight, killed, it is said, by his own men who thought he had brought disaster upon them by defending the whites.
Olive Oatman, it is said, died in an insane asylum in New York before or during the year 1877.
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SURVEYS FOR RAILROADS.
CHAPTER XVI. SURVEYS FOR RAILROADS AND OTHER PUR- POSES.
THOMAS H. BENTON - SURVEY BY BOUNDARY COMMISSIONER BARTLETT - RECONNAIS- SANCES BY CAPTAIN L. SITGREAVES-APPRO- PRIATIONS BY CONGRESS FOR SURVEYS - SURVEY BY LIEUTENANT A. W. WHIPPLE - RECONNAISSANCE BY LIEUTENANT J. G. PARKE-EXPLORATION AND SURVEY BY LIEU- TENANT J. G. PARKE FOR A RAILROAD - Ex- PLORATION FOR LOCATION OF MINES - FIGHT WITH APACHES, DESCRIPTION BY CAPTAIN J. C. CREMONY - JAMES KENDRICK KILLED - JOHN WOLLASTON, JOHN H. MARBLE AND THEODORE HOUSTON WOUNDED.
As early as 1850, Thomas H. Benton, Mis- souri's great Senator, began an agitation in Congress for a Pacific railroad. It was due to him, probably, that Bartlett, in his survey of the Boundary line under the treaty of Guada- lupe Hidalgo was instructed to make notes of the country over which he passed with a view of the possibilities of building a railroad over that route. By the 24th of December, 1851, this survey had been completed to within sixty miles of the Colorado, when it was suspended for want of supplies, and the explorers found their way to San Diego in January, 1852. Here they met Bartlett again, who, in the following May, with Lieut. Whipple and party, started for the Gila to complete the survey. An escort to the Pima
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Villages was furnished them from the Fort Yuma garrison, and the journey through Ari- zona up the Gila and Santa Cruz Valleys was made between June 18th and July 24th, which completed the Boundary Survey. Bartlett's Personal Narrative gives a concise and excellent description of the country visited, with notes on its early history, the aborigines, and views illus- trating its physical features, especially the ruins and other relics of an ancient civilization.
In 1851 an expedition under Captain L. Sit- greaves, United States Topographical Engi- neers, made a reconnaissance down the Zuni and Colorado rivers to Yuma. He was assisted by Lieut. J. G. Parke, Topographical Engineers, Mr. R. H. Kern, as topographer, and Dr. S. W. Woodhouse, surgeon and naturalist. The expedition consisted of about twenty persons, including packers and servants, pack mules being used for transportation of provisions, supplies, etc. The expedition was organized at Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the party accom- panied an expedition against the Navajos as far as the Zuni, which point they reached by the usual road from Albuquerque, on the 1st of September, 1852.
"From this point, with an escort of thirty men from the Second Artillery, the exploring party travelled down the Zuni river to within ten miles of its mouth, when they left the river, and crossing a basaltic ridge, struck the Colorado Chiquito, down which they travelled until they were opposite the northern end of the San Fran- cisco mountains. Here they left the river and travelled southwest, around the base of the
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mountains, to Leroux Spring. Leaving this they passed around the southern base of Bill Williams' mountain, and thence pursued a course a little north of west, over a broken basal- tic and barren country, to the head of Yampai (Yuma) creek. From this point they travelled westward to the Great Colorado, at the head of the Mohave valley ; thence down the valley of the Colorado to Fort Yuma; and thence by the usual emigrant road over the Colorado desert, by Warner's pass, to San Diego, where the party was disbanded."
The report of this forms Senate Executive Document No. 59, second session of Thirty-sec- ond Congress, and is accompanied by a map of the routes pursued, on a scale of ten miles to an inch. The reconnaissance was made with a com- pass and estimated distances, and checked by astronomical observations made with a sextant.
In 1853, Congress appropriated $150,000 for six surveys for a railroad across the continent, and in the following year, it made an appro- priation of $190,000 additional for this purpose. The most of these surveys were made to the north of Arizona, and do not concern us at this time. One, over the 35th parallel, practically the same route now followed by the Santa Fe Railway, demands our present attention.
Lieutenant A. W. Whipple made a survey over this route to the Pacific, the final report of which forms Volumes III and IV of the quarto edition of the Pacific Railroad Reports, Senate Executive Document No. 78; House Executive Document No. 91, second session of the Thirty- third Congress. It is accompanied by a topo-
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graphical map in two sheets, drawn on a scale of fifteen miles to an inch, and a sheet of profiles on a horizontal scale of fifteen miles to an inch, and a vertical fifty times the horizontal. There are besides this a geological map and numerous illustrations, with a preliminary report which forms part of House Document No. 129, first session, Thirty-third Congress. Lieut. Whip- ple was assisted in this work by Lieut. J. C. Ives, Topographical Engineers; Dr. J. M. Bige- low, surgeon and botanist; Jules Marcou, geolo- gist and mining engineer; Dr. C. B. Kennerley, physician and naturalist; A. H. Campbell, prin- cipal assistant railroad engineer; H. B. Mol- hausen, topographer and artist; Hugh Camp- bell, assistant astronomer; William White, Jr., assistant meteorological observer; Mr. George G. Garner, assistant astronomer; Mr. N. H. Hut- ton, assistant engineer; John P. Sherburne, assistant meteorological observer; and Mr. T. H. Parke, assistant astronomer and computer. They were provided with a portable transit, sex- tants, and chronometers, for astronomical obser- vations, and with the other instruments needful for reconnaissances. They were escorted by a company of the Seventh Infantry, under Capt. J. M. Jones, and began the survey with a train of wagons. Lieut. Ives proceeded, with an astronomical transit and other instruments, from Washington, D. C., to Albuquerque, by way of San Antonio and El Paso, where he joined the party.
Lieutenant Whipple left Fort Smith July 13, 1853, and moved west along the northern base of the San Bois Mountains, to the south fork of the
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Canadian river. Crossing this, the party fol- lowed its main branch, called Coal Creek, to its head; thence crossing Delaware Ridge, they struck the head of Boggy River. Re-crossing the Delaware Ridge, they passed along the heads of Walnut and Deer creeks, until, keeping at same distance south of the Canadian, and gradu- ally diverging from it, they crossed a low divide and struck the waters of the False Washita River, at Gypsum Creek. Thence they travelled northwest, up the valley, for about sixty miles, when they passed over again to the Canadian. They then travelled along the valley of the Cana- dian river, by the emigrant road, to the Pecos, at Anton Chico. Here the party separated. Lieutenant Whipple, with a small number, fol- lowed the Pecos nearly to its head, crossed the Galisteo Pass on the west, and following down the creek of the same name, struck the Rio Grande del Norte at the Pueblo of San Domingo. Thence he travelled down the river to Albu- querque. The main party left Anton Chico, followed up the Cañon Blanco to Las Lagunas, thence southwesterly through the San Pedro Pass, at the southern end of the Zandia moun- tain, and thence down the San Antonio Creek to Albuquerque. Lieutenant Whipple remained encamped at this point a month; leaving there about the middle of November, 1853. While at Albuquerque, a reconnaissance was made of the river crossing at Isleta, about ten miles below. The escort was increased by twenty-five men, under Lieutenant J. C. Tidball, Second Artil- lery, and a considerable number of pack animals were added.
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From Albuquerque, the expedition travelled southwest to the crossing of the Rio Puerco, thence up the San Jose or Santa Rita Valley to Covero. Soon after leaving Covero, a small party under Mr. Campbell explored a route up the North Fork of the Santa Rita to its head, thence through Campbell's Pass, in the Sierra Madre, to Fort Defiance and back to the main party at Zuni. The main party kept up the South Fork to its head, at the Agua Fria, thence crossing the Sierra Madre by a rugged pass, descended the slopes of that range to the Pueblo of Zuni.
From this point the exploration was continued westward to the Rio Puerco of the west, crossing it near Navajo Springs, and thence southward to the Colorado Chiquito, near the Junction of the Puerco with the former stream. After following the valley of the Colorado Chiquito for about forty miles, they struck west towards the San Francisco mountain, passing south of it. Continuing the westward course, which carried them north of Mount Bill Williams, and across the sources of some northern branches of the Gila river, they reached the source of Bill Will- iams' Fork, and travelled down the valley of this stream to its junction with the Colorado. They now travelled up the Colorado, through the Mohave Valley, and crossed the river in about latitude 34° 50' north. Leaving the Colorado, they took a northwesterly course to Soda Lake. They then passed up the valley of the Mohave river, and through the Cajon Pass, to the rancho of Coco Mungo, and thence along the foot slopes of the Coast range to Los Angeles, where the survey terminated about the 25th of March, 1854.
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In 1854 Lieutenant J. G. Parke, Topograph- ical Engineers, made a reconnaissance for a rail- road route between the Pima Villages and El Paso, the report of which forms a part of Volume II, quarto edition of the Pacific Rail- road Reports, and is printed in House Executive Document No. 129, First session, Thirty-third Congress, which is accompanied by a map on a scale of five miles to an inch, and profile on the same horizontal scale, the vertical being one thousand feet to an inch.
Lieutenant Parke was assisted by Mr. H. Custer, Topographer, and Dr. A. L. Heerman, physician and naturalist, and provided with barometers, odometers, and compass. On the 24th of January, 1854, the party left San Diego. It consisted of twenty-three men, exclusive of an escort under Lieutenant Stoneman (after- wards General Stoneman) of twenty-eight dragoons.
In 1854-55 Lieutenant J. G. Parke, Topo- graphical Engineers, assisted by Albert H. Campbell, civil engineer; Dr. Thomas Antisell, geologist; and Messrs. Custer and N. H. Hutton, topographers, made an exploration and survey for a railroad route from Benicia, California, to Fort Fillmore, New Mexico. The report of this exploration forms a part of Volume VIII of the quarto edition of the Pacific Railroad Reports, and is accompanied by two topographical maps.
On the 20th of November, 1854, they left Benicia with a party of about thirty persons, crossed the Straits of Carquinez to Martinez, and proceeded up the Arroyo de las Nueces to the head of the San Ramon valley. Turning south, they crossed the Coast range near the San
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Jose mission, from which they travelled around the end of San Francisco bay to the Puebla de San Jose. They then turned up the San Jose Valley, crossed over the Gavilan range at the source of Pajaro river, and examined the passes in this vicinity.
A thorough examination was then made of all the mountain region between Point Conception and Fort Tejon in the Cañada de las Uvas; upon the termination of which the expedition pro- ceeded to Los Angeles.
Lieutenant Parke's instructions requiring him to examine the sink of the Mohave and Soda Lakes, he proceeded to a favorable point near the Cajon Pass, where he formed a depot camp, whence, with pack mules, he made the examina- tions required, and then proceeded with all his party to San Diego, reaching it in April, 1854.
The party followed the emigrant road, via Warner's ranch and pass, and across the Colo- rado desert, to Fort Yuma; thence they travelled up the left bank of the Gila river to the Pima and Maricopa villages. Leaving this point, on the 16th of February, they turned southeast to the then Mexican towns of Tucson and San Xavier. Continuing southeastward, they passed through the Cienega de las Pimas to the Rio San Pedro, and travelled up that stream thirty or forty miles, thence striking over the hills, on the right bank, they entered the Chiricahui Mountains, at the Puerto del Dado, south of Dos Cabezas peaks; thence they travelled east, crossing the mountains on the eastern side of the Valle de Sauz, near the Gavilan Peak. Turning now to the northeast, they crossed the
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next mountain range near the Pyramid Peak, and travelled east to the Ojo de Inez, near which they struck Cooke's wagon road, and fol- lowed it to Fort Fillmore. Lieutenant Parke returned from Fort Fillmore with a small party and examined a route direct between that place and Cooke's Spring. From Fort Fillmore, the party proceeded to El Paso, where the recon- naissance ended. This is practically the route of the Southern Pacific at the present day.
During the year 1852, the Boundary Commis- sion having completed their labors and gone to San Diego, Captain Cremony, who had been attached to it as interpreter, was employed by a party of ten men, who had organized for the purpose of exploring a portion of Arizona, their object being to locate and exploit gold and silver mines. Captain Cremony was engaged by this expedition as interpreter and guide, at a salary of $500 per month. After a tedious journey to the Colorado where, at that time, Major Heintzel- man was conducting his campaign against the Yumas, the party was crossed by the guard in charge of the launch, and cautioned about the Yumas, who were supposed to be in force on the Gila about thirty miles from its junction with the Colorado, in consequence of which warning, they proceeded by night instead of by day, until they had passed the field occupied by the savages. The rumbling of their two wagons, and the alertness of the party, impressed the savages with the belief that they were an armed party stealing a march upon them, and they passed unmolested in the dark, arriving at Ante- lope Peak in their march from Fort Yuma.
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