USA > Arizona > History of Arizona, Volume I > Part 18
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Considering themselves comparatively safe from the Yumas, although exposed to visits from the Tonto Apaches, who, at that time, inhabited the northern side of the Gila from Antelope Peak to the Pima Villages, they became careless, not proceeding with that caution which, up to that time, they had exercised. The party was well armed, each person having two revolvers, a rifle, and a large knife, and felt themselves equal to four or five times their number in an open fight. Near what was afterwards known as Grinnell's Station, the road was covered from four to five inches deep with an impalpable dust, containing an abundance of alkali. Everyone who has had experience in Arizona knows that in this par- ticular soil the lightest tread sends up clouds of dust far over the head, and a body of men, riding together in close column, are often so thoroughly enveloped, that they fail to recog- nize each other at a distance of only a few feet. The road, in places, passed through an exten- sive plain, entirely denuded of any verdure, so barren, in fact, that it would not afford shelter to a jack rabbit. The party had arrived at one of these wide openings, and were encased in a cloud of dust, so thick as to completely bar the vision of all except those who were in advance. No one expected an attack in so open and ex- posed and unsheltered a place, yet it was the very one selected by the Indians for such pur- pose. The savages knew that the whites would be on their guard in passing through a thick wood or a rocky canyon, and also judged that they might be careless while crossing an open plain, in which judgment they were right.
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They were acquainted with the dusty char- acter of the road, and, relying upon it to conceal their presence, had secreted themselves close to its edge, awaiting the approach of the whites, who were first notified of their presence by a sharp rattling volley that they received from their enemies at a distance of less than twenty yards. None of the party were killed or wounded, but they lost two mules and three horses by that fire. The dense dust prevented the Apaches from taking aim, and they fired too low. The order was given to alight and fight on foot. Nothing could be distinguished through the blinding dust. Shots were fired in the direction of the savages; now and then a dark body would be seen and made a target of. Each man threw himself on the ground; scarcely any one could tell where his companions were, so that each man was fighting independently of the others. While they lay prostrated, the dust settled somewhat, and they were about to obtain a good sight of the enemy, when John Wollaston cried out: "Up boys, they are making a rush." At the word, each man rose, and a hand to hand contest ensued. At this juncture the revolvers of the whites did good service. The dust rose in blinding clouds, stirred up by the tramping feet of the contending men. The white men were in as much danger of being shot by each other as by the savages. The rattle of pistol shots was heard on all sides, but the actors in the struggle were invisible.
Captain Cremony gives a description of his hand to hand fight with one of the Indians which
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is about as thrilling as any of the stories of the West. He says:
"The last charge of my second pistol had been exhausted; my large knife lost in the thick dust on the road, and the only weapon left me was a small double-edged, but sharp and keen, dagger, with a black whalebone hilt, and about four inches long on the blade. I was just reloading a six-shooter, when a robust and athletic Apache, much heavier than myself, stood before me, not more than three feet off. He was naked, with the single exception of a breech cloth, and his person was oiled from head to foot. I was clothed in a green hunting frock, edged with black, a pair of green pants, trimmed with black welts, and a green broad-brimmed felt hat. The instant we met, he advanced upon me with a long and keen knife, with which he made a plunge at my breast. This attack was met by stopping his right wrist with my left hand, and at the same time I lunged my small dagger full at his abdomen. He caught my right wrist in his left hand, and for a couple of seconds-a long time under such circumstances-we stood regarding each other, my left hand holding his right above my head, and his left retaining my right on a level with his body. Feeling that he was greased, and that I had no certain hold, I tripped him with a sudden and violent pass of the right foot, which brought him to the ground, but in falling he seized and carried me down with him. In a moment the desperate savage gained the ascendant and planted himself firmly on my person, with his right knee on my left arm, confining it closely, and his left arm pinion- ing my right to the ground, while his right arm
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was free. I was completely at his mercy. His personal strength and weight were greater than mine. His triumph and delight glared from his glittering black eyes, and he resolved to lose nothing of his savage enjoyment. Holding me down with the grasp of a giant, against which all my struggles were wholly vain, he raised aloft his long sharp knife, and said-'Pindah lickoyee das-ay-go, dee dah tatsan,' which means, 'The white eyed man, you will be soon dead.' I thought as he did, and in that fright- ful moment made a hasty commendation of my soul to the Benevolent, but I am afraid that it was mingled with some scheme to get out of my predicament, if possible.
"To express the sensations I underwent at that moment is not within the province of lan- guage. My erratic and useless life passed in review before me in less than an instant of time. I lived more in that minute or two of our deadly struggle than I had ever done in years, and, as I was wholly powerless, I gave myself up for lost-another victim to Apache ferocity. His bloodshot eyes gleamed upon me with intense delight, and he seemed to delay the death stroke for the purpose of gladdening his heart upon my fears and inexpressible torture. All this trans- pired in less than half a minute, but to me it seemed hours. Suddenly he raised his right arm for the final stroke. I saw the descending blow of the deadly weapon, and knew the force with which it was driven.
"The love of life is a strong feeling at any time; but to be killed like a pig, by an Apache, seemed pre-eminently dreadful and contume- lious. Down came the murderous knife aimed
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full at my throat, for his position on my body made that the most prominent part of attack. Instantly I twisted my head and neck on one side to avoid the blow and prolong life as much as possible. The keen blade passed in dangerous proximity to my throat, and buried itself deeply in the soft soil, penetrating my black silk cravat, while his right thumb came within reach of my mouth, and was as quickly seized between my teeth. His struggles to free himself were fearful, but my life depended on holding fast. Finding his efforts vain, he released his grasp of my right arm, and seized his knife with his left hand, but the change, effected under ex- treme pain, reversed the whole state of affairs. Before my antogonist could extricate his deeply- buried weapon with his left hand, and while his right was held fast between my teeth, I circled his body and plunged my sharp and faithful dagger twice between his ribs, just under his left arm, at the same time making another convul- sive effort to throw off his weight. In this I succeeded and in a few moments had the satis- faction of seeing my enemy gasping his last under my repeated thrusts. Language would fail to convey anything like my sensations dur- ing that deadly contest, and I will not attempt the task."
The Indians were defeated, losing ten killed and a number wounded, how many wounded was never ascertained. The whites lost one man, James Kendrick, and three were wounded, to- wit : John Wollaston, John H. Marble, and Theo- dore Houston. Houston and Marble died of their wounds soon after reaching Tucson, which resulted in breaking up the party.
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CHAPTER XVII.
EARLY MINES AND MINING.
ARIZONA MINING AND TRADING COMPANY - AJO COPPER MINE - PLANCHAS DE LA PLATA - COPPER MINE NEAR TUCSON - SILVER MINE NEAR SAN XAVIER - HERMAN EHRENBERG FORMS SONORA EXPLORING AND MINING COMPANY - MAJOR HEINTZELMAN, PRESI- DENT-C. D. POSTON, MANAGER - LOCATE AT TUBAC-CONDITIONS AT TUBAC-ESTABLISH- MENT OF FORT BUCHANAN - FIRST MINING MACHINERY IN ARIZONA-DESCRIPTION OF HEINTZELMAN MINE BY SYLVESTER MOWRY- BREAKING OUT OF CIVIL WAR-WITHDRAWAL OF TROOPS-RAIDS UPON MINING CAMPS BY OUTLAWS AND INDIANS-ABANDONMENT OF MINES-PATAGONIA (MOWRY) MINE-Ac- QUIRED BY SYLVESTER MOWRY-CONFISCATION BY GENERAL CARLETON-FIRST PLACER MIN- ING-GOLD PLACERS ON GILA DISCOVERED BY JACOB SNIVELEY-DISCOVERY OF PLACERS AT LA PAZ BY PAULINE WEAVER-DISCOVERY OF WEAVER DIGGINGS-THE WALKER PARTY- HENRY WICKENBURG DISCOVERS THE VUL- TURE MINE.
Exploring parties sent out by the Government, particularly those along the southern part of what is now Arizona, gave some attention in a casual way to the mineral resources of the coun- try, and these reports reaching San Francisco, probably much magnified, gave rise to the or- ganization of the first exploring party sent into
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what is now Arizona. Some time in the latter part of the year 1854, a company was formed by Major B. Allen, J. D. Wilson, William Blanding, A. S. Wright, and others, which was known as the Arizona Mining & Trading Company, under the direction of E. E. Dunbar. The expedition was outfitted in Los Angeles in October, 1854, and started, twenty men strong, for Fort Yuma. The names of these men, as far as is at present known, were E. E. Dunbar, - McElroy, F. Rondstadt, P. Brady, G. Kib- bers, George Williams, Joe Yancy, Dr. Web- - Ben- ster, Porter, Charles Hayward,
del, - Cook, and one other. Taking the road by Tinaja Alta, they heard of the Ajo copper mines, about 90 miles south of east of Yuma. There they left six men to hold possession as best they could. The remainder continued to prospect the Arizona mountains for the cele- brated silver mine known as the Planchas de la Plata, that had been abandoned by the Mexicans, of which it is stated, in Ward's Mexico, that a piece of native silver of 2700 pounds had been taken out by the Spaniards. After several
months of continued search, this mine was dis- covered. They found first a piece of pure sil- ver of about four ounces and a few days there- after a piece of nineteen pounds was taken out of old shallow diggings, overgrown by stout oak trees. About this time the party at the Ajo copper mine was attacked early in the morning by a company of Mexican soldiers, headed by the Prefect and other authorities, who demanded the delivery of the mine, as owned by the Mexi- cans. The boundary line under the Gadsden
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purchase had not yet been established, and the Mexican threatened to take the mine by force if it was not surrendered within two hours. Mr. Hayward's spirited answer to them was: "We don't think of surrendering; if you want to fight, let us begin before the sun gets hot," and this settled the question. The troops retired to the Presidio del Altar, Sonora, just in time to re- ceive the news of the discovery of the long lost Planchas de la Plata by the rest of the Ameri- can party. The Mexicans immediately ordered the Americans to leave the country, and they, being well aware that they were on Mexican terri- tory, thought it prudent to comply.
The Ajo mine was worked continuously from 1855, and the first shipment from it was of ex- ceedingly rich ore, which was made to San Fran- cisco in 1856, by the Arizona Mining and Trad- ing Company.
In 1856 a Mexican from San Francisco or- ganized an outfit to work the mines near Tucson. He first worked a copper mine about thirty-five miles west from there, and then a silver mine near San Xavier del Bac. The entire party, after much delay, arrived at Yuma, and was afterwards lost with man and beast, in the terri- tory between Maricopa Wells and the copper mine. Only one, a man by the name of Cook, escaped. This crippled the enterprise so that it came to a standstill.
About this time, Mr. Herman Ehrenberg, whose name is linked with the early history of Arizona, and who had been, for some time, pros- pecting along the Gila and in Sonora, formed in New York the Sonora Exploring and Mining
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Company, of which Samuel Colt, of Hartford, William T. Coleman, Chas. D. Poston, and Major Hartley were directors. This company, of which Major Heintzelman was president, is said to have received $100,000 from the Texas and Pacific Railroad Company for the opening up of mines in Arizona. The representatives of the company arrived, with Mr. Poston, as manager, Ehrenberg and Brunkow, as mining engineers, in Arizona, in 1857, and took up head- quarters in the deserted town of Tubac, which had been evacuated by the Mexican troops, leav- ing the quarters in a fair state of preservation, minus doors and windows, which they hauled away.
The Presidio of Tubac was about ten leagues south of the mission church of San Xavier del Bac, on the Santa Cruz River, on the main road to Sonora and Mexico. The forests of the Santa Rita Mountains were invaded and pine lumber sawed out with whip saws, to furnish material for doors, windows, tables, chairs, bed- steads, and such other necessary articles of fur- niture as might be required in their bachelor housekeeping quarters. The quarters would accommodate about three hundred men, and the corrals were sufficient for all the animals neces- sary for the settlement. The old quartel was used as a storehouse, and the tower, of which three stories remained, was used as a lookout. The Santa Cruz River rolled by the eastern side of the Presidio, and fuel and grass were abundant throughout the valley and on the mountain sides. It was about a hundred leagues to Guaymas, the seaport on the Gulf of California, where
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European merchandise could be obtained, there being no frontier customhouses at that time to interfere with free importation of supplies.
The headquarters of the company, in the autumn of 1856, were made comfortable, a store of provisions was laid in for the winter, and the exploration of the company for mines was ready to begin. "The mines in the Santa Rita mountains had," says Col. Poston, "been previ- ously worked by the Spaniards and Mexicans, as was evident by the ruins of arrastres and smelt- ers. Gold could be washed on the mountain sides, and silver veins could be traced by the dis- colored grass."
When it became known in Mexico that an American company had arrived in Tubac, Mexi- cans came in great numbers to find employment, and skilled miners were obtained at from fifteen to twenty-five dollars a month and rations. Flour, beef, beans, sugar, barley, corn and vege- tables, were imported from Sonora at moderate prices. Many Mexicans, formerly soldiers of the Presidio of Tubac, had holdings of land in the valley and returned with their families to cultivate their "milpas." By the first of Janu- ary following, an unofficial census of the valley of the Santa Cruz, in the vicinity of Tubac, showed a population of about a thousand souls. Col. Poston says :
"We had no law but love, and no occupation but labor. No government, no taxes, no public debt, no politics. It was a community in a per- fect state of nature. As 'syndic' under New Mexico, I opened a book of records, performed the marriage ceremony, baptized children and granted divorces.
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"Sonora has always been famous for the beauty and gracefulness of its senoritas. The civil wars in Mexico, and the exodus of the male population from Northern Mexico to California had disturbed the equilibrium of population, till in some pueblos the disproportion was as great as a dozen females to one male; and in the genial climate of Sonora, this anomalous condition of society was unendurable. Consequently the senoritas and grass widows sought the American camp on the Santa Cruz River. When they could get transportation in wagons hauling pro- visions, they came in state; others came in on the hurricane decks of burros, and many came on foot. All were provided for.
"The Mexican senoritas really had a refining influence on the frontier population. Many of them had been educated at convents, and all of them were good Catholics. They called the American men 'Los God-dammes' and the Amer- ican women 'Las Camisas-Colorados.' If there is anything that a Mexican woman despises it is a red petticoat. They are exceedingly dainty in their underclothing-wear the finest linen they can afford; and spend half their lives over the washing machine. The men of Northern Mexico are far inferior to the women in every respect.
"This accretion of female population added very much to the charms of frontier society. The Mexican women were not by any means useless appendages in camp. They could keep house, cook some dainty dishes, wash clothes, sew, dance and sing. Moreover, they were expert at cards, and divested many a miner of his week's wages over a game of monte.
CHARLES D. POSTON.
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"As Alcalde of Tubac, under the government of New Mexico, I was legally authorized to cele- brate the rites of matrimony, baptize children, grant divorces, execute criminals, declare war, and perform all the functions of the ancient El Cadi. The records of this primitive period are on file in the Recorder's office of the Pueblo of Tucson, Pima County.
"Tubac became a sort of Gretna Green for runaway couples from Sonora, as the priest there charged them twenty-five dollars, and the Alcalde of Tubac tied the knot gratis, and gave them a treat besides.
"I had been marrying people and baptizing children at Tubac for a year or two, and had a good many godchildren named Carlos or Car- lotta, according to gender, and began to feel quite patriarchial, when Bishop Lane sent down Father Mashboef (Vicar Apostolic) of New Mexico, to look after the spiritual condition of the Arizona people.
"It required all the sheets and tablecloths of the establishment to fix up a confessional room, and we had to wait until noon for the blessing at breakfast; but worse than all that, my com- rades, who used to embrace me with such affec- tion, went away with their rebosas over their heads without even a friendly salute.
"It was 'muy triste' in Tubac, and I began to feel the effects of the ban of the Church, when one day after breakfast, Father Mashboef took me by the arm (a man always takes you by the arm when he has anything unpleasant to say), and said :
"'My young friend, I appreciate all you have been trying to do for these people, but these mar-
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riages you have celebrated are not good in the eyes of God.'
"I knew there would be a riot on the Santa Cruz if this ban could not be lifted. The women were sulky, and the men commenced cursing and swearing, and said they thought they were en- titled to all the rights of matrimony.
"My strong defense was that I had not charged any of them anything, and had given them a marriage certificate with a seal on it, made out of a Mexican dollar, and had given a treat and fired off the anvil. Still, although the Pope of Rome was beyond the jurisdiction of even the Alcalde of Tubac, I could not see the way open for a restoration of happiness.
"At last I arranged with Father Mashboef to give the sanction of the Church to the mar- riages and legitimize the little Carloses and Car- lottas with holy water, and it cost the company about $700 to rectify the matrimonial situation on the Santa Cruz.
"An idea that it was lonesome at Tubac would be incorrect. One can never be lonesome who is useful, and it was considered at the time that the opening of mines which yielded nothing before, the cultivation of land which lay fallow, the employment of labor which was idle, and the development of a new country, were meritorious undertakings.
"The table at Tubac was generously supplied with the best the market afforded, besides veni- son, antelope, turkeys, bear, quail, wild ducks, and other game, and we obtained through Guay- mas a reasonable supply of French wines for Sunday dinners and the celebration of feast days.
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"It is astonishing how rapidly the develop- ment of mines increases commerce. We had scarcely commenced to make silver bars,-'cur- rent with the merchant'-when the plaza of Tubac presented a picturesque scene of primitive com- merce. Pack trains arrived from Mexico, loaded with all kinds of provisions. The rule was to purchase everything they brought, whether we wanted it or not. They were quite willing to take in exchange silver bars or American mer- chandise. Sometimes they preferred American merchandise. Whether they paid duties in Mex- ico was none of our business. We were essen- tially free traders.
"The winter was mild and charming, very little snow, and only frost enough to purify the atmosphere. It would be difficult to find in any country of the world, so near the sea, such pro- lific valleys fenced in by mountains teeming with minerals. The natural elements of prosperity seem concentrated in profusion seldom found. In our primitive simplicity we reasoned that if we could take ore from the mountains and re- duce it to gold and silver with which to pay for labor and purchase the productions of the val- leys, a community could be established in the country independent of foreign resources. The result will show the success or failure of this Utopian scheme.
"The usual routine at Tubac, in addition to the regular business of distributing supplies to the mining camps, was chocolate or strong coffee the first thing in the morning, breakfast at sun- rise, dinner at noon, and supper at sunset.
"Sunday was the day of days at Tubac, as the superintendents came in from the mining camps
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to spend the day, and take dinner, returning in the afternoon. One Sunday we had a fat wild turkey, weighing about twenty-five pounds, and one of my engineers asked permission to assist in the cocina. It was done to a charm, and stuffed with pine nuts, which gave it a fine flavor.
"As we had plenty of horses and saddles, a gallop to the old mission of San Jose de Tuma- cacori, one league south on the Santa Cruz River, afforded exercise and diversion for the ladies, especially of a Sunday afternoon. The old mis- sion was rapidly going to ruin, but the records showed that it formerly supported a population of 3,500 people, from cultivation of the rich lands in the valley, grazing cattle, and working the silver mines. The Santa Cruz Valley had been and could apparently again be made an earthly paradise. Many fruit trees yet remained in the gardens of the old mission church, and the 'Camp Santo' walls were in a perfect state of preservation.
"The communal system of the Latin races was well adapted to this country of oases and de- tached valleys. Caesar knew nearly as much about the government machine as the sachem of Tammany Hall, or a governor in Mexico. At least, he enriched himself. In countries requir- ing irrigation, the communal system of distrib- uting water has been found to produce the great- est good for the greatest number. The plan of a government granting water to corporations, to be sold as a monopoly, is an atrocity against nature; and no deserving people will for long submit to it. The question will soon come up whether the government has any more right to sell the water than the air.
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"In the spring of 1857 a garden containing about two acres was prepared at Tubac, and irri- gated by a canal from the Santa Cruz River. By the industry of a German gardener, with two Mexican assistants, we soon produced all the vegetables, melons, etc., that we required, and many a weary traveler remembers, or ought to remember, the hospitality of Tubac. We were never a week without some company and some- times had more than we required; but nobody was ever charged anything for entertainment, horse-shoeing, and fresh supplies for the road. Hospitality is a savage virtue, and disappears with civilization."
The ore in the Santa Rita Mountains proved to be too low grade to be profitably worked at that time, so the explorers turned their attention to the west side of the Santa Cruz River, and soon a vein of silver copper glance, called by the Mexicans "petanque" was discovered that yielded from the grass roots seven thousand dol- lars a ton. This mine was afterwards named in honor of the president of the company, "Heintzelman," which, in German mining lore, is said to be the name of the genius who presides over mines.
The products of the mine, after smelting, which contained about fifty per cent of silver, were shipped to San Francisco, via Guaymas, where the silver was sold at from 125 to 132 cents per ounce for the Asiatic market.
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