The History of the Horribles

Due to their over-the-top, Mardi Gras-quality costumes, pictures of “The Horribles” often appear around Halloween in Prescott. However, their activities actually surrounded the Fourth of July as a comedic alternative to Independence Day with hints of Confederate sympathy and mourning.

For example, while Prescott’s traditional Fourth of July included the reading of the Declaration of Independence, the Horribles read a “Declaration of Imprudence” by someone made up to be a Civil War General. 

The organization started seven years before the first rodeo in 1881 and abruptly ended in 1894. In June of '81, the Weekly Arizona Miner wrote of the organization’s founding: “Ye Ancient and Time-worthy Horribles met on Saturday evening and perfected an organization, appointed an executive committee of six, and arranged to meet again next Saturday evening. On Sunday evening the executive committee met and made arrangements, at much expense, to procure the necessary musical instruments from New York City.” They were “getting ready for the grandest procession, most ludicrous display of costume, most humorous and altogether ridiculous literary and other comical exercises on the Fourth.”

The Horribles Band

Despite the high cost of the costumes, citizens were encouraged to bring “a plentiful supply of eggs” that first year to the Horrible’s Plaza program. First a string band played an overture followed by a reading of the “Declaration of Impudence.” This was followed by more music and a poem “especially written for the occasion." More music followed before an oration “by an old Hassayamper." The program wrapped up with an “Eggstrordinary Chorus By Ye Horribles” when, it is assumed, the crowd would let their plentiful supplies fly.

In anticipation of the upcoming event, the Arizona Miner published a poem:

Plunged in a gulf of dark despair, 

Without a decent suit to wear,

The Horribles conduct their revels,

In clothes that look like painted devils.

The Declaration of Impudence was a comical speech highlighting some of the politics of the day and generally poked fun at “Cow Boys.” However, they did take the opportunity to say that their “watchword shall be: ‘the Chinese must go.’”

“The Horribles made Rome howl last night,” the paper declared. “Their instruments of—music—produced some fearful and wonderful sounds.”

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The following year in 1882, The Horribles assembled on Goose Flat and at 2 pm marched “around the Plaza 1000 times more or less (probably more,)” the paper thought, “halting several times to enable the heavy artillery” which was brought in from San Francisco, “to do bloody execution.” 

New additions to the parade that year included “the Goddess of Liberty and 4 alluvial figures, making one of the most gorgeous displays ever witnessed in Prescott,” the paper observed. Otherwise the festivities were largely similar to the first year.

1884 saw the addition of the “Car of State” to their procession.

In 1888 the paper reported: “The procession was not as large as was expected, but many of the characters were original and unique; the car of state was gorgeous in the extreme, and the Goddess of Liberty was immense. They paraded the streets for about an hour, to the amusement of spectators.”

The Horribles’ presentations peaked in 1891. “Over 300 men and boys” participated as Horribles. Due to the popularity of the Stanley expedition to Africa at the time, a number of costumes were of exotic African animals that year. However, a product of its time, the Horribles program would occasionally include minstrel-type acts. In ’91, for example, appearing “in the procession [was] one of the famous pigmies discovered by Stanley.” Since the chance of bringing an actual pigmy to Prescott back then was nil, one can only assume that this was a white child painted and dressed up to look like a pigmy. 

Additionally, two years later, a satire to the traditional fire hose races was performed as the Horribles presented “the only ‘Dark Town Fire Brigade.’”

During the Horribles stretch, years were skipped occasionally and only the traditional Fourth of July festivities occurred. 1892 was such a year and a mischievous “gang of fresh and overgrown kids…attempted to impersonate the Horribles,” the Weekly Journal-Miner reported. Their activities produced “a general disgust” and the feeling that they should “have been run in.”

In the final two years, the responsibility of making costumes largely fell upon Mrs. Zora Morgan and she accomplished the job at an astonishing pace. She produced 94 boys' costumes in eleven days, and after the parade, she provided the youngsters with a lemonade party at her home. She even advertised her services citing her work with the Horribles. 

However, later in 1894, Mrs. Morgan passed away. It was thought that her passing would make 1895 another "skip" year, but no one ended up filling her duties. Ultimately, time would prove that the Horribles died when Zora Morgan did.

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SOURCES:

Weekly Arizona Miner, 6/10/1881; Pg. 3, Col. 2.

Weekly Arizona Miner, 6/24/1881; Pg. 3, Col. 4.

Weekly Arizona Miner, 7/1/1881; Pg. 1, Col. 7.

IBID; Pg. 4, Col. 1.

IBID; Pg. 3, Col. 4.

Weekly Arizona Miner, 6/30/1882; Pg. 3, Col. 5.

Weekly Arizona Miner, 7/4/1884 ; Pg. 3, Col. 5.

Weekly Journal-Miner, 7/11/1888; Pg. 1, Col. 3.

Weekly Journal-Miner, 5/27/1891; Pg. 3, Col. 3.

Weekly Journal-Miner, 7/1/1891; Pg. 3, Col. 6.

Weekly Journal-Miner, 6/21/1893; Pg. 4, Col. 5.

Weekly Journal-Miner, 7/6/1892; Pg. 3, Col. 5.

Weekly Journal-Miner, 7/12/1893; Pg. 3, Col. 3.