Gun Fight at the Independence Mine

James S McClure, age 36, arrived home unexpectedly from a month-long business trip to Colorado. When he came upon his surprised wife, who was on her way to the post office, he was “out of sorts,” the Prescott Evening Courier reported. When she returned to their ranch that surrounded Tussock Springs, her husband was still in a sour mood. She was on her way to take the mule out to pasture when “he asked her to wait a minute,” which she did.

What would transpire in the next few minutes would decide whether Mrs. McClure would live or die.

The Anti-Vaccination Movement of 1918

Ad for Election Day, 1918

“Arizona has a compulsory vaccination law, but it has long been a dead letter,” the Citizen wrote. “There has been so much opposition to it that public health officers have never tried to enforce it.” That was until the Spring of 1918 when Dr. WO Sweek, Secretary of the state board of health, decided it was necessary to require children to be vaccinated to attend school.

Christmas 1950: The Children’s Voices Rise

As winter approached in 1950, anxiety about the Korean conflict and the effect it might have on America’s booming economy was palpable. However, in the midst of this, it would be the children of Prescott who would bring the cheer of Christmas.

Rich Ranchman Tries to Get Away With Murder

1918's "trial of the century" was the first murder case ever heard in today's Yavapai County Courthouse. Details of the case were so lurid, salacious, and popular that column-inch coverage of the trial was greater than the concurrent, closing weeks of World War 1!

Cast of Main Characters:
Robert J. Miller: 36-year-old ranch-hand and kindly lady's man; worked on the Stephens' ranch and was gunned down April 2, 1918, in a clothing store downtown on Gurley St.

Joe Stephens: Wealthy cattle rancher from the Simmons area and family patriarch. It would take an average 1918 worker over 130 years to earn what Joe Stephens was worth. Despite prohibition, he was known for frequent drunken tirades.

Mrs. Stephens: 45-year-old, besieged wife of Joe Stephens. At the very least, she was a victim of drunken verbal abuse. Although the subject of domestic violence was not broached in 1918, contemporary readers might discern disturbing symptoms of such.

Harry "Bud" Stephens: Sophomoric son of Joe and Mrs. Stephens. Considered a World War 1 draft dodger. There was no disagreement that this 22-year-old was the gunman who killed Miller.

Spencer Repeating Rifle Rules the Battle of the Black Mountains

It was April of 1867, and ranchers in the area were both highly anxious and on alert. "Information of the presence of a large body of hostile Indians in Hell Canyon" prompted General Gregg to send two companies "to examine and explore that locality, and if possible to break up this band." However, by the time the army arrived, the Indians had left and were heading southeast towards the Black Mountains, several miles south of Woodchute and Mingus. (*1)

It would take several days for the Army to catch up, but such a large party of Indians and their animals left a trail even Anglos could follow. But this time, for the first time in Arizona, the troops were armed with the lethal and already legendary Spencer Repeating Rifle. It had already been used, with devastating effectiveness, against Confederate soldiers.

The Jack-the-Ripper of Yavapai County?

To the Anglos, Indian-killer John B. Townsend was a celebrated hero. To the Native Americans, he was equally an antihero.
This account takes the perspective of the latter.

John B. Townsend

The Indian Wars abounded with examples of vigilanteism. Although illegal, at times it was a near necessity since official law enforcement was often days away. Yet one man's vigilanteism was so extreme in those days that one might consider him to be a serial killer of Indians.

Even more distressing is the fact that when there exists an environment rife with racial cleansing, not only can a serial killer hide in plain sight, but he might even be lauded for his ghastly deeds.

Such is the case of one John B. Townsend, 1835-1873. "Those writing of this man seem to agree that he had a pathological hatred for the (Indian) and he hunted them with grim determination." (*1)

A WARNING: The following story contains graphic, racist remarks and incidents that can be harsh to read. It may not be suitable for sensitive readers.

The Devastating Raids on the Bully Bueno Mine

The strategy of Native Americans during the Indian Wars was more nuanced than simply "collecting scalps."

Their preferred method was to utilize a strategy this author would describe as "guerrilla attrition."  Instead of starving out their opponent with a siege by surrounding them, Native Americans would uniquely use guerrilla raids to attack the provisions, animals, and supplies necessary for the survival of their foes.

One of the most successful and best examples of guerrilla attrition by the Native Americans was their raids on the Bully Bueno Mine.

The Colorful, Short Life of Mayor Buckey O'Neill

Mayor William Owen "Buckey" O'Neill, 1860-1898

Even renowned Western fiction authors could not dream up a more interesting character than the real-life story of Buckey O'Neill.

Although modern spellings of his nickname drop the "e", William Owens "Buckey" O'Neill was a gambler, lawyer, newspaperman, miner, Sheriff of Yavapai County, Mayor of Prescott, and finally, a Captain in Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders.

Buckey got his nickname from his days as a gambler.  He enjoyed the poker game "faro," where going against the odds was called "bucking the tiger."  Buckey had a penchant for going against the odds, but ultimately it would cost him his life at age 38.

Teddy's Rough Riders Originated in Prescott

When news arrived of the explosion and sinking of the USS Maine, William "Buckey" O'Neill was the Mayor of Prescott. Buckey, (that is how O'Neill spelled it,) like most Americans, was infuriated by the disaster and hungry to join the fight.

While discussing the situation with Alexander Brodie and James McClintock, an idea occurred to them to raise a volunteer cavalry from the Arizona territory.  Buckey wanted to raise a regiment of hardcore Arizona frontiersmen. Men who were already able to survive under harsh, dangerous, and deadly conditions would make excellent soldiers.

William "Buckey" O'Neill

They would come to be known as "The Rough Riders." And the men they would recruit would become the origin and core of the First US Volunteer Cavalry, which would win great fame and glory under Teddy Roosevelt in the Spanish-American War.

Skull Valley Earned Its Gruesome Name Twice

It would be a strong statement to say that a piece of land is "cursed,"; something this author would rather avoid.  Yet it seems that some spots in the world are painfully familiar with the angel of death.

Skull Valley, AZ (a half hour west of Prescott) is one such place, having earned its gruesome name not once, but twice.  Both times involved a large loss of life to the Yavapai Prescott Indian Tribe.

It's been said that "Ploughing-time down [in Skull Valley] means, among other things, grave-exhuming time – the annual harvesting of dead men’s bones.  And the supply of these grisly evidences...of long ago appears to be inexhaustible."

The Death of Mangas Colorado: "The Greatest Wrong Ever Done to the Indians"

Mangas Colorado was an important Apache warrior/leader who fiercely fought to protect his people's land from encroaching Mexicans and Anglos.  His capture by the first whites to eventually settle in the Prescott area on January 17th, 1863, would start a series of events that would produce a bitterness that kept murderous hostilities brewing in Arizona for almost an additional quarter of a century.