Cowboy Escapades #2: Autos on the Range

When automobiles were new inventions, it was inevitable that at least some cowboys would decide to try to replace their horses with cars in cow-punching chores.

Indeed, at least twice it was suggested to start using autos in traditional events during the Frontier Days rodeo!

Downtown Store Windows in the 1800s

A trip to downtown Prescott in the 19th century often included a gander into the store windows. Generally, merchants would display the very latest arrivals to their stock, but this wasn't always the case.

Fortunately, the newspaper was keen to mention what was being displayed at stores--particularly when those same stores were regular advertisers. These mentions offer insight into what a 19th-century visitor to Prescott would see as he walked around the square.

Dutch John: Prescott's Audacious Bootlegger

"Dutch" John Berent was sitting in the defendant's seat in Superior Court. Across from him lay "273 bottles of beer; [along with] 23 pints, two quarts, and 3 five-gallon [glass jugs] of whiskey." Although he would soon be found guilty of bootlegging, he would successfully sue to have all that liquor returned to him!

If it was prohibition in Yavapai County and one wanted a drink, then "the distinctly individual countenance of [Dutch John Berent was] well known to practically every person in Yavapai County," according to the newspaper.

Soon, the sheriff's office would also become aware of Dutch John's notoriety, and with the assistance of paid snitches and the employment of private detectives, John would find himself before the court judge.

Fort Whipple's Faithful Dog "Abe"

Shortly after moving closer to Prescott, Fort Whipple had a camp dog owned by Indian Scout Willard Rice. His name was Abe.

One day, this faithful, large greyhound used his keen senses to protect his "pack," and he would be happily credited with preventing an Indian raid.

1871: CB Genung Builds the Old Yarnell Road

Come 1871, the farmers and ranchers of Kirkland and Peeples Valley had a logistics problem. They wanted access to the Wickenburg and Phoenix markets for their products, but no wagon road down the rim was suitable for heavy loads.

"There was a road that could be traveled by light rigs and empty teams, but no (loaded wagon) could be handled over it." Additionally, the old trail was an excessive 60 miles long.

A new, better route was desperately needed, and Charles Baldwin Genung proposed a road that would cut off a whopping 33 miles from the journey.

A Union Spy in the Joseph Walker Camp

Joseph Rutherford Walker, circa 1860

It is well understood that Fort Whipple was established to protect Anglos around the Prescott area. However, there is evidence that initially the federal government was not so much interested in protecting the miners as it was in protecting the minerals.