Arizona Sketches | Page 6

led me to repeat the visit many times since then,
with increased interest and pleasure.
During the previous year my brother located a cattle ranch for us in
Railroad Pass in southeastern Arizona. The gap is one of a series of
natural depressions in a succession of mountain chains on the
thirty-second parallel route, all the way from New Orleans to San
Francisco over a distance of nearly twenty-five hundred miles. The
Southern Pacific Railroad is built upon this route and has the easiest
grade of any transcontinental line.
Railroad Pass is a wide break between two mountain ranges and is a
fine grazing section. It is handsomely bounded and presents a
magnificent view. To the north are the Pinaleno mountains, with
towering Mt. Graham in their midst, that are nearly eleven thousand
feet high and lie dark in the shadows of their dense pine forests. Far to
the south rise the rugged Chiricahuas, and nearby stands bald Dos
Cabezas, whose giant double head of granite can be seen as a
conspicuous landmark over a wide scope of country. The distance
across the Pass as the crow flies is, perhaps, fifty miles. Beyond these
peaks other mountains rise in majestic grandeur and bound the horizon
in every direction. At the time that the ranch was located the Pass
country was considered uninhabitable because of the scarcity of water
and the presence of hostile Indians. No permanent spring nor stream of
water was known to exist in that whole region, but fine gramma grass
grew everywhere. Its suitability as a cattle range was recognized and
caused it to be thoroughly prospected for water, which resulted in the
discovery of several hidden springs. All of the springs found, but one,
were insignificant and either soon went dry or fluctuated with the
seasons; but the big spring, known as Pinaleno, was worth finding, and
flows a constant stream of pure, soft water that fills a four-inch iron
pipe.
When the spring was discovered not a drop of water was visible upon
the surface, and a patch of willows was the only indication of concealed
moisture. By sinking a shallow well only a few feet deep among the
willows, water was struck as it flowed through coarse gravel over a
buried ledge of rock that forced the water up nearly to the surface only
to sink again in the sand without being seen. A ditch was dug to the

well from below and an iron pipe laid in the trench, through which the
water is conducted into a reservoir that supplies the water troughs.
Again, when the ranch was opened the Indians were bad in the vicinity
and had been actively hostile for some time. The ranch is on a part of
the old Chiricahua reservation that was once the home and hunting
grounds of the tribe of Chiricahua Apaches, the most bold and warlike
of all the southwest Indians. Cochise was their greatest warrior, but he
was only one among many able Apache chieftains. He was at one time
the friend of the white man, but treachery aroused his hatred and caused
him to seek revenge on every white man that crossed his path.
His favorite haunt was Apache Pass, a convenient spot that was
favorable for concealment, where he lay in wait for weary travelers
who passed that way in search of water and a pleasant camp ground. If
attacked by a superior force, as sometimes happened, he invariably
retreated across the Sulphur Spring valley into his stronghold in the
Dragoon mountains.
Because of the many atrocities that were committed by the Indians,
white men were afraid to go into that country to settle. Even as late as
in the early eighties when that prince of rascals, the wily Geronimo,
made his bloody raids through southern Arizona, the men who did
venture in and located ranch and mining claims, lived in daily peril of
their lives which, in not a few instances, were paid as a forfeit to their
daring.
The Butterfield stage and all other overland travel to California by the
southern route before the railroads were built, went through Apache
Pass. Although it was the worst Indian infested section in the southwest,
travelers chose that dangerous route in preference to any other for the
sake of the water that they knew could always be found there.
The reputation of Apache Pass, finally became so notoriously bad
because of the many murders committed that the Government, late in
the sixties, built and garrisoned Ft. Bowie for the protection of travelers
and settlers. The troops stationed at the post endured much hardship
and fought many bloody battles before the Indians were conquered.
Many soldiers were killed and buried in a little graveyard near the fort.
When the fort was abandoned a few years