Building a State in Apache Land | Page 8

was called when they reached the rope.
When asked what they wished, they said they wanted to come into
camp and trade; that they had captives, mules, mescal, and so on. We
told them we were not traders, and had nothing to sell. They were
rather insolent at this, and made some demonstrations against the rope.
I told the interpreter to say that I would shoot the first man that crossed
the rope, and they retired for consultations. Finally they thought better
of it, or did not like the looks of our rifles and pistols, and struck off for
their homes in the north.
I had a stalwart native of Bohemia in the company who was considered
very brave; but when the attack was imminent he was a little slow in
coming forward, and I cried out somewhat angrily, "Anton, why don't
you come out?"
He replied, "Wait till I light my pipe." And that Dutchman stalked out
with a rifle in his hand, two pistols on his sides, and a great German
pipe in his mouth.

The Apaches did not trouble us any more, and after crossing high
mountains and wide valleys we arrived on the Santa Cruz River, and
camped at the old Mission Church of San Xavier del Bac.
Three leagues north of the Mission Church of San Xavier del Bac (Bac
means water) is located the ancient and honorable pueblo of Tucson.
This is the most ancient pueblo in Arizona, and is first mentioned in
Spanish history in the narrative of Castaneda, in 1540. The Spanish
expedition of Coronado in search of gold stopped here awhile, and
washed some gold from the sands of the Cañon del Oro on sheep skins.
It is well known that that expedition drove sheep. The Spaniards, from
this experience, remembering the island of Colchis, named the place
Tucson,--Jason in Spanish. The "ancient and honorable pueblo" has
borne this name ever since, without profound knowledge of its origin.
The patron saint of Tucson is San Augustine, and as it was now the last
of August the fiesta in honor of her patron saint was being celebrated.
As we had a long march and a dry time, the animals were sent out to
graze in charge of the Papago Indians living around the Missions; two
weeks' furlough was given the men to attend the fiesta, confess their
sins, and get acquainted with the Mexican señoritas, who flocked there
in great numbers from the adjoining State of Sonora.
Music and revelry were continued day and night, with very few
interruptions by violence. The only disorder that I observed was caused
by a quarrel among some Americans, and the use of the infernal
revolver. There were not more than a dozen Americans in the pueblo of
Tucson when we arrived, and they were not Methodist preachers. The
town has grown with the country, and now contains a population of
nearly ten thousand people, of many shades of color and many
nationalities.
The first question to be settled was the location of a headquarters for
the company. We had come a long way, at considerable risk and
expense, and fortunately without disaster. We were now encamped in
view of the scene of our future operations, and the exploration and
settlement of a territory of considerably over a hundred thousand

square miles was before us, and the destiny of a new State was in
embryo. It would not be prudent to expose the lives of the men and
valuable property we had hauled so far to the cupidity of the natives;
and therefore a safe place for storage and for defense was the first
necessity in selecting a headquarters. We had some hundred and fifty
horses and mules, wagons, ambulances, arms, provisions, merchandise,
mining, material,--and moreover, what we considered of inestimable
value, the future,--in our keeping, and a proper location was a grave
consideration.
The Spaniards had located a presidio at the base of the Santa Rita
Mountains on the Santa Cruz River, a stream as large and as beautiful
as the Arno, flowing from the southeast, and watering opulent valleys
which had been formerly occupied and cultivated. The presidio was
called Tu-bac (the water). The Mexican troops had just evacuated the
presidio of Tubac, leaving the quarters in a fair state of preservation,
minus the 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 high
road (camino real) to Sonora and Mexico; consequently we struck
camp at the Mission San Xavier del Bac, and pulled out for the presidio
of Tubac to establish our headquarters and future home.
There was not a soul in the old presidio. It was like entering the ruins of