People and Places
Aravaipa Mountains
"During the Apache war days, this name was applied to the north end of the Galiuro Mountains, through which Aravaipa Canyon extends. Now a National Wilderness Area, Upper Aravaipa Canyon and the surrounding countryside was once the traditional homeland of the Aravaipa Apaches. These Indians were friendly towards their Apache and Yavapai neighbors to the north, but were hostile towards the Pima and Maricopa Indians to the west. From their mountain strongholds, the Aravaipa frequently raided their enemies, sometimes doing considerable damage as far south as Old Mexico. The frontier U.S. Army conducted numerous scouts through this region searching for hostile Indians. From 1869 to 1874, some of the army’s best Indian fighters saw actions here..."25 (see details of actions—April 28, 1874—Aravaipa Mountains, above)
Heliograph Peak
"General Miles wrote, in his Personal Recollections, that ‘it was remarkable what advantage [heliograph stations] gave us in observing the movements of the Indians or of the troops in the valleys below, and in reporting it promptly to the central station or headquarters,’ Nelson A. Miles was not the first to introduce the heliograph signal system into the Southwest, but he no doubt made the most extensive use of it. During the final Geronimo campaign in 1886, there were thirteen of these stations in New Mexico and fourteen in Arizona. ‘The stations were generally situated on high mountains, some of them being six or seven thousand feet above the level of the sea,’26 he wrote. ‘They were manned by two or three operators according to the amount of work to be done, and were usually provided with from one to five guards, according to the dangers of the situation...’ "27
A picture of a heliograph site can be found in the "Historical Pictures" section.
Maxey
"Hog Ranch was adjacent to the Fort Thomas military reservation. In 1880 the town ‘consisted of a miscellaneous collection of ... saloons and houses of prostitution.’28 "29
A picture of Maxey ("Hog Ranch") during this period can be found in the Pictures section.
Merijildo Grihalva
Merijildo Grihalva was born between 1840 and 1842 in Bacachi, Sonora, Mexico. He was kidnapped by Apaches at the age of ten. After ten years of captivity he escaped and eventually became a noted scout, tracker and interpreter for the U.S. Army. His career parallels that of the Chiricahua chief Cochise. When Cochise and his band were suspected of committing some depredation, Merijildo Grihalva would usually be found at the head of a cavalry column in hot pursuit. Stories abound of his uncanny tracking ability and his encyclopedic knowledge of the many hideouts used by the Chiricahuas.
Marijilda Canyon and the pre-historic ruins within the canyon were both named for him. He built a home of native stone on the lower portion of Marijilda wash in the vicinity of what is now called Thunderbird Valley. This area is just east of highway 191 about seven miles south of Safford, Arizona. It was located on property awarded to him by the government. Ruins of the old home are still visible. In later years he served as constable in Pueblo Viejo, near the present day village of San Jose, Arizona. He was elected to the Statehood Convention in Phoenix as a delegate from Pueblo Viejo. In his later years he lived in the town of Solomonville, Arizona a few yards from the present (1992) site of the Beneficio Propio Hall. He died in 1916 at the approximate age of 74 in Solomonville and his final resting place is in the hilltop cemetary above the town.31
Sierra Bonita Ranch
"Established in 1872 by Henry Clay Hooker, an army beef contractor, the Sierra Bonita Ranch is one of the oldest in Arizona. Among other things, Hooker believed his guests should ‘dress’ for dinner. After his 1877 marriage, his ranch became the scene of social gatherings. While the enlisted men from nearby Fort Grant hit the ‘dead fall’ hangouts of Bonita ... and Safford on payday, the officers and their wives went to Hooker’s ranch. Hooker’s ranch was also visited by such celebrities as General George Crook, General Nelson Miles, Augustus Thomas, Owen Wister, Whitlow Reid, Wyatt Earp, and many others. During the height of his operations, Hooker had some 20,000 cattle ranging 250,000 acres, and his blooded horses were some of the finest trotters in the Territory. Henry C. Hooker died at Los Angeles, where he was buried at age 79, on December 5, 1907. His brand the ‘Crooked H’ is believed to be the oldest continuously used brand in Arizona."32
The location of this ranch can be found in the maps section.
Notes
1James W. Hurst, General George Crook and the Indian scouts. (Web Page) pg. 2.
2David V. Alexander, Arizona Frontier Military Place Names, 1846-1912
3Meketa, Charles & Jacqueline. "One Blanket And Ten Days Rations", PP 46-47.
3aOfficial Communication Report, dated July 1, 1864.
3bJones, Roger. Major & Ass't. Inspec. Gen'. Camp Goodwin Inspection Report. May 27, 1867
4Sidney Brinkerhoff, "Aftermath of Cibecue", pg. 131 The Smoke Signal, No. 36, fall, 1978.
5David V. Alexander, Arizona Frontier Military Place Names, 1846-1912, pg. 64.
6Cruse, Apache Days, pg. 28.
7David V. Alexander, Arizona Frontier Military Place Names, 1846-1912, pg. 117.
8John Gregory Bourke, On the Border with Crook, pg. 8-9.
9Thrapp, Conquest of Apacheria, pg. 102 (Thrapp sites Bancroft, Arizona and New Mexico, pp. 560-562, and gives his own personal assessment of Vincent Colyer, who was a controversial figure).
10David V. Alexander, Arizona Frontier Military Place Names, 1846-1912, pg. 63-64.
11Davis, Geronimo, pg. 31.
12David V. Alexander, Arizona Frontier Military Place Names, 1846-1912, pg. 104, 105.
13Chronological list of actions &c with Indians from January 1, 1866, to January 1891.
14David V. Alexander, Arizona Frontier Military Place Names, 1846-1912, pg. 62.
15David V. Alexander, Arizona Frontier Military Place Names, 1846-1912, pg. 122-123.
16David V. Alexander, Arizona Frontier Military Place Names, 1846-1912, pg. 95.
17Bourke, Border, pg. 194-196.
18David V. Alexander, Arizona Frontier Military Place Names, 1846-1912, pg. 4.
19David V. Alexander, Arizona Frontier Military Place Names, 1846-1912, pg. 6-7.
20David V. Alexander, Arizona Frontier Military Place Names, 1846-1912, pg. 31.
21Captain William H. Carter, 6th U. S. Cavalry. The Sixth Regiment of Cavalry, pg. 247.
22Captain William H. Carter, 6th U. S. Cavalry. The Sixth Regiment of Cavalry, pg. 247.
23Davis, Geronimo, pg. 19.
24David V. Alexander, Arizona Frontier Military Place Names, 1846-1912, pg.14, 15.
25David V. Alexander, Arizona Frontier Military Place Names, 1846-1912, pg. 6-7.
26Miles, Personal Recollections.
27David V. Alexander, Arizona Frontier Military Place Names, 1846-1912, pg. 68-69.
28Barnes, Place Names, pg. 269.
29David V. Alexander, Arizona Frontier Military Place Names, 1846-1912, pg. 85.
30Bigelow, Bloody Trail, pp. 65-66.
31Victor Grijalva Ornelas, Merejildo Grijalva, Apache Scout. Graham County Historical Society 1992 Symposium Papers.
32David V. Alexander, Arizona Frontier Military Place Names, 1846-1912, pg. 109.
Photographs are from the National Archives.
Bibliography
Adjutant General's Office, U.S. Army. Chronological list of Actions, &c., With Indians, from January 1, 1866, to January, 1891. Office Memoranda. 1891
Alexander, David V. Arizona Frontier Military Place Names 1846-1912. Las Cruces, New Mexico: Yucca Tree Press, 1998.
Barnes, Will C. Arizona Place Names. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 1988.
Bigelow, John Jr. On the bloody trail of Geronimo.
Bourke, John G. On the Border with Crook. Lincoln, NB: Bison Book Printing, University of Nebraska Press, 1971.
Brinkerhoff, Sidney B. "Aftermath of Cibecue, Court Martial of the Apache Scouts, 1881." The Smoke Signal, No. 36, Fall, 1978 (A publication of the Tucson Corral of the Westerers).
Cruse, Thomas. Apache Days and After. Caldwell, Idaho: The Caxton Press, 1941.
Miles, Nelson A. Personal Recollections. Chicago: The WernerCompany, 1897.
Thrapp, Dan. The Conquest of Apacheria. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1967.
Webb, George W. Chronological list of engagements between the regular army of the United States and various tribes of hostile Indians which occurred during the years 1790 to 1898, inclusive. Reprint of the 1939 ed. published by Wing Printing and Publishing Co,. St. Joseph, Missouri. By AMS Press Inc. New York, N. Y.
