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SR BELTMIAMI, AKIZ., WEDNESDAY EVEN1the recall of the judiciary except for theprevailing Mexicanprinciple involved. But if there is a particle of doubt about our ownership of ourbuilt strictly in the . style of architecture. The abode walls are ..... to two feet in thickness.!rivers, we should change our constitutionby unanimous vote, and thus announce tothe cockeyed world that Arizona did not ae-eighteen inches The floor was mother earth. The roof wascept partial statehood.THE BIG PALO VERDE OF AGUACALIENTE AND KING WOOLSEYconstructed by laying rafters of round palo; verde poles, on w'hich was spread a lace-work of willow branches. On top a thickthatch of cat-tail rushes garnered from the n»i iback-1 whichXEY pink !•nearby marshes of the Gila riverwater, Vas placed.Thelt;lt;meaning ’ green tree. ’ The palo verde has a wide range over the deserts of lower altitudes of southern and central Arizona.stirring life of King Woolsey contains an incident of local interest toThe palo verde is one of the handsomest of our desert trees. The name is Spanish Miami. He was the leader of the posseThevof prospectors and friendly Maricopa Indians that decisively whipped a maraudingIn theSeal, ’ musk rIslandMnnluTheinir \vJband of Apaches at Bloody Tanks, a few ,1,s 1« f 1 M A 1 A A H if 9 • I (H'Vfi SgrowT profusely in the dry water courses and arroyos from the Mexican border up to the base of the Mogollon Rim and i the Hualpai mountains.miles west of the present town of Miami,i!64 years ago.theGenerallypalo verdes will not be found growing atelevations above 2,000 feet.Particularly is the palo verde a thing of great beauty when wearing its spring dress of bright yellow flowers. The green trunk and branches combine with the myriad small yellow blooms to create a great beautiful bouquet. Blooming season of the palo verde is^harvest time for the desert honeybees.Major George H. Kelley, state historian, in his recently published history of Arizona legislatures, carries the followingsketch of King Woolsey:Miiuin lt;)ne clt;fromitf iliiia luxtof bofKing WoolseyKing Woolsey was one of the most dis-!Sktinguished of early Arizona settlers, was an Alabaman who went to CaliforniaroofsHe are 1hlt;*onsilt;His advent inThey work avidly and noisily collecting the nectar from the blossoms. Through the stillness of the desert onlord 1den n wit rotcrowdbright days the droning of the bees at workon the palo verde blossoms may be heardfor considerable distances.when only 18 years of age.Arizona was in 1860, soon after which he came to the Agua Caliente ranch, now in the southwest corner of Maricopa county, near the Gila river. In 1863, after some Indian experiences on the Gila, he located what is now known as the Bowers ranch, H,hlt;At theHi ib ropoliUsually the palo verde does not attain a diameter of over twelve or fourteen inchesIand a height of 25 to 30 feet. However, down in the lower Gila valley, a mile below the famous springs of Agua Caliente, there is flourishing a great palo verde that stands approximately 75 feet tall, with a trunk nearly five feet in diameter at the base.on the Agua Fria, east of Prescott, time of the organization of the Territory of Arizona, he was commissioned by the governor as lieutenant colonel of militia, and his subsequent operations against thejit»UheriiUM*withllllifoalike the wIndians had a degree of official flavor. Five times he was elected a member of the ,legislative council and was president of the council in the 8th and 9th legislatures. In 1878, he was a candidate for delegate Perhaps its unusual size is attribut- j to congress, but was not elected. He diedsailoror v\is *1able to the stimulative properties of the j June 29, 1879 on his ranch near Phoenix, pi«asi1iwaters of the hot springs which seep about its roots. An irrigation ditch carrying the waters of the springs to the old homesteadof King Woolsey runs a few feet away.aged 47, and his remains are in the Ma- '1 111His widow later marriedsonic cemetery.Judge Frank Baxter of Yuma.1The palo verde of Agua Caliente is very old.It was a giant when King Woolsey established his home beneath its towering canopy in 1860. It is probably the largestof the species in Arizona. Certainly it far outstrips in size any of its kind observedby the writer in many thousands of milesof travel over the desert regions of thisstate.iKing Woolsey was a giant figure in earlyArizona history.mail} interPossibly the most notable experience ww i known by Woolsey in Arizona was his par- mhui ticipation in the famous Pinole Treatyfight at what thereafter was known asBloody Tanks, a locality lying a short distance above the present town of Miami.In the winter of 1863-64, Woolsey headed a party of seventeen men, which pur- wivi sued Apaches who had stolen horses in the vicinity of Peeples Valley, Yavapai county.theThthe ti va ritjgarni | work lt;lowroourPossibly he recognized his kind in the big palo verde of Agua Caliente.At the crossing of the Verde river, miners were joined by about sixty Mari-The trail of thecopa and Pima Indians.Anaches was followed into the lower TontoitiFlorringii huiThe lower Gila was a wild region when King Woolsey came. Outlaws, horse thieves and cattle thieves, of both American andI-basin and thence over the hills. The Pimasleft, but the Maricopas, headed by Juanfne.sMexican origin ruled the region. They carried forward their nefarious operations on both sides of the nearby international border.Chiveria, stayed with the whites.On the head of the present Miami Flat,ieNeither dared dispute their sway. King Woolsey organized the respectable element of the settlers and stockmen, both American and Mexican, and began a warthe party found themselves surrounded by 400 Apaches. There was a council withabout thirty Apache leaders by Woolsey, a Yuma interpreter, Joe Dye, andnof extermination against the bandits. Heis11tsieniylewas startlingly successful. The outlaws soon learned that Mexico was no longer a haven of refuge. Woolsey and his men pursued the desperados into Sonora, and once sure they had the right men, hanged them unceremoniously, lawyoungLennon, who had joined the party on the Verde, from Maricopa Wells. Blankets were spread upon the ground, upon whichthe Apaches seated themselves, and pinole,; parched grain, was offered them in evidence of amity. A movement of treachery soon was made by the Apaches, but theandWoolsey brought and order to the Gila within a yearwhites had expected this ana were pre-The commissioners shot several ofillafter his arrival.ri-it,)1.at:U-ldLC-Local legend, which probably has some basis of historical fact behind it, says that Woolsey and his band once hanged six out-lows in a single day from the limbs of the great palo verde of Agua Caliente. If this be true, then the superstition that a tree on which a man has been hangd will wither and die, is exploded by the palo verde of Agua Caliente. It is still hardy and full of life. Perhaps it regards the hanging inpared.the Apache chiefs and the other Americans and the Maricopas soon reached the councilpoint. There had to be retreat, but the Apaches generally were kept at a considerable distance, having few fire arms, andchiefly being armed only with bows and arrows and spears. Only one member of the American force suffered, Cyrus Lennon, * thrust through the body with a spear at the first attack. There can be no doubt thatiIind-cident as its contribution to a necessary work well and efffficientlv done.rendidsThe old Woolsey home doubtless was considered quite a pretentious country residence at the time it was built. The wallsscores of the Indians were killed by the deadly aim of the frontiersmen.The Maricopa chief had charge of the retreat, which was back to Salt River, with the body of their comrade carried on oneof the few’ horses.ies-are still intact, although much of the roof has fallen and the windows and doors dis-In early days was a story that Woolsey had fed the Apaches pinole that first hail\t(sbeen mixed with strychnine. This featureiurappeared long ago. It is really two houses, I has had absolute denial by A. H. Peeples, each of two rooms, with a partion between who was a leading member of the party.tII/on
Newspaper Details
Arizona Silver Belt
Miami, Arizona, US
Wed, Mar 09, 1927
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Geri L.
NA, 21 Jun 2023
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