July 20, 2009 © Thomas J. Kollenborn. All Rights Reserved.
Prior to
roads and the horse drawn carriage the only means of travel between
Superstition Mountain and the surrounding towns was by horseback or
afoot. Since those long forgotten days little has changed within the
boundaries of the Superstition Wilderness Area. Today one must still
travel by foot or on horseback. The Department of Agriculture set aside
approximately 124,040 acres of land within the Tonto National Forest in
1939 to insure the preservation of natural wonders in the Sonoran
Desert. This wilderness was increased in size in 1984 to 159,780 acres.
Today a continuous flow of hikers and horseback riders travel these
ancient Indian and early cattle trails to experience the isolation and
tranquility of the Superstition Wilderness.
The cowboy was a significant part of
this geographical region between 1870 and 1990. Only in the last decade
or so were cattle permits removed from the Superstition Wilderness Area.
Since the first settlers arrived in this area it has been known as the
most hostile and rugged cattle range in the American Southwest. The
first cattlemen fought Indians, drought, heat, famine, disease, and
winter storms to graze their cattle in the deep canyons and on the
towering ridges of the Superstition Wilderness. A very rugged breed of
cowman evolved while taming this hostile environment.
These cattle drovers first arrived here
from New Mexico and Texas shortly after the discovery of rich mining
properties in the central mountains of Arizona Territory. Copper and
silver were first discovered around Globe just after the American Civil
War. The first cattle herds arrived around 1870-1871. The small valley
flats between the towering ridges and cliffs served as grazing range.
The discovery of the Silver King Mine in 1875 opened the region to
cattle ranching because of the tremendous demand for beef on the hoof.
This was the era before refrigeration. Robert A. Irion brought a herd
into the Superstition mountain area from Montana in 1878. He eventually
developed the Pinal Ranch (Craig Ranch) at Sutton’s Summit on U.S.
Highway 60. Sutton’s Summit is known to some people these days as “The
Top of the World.” Actually “The Top of the World” was located down the
road toward Miami about six more miles.
The sharp spines of desert flora, the
summer heat, the long droughts and the cold winters were nothing new for
these early cowbboys. Many of the cattlemen came to reap the profits
associated with providing beef for the early mining camps that dotted
the landscape of central Arizona. The miners purchased tons of beef,
making cattle raising a very lucrative industry in the Superstition
Mountain area. The somewhat mild climate, good grazing and the nearby
market convinced many of the cattlemen to stay on permanently. As the
mining industry grew so did the cattle business. The cowboy was soon a
common figure in the isolated canyons of the Superstition Mountain
region.
Hardships were very common on these
early cattle spreads. There were no permanent shelters or medical
facilities. If a cowboy broke an arm or leg his only doctor was his
partner or himself. If he picked up a stray bullet he prayed that he
could make it back to headquarters before infection set in. Infection
was the greatest killer of man and beast in those days. Survival was for
the strongest because the weak often perished.
The early cowboy’s diet consisted of
jerked beef, pinto beans, chili and hardtack. His revolver or rifle was
his constant companion. Either weapon was used against his many enemies.
These enemies could include an occasional Apache, cattle rustler,
rattlesnake, lion or bear.
A cowboy’s horse was his most important
means of survival. A solid and sound horse meant the difference between
life and death in the wilds of the Superstition Mountains. The care of
his horse was the most important chore of the cowboy’s daily routine.
Most of these cowboys had a string of five to seven horses and rotated
between them when working cattle. Providing care for these animals
required a considerable amount of time. There was always an animal to
doctor, shod, or train. A cowboy’s work day was from sun till sun and
his work was never done. There were always fences to mend, water holes
to repair, windmills to work on, stock to check, tact to care for and
every other job associated with cattle ranching.
The advent of barbed wire changed the
early cowboy’s way of life in the rugged Superstition Mountain region.
Barbed wire forever ended an open and free range. The entire range was
eventually divided off into grazing allotments. Names like Reavis, Mill
Site, Tortilla, First Water, and JF are just a few of these old
allotments. When Taylor Grazing was finally establishment the option of
open range was gone forever. The colorful and romantic life of the
cowboy so often portrayed by western writers was more fantasy than
reality.
Dane Coolidge probably portrayed the
American cowboy better than any other writer of his time. Russell, Leigh
and Remington also portrayed the cowboy on their canvases with extreme
accuracy.
A herd, including cows, calves and a
couple of bulls would be cared for by one cowboy. Most of these herds
numbered between a hundred and three hundred head. Each spring and fall a
rodeo (roundup) was conducted to gather the cattle from the open range.
The purpose of the roundup was to brand, castrate and doctor calves.
Yearling steers were generally separated from the herd and driven to the
nearest point of need. A typical roundup area consisted of temporary
catch-pens, but most often it was open ground-work without the benefit
of a corral. Open ground-work consisted of roping a wild range calf,
taking it away from its wild mother.
Then you threw the calf to the ground
without the benefit of a corral or catch pen while keeping the irate cow
at bay, you then branded, castrated, dehorned and completed other
necessary chores. The cattle drovers and cattle barons of the
Superstition Mountain area have long since disappeared. The great herds
that once grazed the region under the brand of the Clemens Cattle
Company and others have also since vanished. At the peak of the Clemans
operation more than 12,000 head of cattle grazed the eastern fringe of
the wilderness. These huge herds overgrazed and destroyed much of the
range. Through the use of careful range management techniques much of
the old range is returning to its original state. There are many
controversies associated with grazing and non-grazing within the
wilderness. Some range managers believe grazing helps to reduce
wildfires while other believed, without wildfires the soil becomes
infertile. This controversy continues among range managers today.
What distinguished a cowboy from other
working men during this period? Cowboys generally dressed a bit
different then other workers because they worked outdoors most of the
time. Large brimmed hats were common. Levi trousers, and heavy denim or
cotton shirts, and of course pointed toed high top boots with extended
heels were popular with cowboys. Cowboys often carried a rope, folding
knife, bandana, chaps, and sometimes a Winchester rifle or Colt
revolver.
Life was not easy on the open range, but
it did have its rewards. Those old range riders may not have frequented
churches very often, but they were close to their God and the work of
his mighty hand. A cowboy’s sense of freedom and free spirit was
unequaled anywhere else in the country. Cowboys rode through life
uninterrupted by the complexities of urban society. They generally
didn’t lay awake at night listening to sirens, bells and the noise of
modern traffic. Their nights were filled with silence occasionally
interrupted by the lonesome call of a coyote or other sounds of night.
The cowboy recognized the value of
sitting astride his horse and traveling with the wind in his face.
Hollywood has immortalized the free spirit of the American cowboy,
therefore helping preserve some of the ideals of our freedom. These old
time cowboys and their horses were true icons of freedom and they
definitely have a place in the history of the Superstition Wilderness
Area and Americana. Hollywood certainly captured the persona of the
American cowboy and his spirit and spread it across America.
The large cattle ranches of the
Superstition Wilderness have long since vanished from the Arizona scene.
Conservation methods did not destroy them. The high cost of operation,
limited grazing and strict controls on public grazing lands have reduced
the productivity of these once large cattle empires to almost nothing.
Feeder pens are slowly replacing the range beef of the past. Today only a
few isolated ranches survive, symbolic of a time forgotten by many.
Today men
like Billy Martin Jr., George Martin, Frank Herron and Chuck Backus try
to hang on to the tradition of cattle ranching in the Superstition
Mountain region. These cattlemen and cowboys are certainly a part of the
history of the Superstition Wilderness and our American heritage.