8 minute read
West by Southwest Ernie Bulow
from January 2022
THE COWBOYS CALLED THEM RANGE MAGGOTS THE LEGENDARY PLEASANT VALLEY WAR
The Western Cowboy was invented after the Civil War. Southerners who had fought for the South made up the bulk of them, and they were all hardened fighters, handy with knife and gun. They were also very angry. First, they swarmed Texas, where many of them became wanted criminals, but the range herds being trailed north soon gave them new horizons thanks largely to the new railroads. NOTE: cowhands hated the term “cow punchers” because it referred to the drovers who had to get the beef onto railroad cars using poles to poke them along. As they found new pastures, the cattle companies tended to overrun small ranches occupied for a century or more. The Federal Government had assured these small ranchers they could keep the land they occupied, mostly grants from the Mexican and Spanish regimes. Power and greed steamrolled over them. It has always bothered me that most people in Gallup have never heard of one of the greatest range wars. Dozens of books have been written about this piece of western history. Many novels have used this cattle/ sheep war including Zane Grey, titled “To the Last Man.” Of all range wars in our history, it had the most fatalities. Where did the great animosity against sheep come from? That is not a difficult question. The cattlemen had claimed the public range first, and they believed they had “eminent domain.” The range belonged to them by use. Usually that right is only exercised by the government. As an excuse, the cattlemen claimed that the cattle cropped the grass, just bit it off, but sheep supposedly tore the grass out of the ground, ruining the grazing. In reality, the fight wasn’t sheep vs. cattle, but big over small, weak vs. powerful. One of the most famous range wars in the West happened south of Holbrook, Arizona. The Pleasant Valley War also involved grazing land below the Mogollon Rim. Just to keep it interesting, it is also called the Tonto Range War.
Ernie Bulow
Ernie’s Selfie
West by Southwest
by Ernie Bulow
THE HASHKNIFE WAS A TOOL FOUND
IN EVERY CHUCK WAGON, RANCH HOUSE, AND CATTLE CAMP.
The better-known Hash Knife War involved the same people, so the two fights were first cousins. Beginning in 1885 there were a lot of players in the game but the conflict is usually attributed to the Tewksburys and the Grahams. When the ten-year war was over, at least twentyfive men had been sent to the great pasture in the sky. The cattle-loving Grahams were known as the “Hashknife” outfit, and they used that for their brand. It seems impossible, but there is not a single example of that cooking tool for sale on eBay today. The hash knife resembles a leather-working tool. bought a million acres (usually valued at a buck per—they got it for fifty cents) in a ninety-mile strip across Arizona from the New Mexico line to Flagstaff. Separately they purchased even more land. While they technically only owned every other section [square mile], they could effectively isolate the ranches already there. There was a similar land grab on the New Mexico side by a company called the Cibola Land and Cattle Company, and they tried to claim land that had been used by the Zunis for hundreds of years, and similarly tried to take land from the Ramah Mormons. These new “ranches” were not owned and operated by a family, but rich stockholders in the East. The reason they used the hashknife to brand their cattle was because the Texas ranch that sold them 33 thousand head were already branded with that mark. Brands can be registered in any state. Sheep get branded too, with a tarry paint. I have a sheep iron around someplace. Sheep raising in the four corners area was much more personal. Navajos, Zunis, and Hopis counted on their animals for their very lives. For most, there were only two cash crops; wool in the spring, lambs in the fall. The Navajos also depended on them to create their blankets and rugs. The Aztec company was started in 1884, and incorporated in 1885. With a lavish brush, this Texas cowboy was a hard-case. Blevins killed three Navajos and stole a herd of their horses. There were a lot of stories about the man, including that he had stolen twenty-five horses from the Mormons. Commodore Owens went to the Blevins
HASHKNIFE BRAND WAS BURNED ON THOUSANDS OF CATTLE, USED BY THE AZTEC LAND AND CATTLE COMPANY.
shack where twelve people were holed up. There he shot several men, killing three and wounding others. That was the sort of thing that created legends. Burt Mossman was another sheriff of Apache County, one of the last outposts of the
Wild West. He was originally a cowboy for the Hashknife. At the age of twenty, he became the manager and later was promoted to superintendent, though it is not clear what that was. He was clearly a man of intelligence and motivation. Even as he pursued cattle thieves, he had his own ranch and other businesses, including a stagecoach line. The year Owens was elected sheriff, he and three other men built a brick Opera House in Winslow. There is a belief that he rode with Teddy Roosevelt at San Juan Hill. It is a fact that most of the Rough Riders were recruited from the toughs in Arizona. He continued to live a spirited life and was a captain of the Arizona Rangers for two years. This is probably where he got the nickname “Cap.” It is not known how many men he killed in the line of duty, but amazingly, he mostly stayed on the right side of the law.
Eventually, other ranches became involved, and it developed into an all-out war, but it was not the only one in Arizona. Only Texas had more armed conflicts between sheep men and cattle raisers. There were other “Hashknife” outfits, one near Watrous, New Mexico. It also functioned as a trading post and “fort.” To get the major railroad lines built, the Feds gave up to forty miles of land involving alternate sections (hence the Checkerboard areas around Gallup) which were given to the railroads. The range wars were explained as sheep versus cattle, which is a bit of a lie. In the case of the Hashknife fight, it was probably motivated by the trouble between two families. With the Rebels making up most of the hired gunfighters, race was also a factor. The first man killed was a Navajo. Mexicans were the sheepherders. There was also a religious motive. The St. Johns Mormons were constantly harassed. The Aztec Land and Cattle Company wool merchant Edward Kinsley led the new company. A man whose fortune came from wool but hated sheep? Starving cows in Texas were really cheap and the trail drivers, too. Aztec kept importing both. Anyone who doubts the character of these buckaroos, look at Holbrook in 1886. That year, in a town of two hundred fifty citizens, they had twenty-six shooting deaths. Hopefully the bad hombres were shooting each other. Commodore Perry Owens (no he wasn’t a commodore; it was just his name) was a lawman and gunfighter who had ties to Gallup. He was very handsome and a womanizer, and he wore his red hair very long. He claimed a homestead on Navajo land and shot two of them when they tried to steal his horses. Later he killed another Navajo but was acquitted by an Apache County jury. In 1885 he was elected sheriff following the term of Lorenzo Hubbell, and he inherited warrants including one for Ike Clanton, famous for the O.K. Corral dustup. Lot Smith, noted Mormon gunman, was another. Andy Blevins is not well known, but
McKinley County resident for over 30 years
Currently appointed as the Undersheriff of McKinley County with 21 years of law enforcement experience
Fully endorsed by McKinley County Sheriff Ron Silversmith
As Sheriff, I will improve the quality of life in our communities by…
Continuing to hold those sentenced to jail time and community service accountable by having them
work community cleanup projects by picking up trash, pulling weeds and painting over graffiti, while at the same time offering a positive environment to talk about how they can succeed upon their release.
Continuing to fight the drug problem head on by stopping traffickers from delivering drugs to our
communities, stopping dealers from dealing to our community members and children and collaborate with treatment centers to get those addicted the help they need to recover.
Continuing to collaborate with surrounding law enforcement agencies to combat our DWI problem by
conducting checkpoints, saturation patrols, sales to intoxicated and underage enforcement, and DWI warrant roundups.
Continuing to work with the college, high schools and state and tribal entities to provide internships
and temporary job placement to teach our youth how to conduct themselves in an interview and in the workplace, training them to be the next professionals in our communities.
Continuing to teach classes for businesses, churches, schools and the public for how to respond to
an active shooter threat, NARCAN use for opioid overdose, and Stop the Bleed techniques for emergency situations.
Continuing to participate in community events and fundraising for our veterans, children, schools, can-
cer center and businesses to keep our communities connected, strong and thriving.
“The quality of life in our communities is my utmost priority. Together we can succeed.” – James Maiorano III
