When I heard Woody’s claim of an alternate location, it piqued my interest. As I dug further into the documents, letters, and maps from the era, I wasn’t sure where he’d mentioned that could be 50-100 yards away, but I did find so much more…
I wanted to further investigate Woody’s claim. My research has led me to the acquaintance of the leading scholar of the Butterfield Overland Mail Route, and a personal inspiration of mine, Mr. Gerald Ahnert. The trail I traced led me to what certainly had been employed as a means of water storage, corralling, or other general logistics, nothing I found in the entire valley indicated that the current location was anything but the historical spot.
What is more compelling at this location was the story of Silas St. John, and the massacre at Dragoon Springs Station. Of his stuff, the West was made. In 1858 Silas St. John to led James Burr, Preston Cunningham, and James Laing from the Butterfield company, and three laborers from Mexico, named Guadalupe, Bonifacio, and Pablo, constructed the corral and fortified station deep in the heart of Apache country; the whole lot shared fire watch.
While one of the Mexicans stood watch, he woke the other two and they attempted to murder the Butterfield team in their sleep. Silas was startled by the violent noise, and called to Burr who was simultaneously being crushed by a hammer blow in his sleep. The Mexicans burst into St. John’s quarters, striking him in the hips and arms with axes in raw, hand-to-hand combat. Regardless, St John, effectively parried the next blow, and returned a striking blow to his assailant, gaining enough space to grab his rifle. The rifle failed to fire, and all three set upon the lone survivor, ready to kill.
Unhesitatingly, St drew his revolver, and put a round in Pablo, who was later found dead in the desert. All three men cowardly ran into the night. Fearing death, Silas St. John transcribed a report of the incident, and stood watch over the post as the rest of the men became carrion to the environment. Death spared St. John, and four days later he was rescued.
I then set back out on the trail, which had laid a blueprint for the modern infrastructure we see today; This same infrastructure has enveloped the previous site of the next station, Ewell’s Station, named in honor of Captain Richard S. Ewell of Fort Buchanan. Today, the station is no longer standing. Leaving Ewells, the trail then lead through El Puerto Del Dado, or more commonly referred to as Apache Pass. The predecessor to Fort Bowie, established in July of 1862. In it’s prime, this was the heart of contested Chiricahua and Curatero [Coyotero] Apache country, but it was necessary to place a station here for access to fresh water at a nearyby spring.
In Farwell’s 1858 account of the trail, he recalls the conductor suggesting to ‘ready any guns and pistols’; the Apaches typically did not attack the federal mail train, but due to a failed capture of Cochise, a wagon train suffered a complex retaliatory Apache ambush for the first time in Arizona’s Butterfield History; A prolonged sixteen-day skirmish developed between the Apaches, the troops, and the Butterfield station. The Army Commander, Lt. George Bascom resigned from the Army and is alleged to have been later killed in action at Val Verde, wearing grey.
From here, I broke from the trail to check out the Chiricahua National Monument and Wilderness as suggested by our friend, Woody. After having spent so much time in the desert, I was uncertain of what to expect… along the way, I was greeted by more local wildlife before finally arriving to the Chiricahuas what I discovered was a beautiful natural phenomenon of hoodoos and balancing rocks. The Chiricahuas were recently listed on the national Register of Historic Places, and are a fitting example of the natural beauty we should preserve in this great land.
The Butterfield itself is currently under consideration for a similar national designation, and I hope, with your help, that we can bring awareness to this storied piece of American History. I will place a link below:
Butterfield National Registry Submission as described @ 6:20 : NPS: https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/14000524.htm
Music credits to Squire Tuck, via Free Music Archive: https://soundcloud.com/squier-tuck