United States

Department

of Agriculture

Forest Service

Rocky Mountain

Research Station

General Technical 

Report RMRS-GTR-177

September 2006

Wood Plenty, 

 Grass Good, 

 Water None

Vegetation Changes in Arizona’s Upper 

Verde River Watershed From 

1850 to 1997

Harley G. Shaw
Rocky Mountain Research Station

Natural Resources Research Center

2150 Centre Avenue, Building A

Fort Collins, CO 80526

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Shaw, Harley G. 2006. Wood plenty, grass good, water none: Vegetation changes in 

Arizona’s upper Verde River watershed from 1850 to 1997. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRSGTR-177. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain 

Research Station. 50 p.

Abstract—The purpose of this study was to compare current woodland density and distribution 

in and around the dry upper Verde River watershed in northwestern Arizona with conditions 

prior to Anglo settlement. Historic conditions were assessed using early photographs and early 

diaries and reports. The expedition led by Amiel Weeks Whipple was retraced and areas described in 1854 compared with the present. Diaries and reports of members of the Sitgreaves 

(1851) and Ives (1858) expeditions, Francis Aubry (1857), Edward Beale, John Marion (1870), 

and Edgar Mearns were also used to assess presettlement woodland conditions. Photographs 

from 1867, 1871, 1910, and 1917 were repeated between 1995 and 1999. Based upon these 

early sources, I hypothesize that the aerial distribution of woodlands have not changed greatly 

since 1851, although densities within many stands have increased. I conclude that at least three 

dense stands of woodland of unknown extent existed in the study area as early as 1851.

Key words: Vegetation history, woodlands, juniper, Topographical Engineers, Army Explorations, Verde 

River watershed, Arizona, Whipple, Sitgreaves, Ives, Mearns

The Author

Harley Shaw is a retired wildlife research biologist. He completed a B.S. in Wildlife Management 

at the University of Arizona and an M.S. in Wildlife Management at the University of Idaho. 

He worked for Arizona Game and Fish Department for 27 years.
Wood Plenty, Grass Good, Water None

Vegetation Changes in Arizona’s Upper Verde River 

Watershed From 1850 to 1997

Harley G. Shaw

United States Department of Agriculture

Forest Service

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Preface and Acknowledgments

The first government-supported expeditions through northern Arizona—those led by Sitgreaves, 

Whipple, Ives, and Beale—used horses, mules, and in Whipple’s case, equine-drawn wagons, 

to traverse the area. Beale experimented with camels but also used equines. While these parties had definite routes that they wanted to explore, their travel was much controlled by terrain 

and the availability of water and grass for livestock. They traveled in the cooler months hoping 

to reduce the need for water, the most critical requirement. As a result of fall, winter, or early 

spring travel, they arrived in the high country of the Southwest when nights were inevitably 

cold, and winter storms could make life miserable for days at a stretch. Thus, a third item, 

wood for fires, became important. In addition, all of these explorations were made with an eye 

to future settlement, to wagon or railroad routes, raising of cattle, and farming potential. Any 

such enterprises required wood, water, and grass, and these elements appear in the various 

diaries in a virtual rhythm. The last daily entry for many of the diarists was a notation describing 

the availability of wood, grass, and water. Thus the title of this report.

The work reported here was carried out mostly as a “hobby” project. I received limited funding 

from two foundations, mainly to help locate and acquire copies of historic photographs. The 

Chino Valley District of the U.S. Forest Service provided some help with photo processing and 

vehicle expenses, strictly on a cost-share basis. As a result, I must present the report for what 

it is: a limited effort by an interested individual to document conditions in the woodlands just 

before and during Anglo settlement, which includes my own photographs and observations 

regarding conditions in these same woodlands during the 1990s. I have now moved away from 

the area of study and on to other interests. As a result, I am unlikely to fill any of the gaps that 

may exist. I have tried to remove unwarranted conclusions or speculations regarding pre- or 

post-settlement anthropogenic or climatic effects. I assume that anyone studying vegetation 

history in the area would want to delve into historic photos and journals, and I hope that this 

manuscript might save them time.

Unraveling the various routes taken by separate parties of the Whipple expedition has been 

a challenge. Presenting them in a way that is easy to understand, even more challenging. I 

have tried to clearly separate the travels of Whipple’s three reconnaissance excursions from 

the more restricted travels of the larger wagon train. If alternating between the two remains 

confusing, I can only apologize. I haven’t come up with anything better. Another source of 

potential confusion lies in my use, at times, of Whipple’s itinerary as published in the Railroad 

Survey Report and in his handwritten diary. Whipple presented his itinerary as if it were copied 

directly from his diary, but it had in fact been modified in many places when his official report 

was being prepared. The actual diary helps to clarify some points and, at times, provides better 

descriptions of the landscapes. In quoting all of the various diaries, I’ve retained the spelling 

and punctuation of the diarists.

Rather than clutter the text with parenthetical binomials where various species are mentioned, 

I provided a list in Appendix D. I used the PLANTS database (http://plants.usda.gov/) for plant 

names, Wilson and Reeder (http://nmnhgoph.si.edu/msw/) for mammals, and the American 

Ornithologist’s Union Bird List (http://www.aou.org/aou/birdlist.html) for birds.

Although I try to avoid conclusions regarding the importance of various factors affecting the 

woodlands in the area of interest, I have, rather to my surprise, developed one hypotheses 

and one conclusion regarding presettlement conditions as compared with the present. First, I 

believe the evidence presented here suggests strongly that the distribution of woodlands over 

the area is not much different now than it was in the 1850s. Second, while overall juniper density 

may have been lower prior to Anglo settlement, at least three areas clearly were covered with 

very dense woodlands. One area, Polson Dam Draw northeast of Ash Fork, may have had 

a denser stand of juniper in the 1850s than it does now. Another, north of Walnut Creek and 

including a portion of Juniper Mesa may have lost junipers between the 1850s and 1916 and 

then returned to high densities later.

iii
This work was initiated under grants from the Margaret T. Morris Foundation and a second 

anonymous foundation, which paid for the initial searches for historic photographs and covered 

expenses of many of the rephotography trips. These foundations also funded publication of 

a catalog of early photographs (Shaw and McCroskey 1995). The Prescott National Forest 

supplemented the above funds with a cost-share grant for fieldwork. Individuals who helped 

with fieldwork or other aspects of the job include Shawn Bower, Gray Bower, Peter Janknecht, 

Sue Schuhardt, Tom and Marge Perkins, David and Christine Coblentz, Mike Wurtz, Warren 

Miller, Janet Lovelady, Richard Sims, and Jay Eby. Raymond M. Turner spent three days 

in the field with me, checking some of my early photograph relocations and providing large 

format repeat photographs of the sites. Dr. Turner also reviewed in detail an early draft of 

the manuscript. An anonymous reviewer critiqued an earlier version of this manuscript, and 

his comments have been incorporated. Other reviewers include David Brown, Patrick Boles, 

Robert Euler, Arlan Helgeson, Tom Jonas, Al Medina, Carolyn Sieg, and Andrew Wallace. Dr. 

Peter Janknecht of Braga, Portugal spent time with me in the woodlands of northern Arizona 

and willingly interpreted the Möllhausen manuscript from the Ives expedition from German into 

English. His knowledge of the area has been invaluable in assessing the finer connotations of 

some of the German words. Eugene P. Polk provided comment and encouragement along the 

way. Bruce Fee alerted me to the Sherburn manuscript and provided a copy. Patty Woodruff 

listened to my constant theorizing, has read and re-read the manuscript, and added her eyes 

and ears, as well as her companionship, to my days afield.

iv
Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments ............................................................................iii

Introduction..............................................................................................................1

Study Area................................................................................................................2

Prehistory ..........................................................................................................4

Anglo Settlement and Arrival of Livestock .........................................................4

Historic Diaries, Journals, Reports, and Drawings..............................................5

Photographs ............................................................................................................6

Retracing Whipple’s Route.....................................................................................6

Past and Present .....................................................................................................9

Ewing Young and Kit Carson .............................................................................9

The Sitgreaves Expedition.................................................................................9

Whipple’s Expedition .......................................................................................10

Other Expeditions—Francis Aubry, Joseph Ives, Edward Beale, 

John Marion, and Edgar Mearns .............................................................29

Synthesis................................................................................................................33

References .............................................................................................................43

Appendix A. Locations of Photographs ..............................................................46

Appendix B. List of Place Names (Diarist) Discussed in Text...........................47

Appendix C. Scientific Names of Plants, Mammals, and Birds 

Mentioned in Text ..........................................................................................49

v
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

Introduction______________________

Many ranchers and resource managers have noted 

that piñon and juniper invaded large expanses of historic 

grassland in northern Arizona over the past 150 years 

(Arnold and others. 1964; Johnsen 1962). Since the 

time of European arrival in Arizona, woodlands have 

constantly been cut or cleared for a variety of reasons. 

Early fuelwooding and post-cutting, associated with 

ranching, mining, and railroads, eliminated most of 

the larger trees. Later, chaining, cutting, bulldozing, 

and burning for the sole purpose of clearing trees to 

favor grasses were attempted with varied success. Few 

people described juniper forests as they existed prior 

to the arrival of livestock and railroads. Until recently, 

no one systematically monitored the cleared areas after 

trees were removed.

Over the past 25 years, studies of prehistory of vegetation (Betancourt and others 1990; Anderson, 1989) have 

provided new understanding of post-Pleistocene changes 

in plant distribution in the Southwest, which resulted 

mainly from changing continental climate. Studies of 

prehistoric vegetation provide a backdrop for measuring 

more recent change, but the tools used do not provide 

resolution fine enough to assess changes in limited 

areas over the past 150 years, a period concurrent with 

Anglo expansion into the Southwest. We know little of 

the densities of woodlands that existed on and around 

the upper Verde River watershed when the first settlers 

arrived in the 1860s, and much of the early clearing of 

junipers had been accomplished before anyone began 

to study the history of plant communities. Most of the 

existing records represent conditions that developed 

after the initial clearing of junipers; heavy grazing of 

grasslands had already occurred as well.

A current philosophy of wildland management encourages foresters to re-create pre-settlement conditions. 

Yet these conditions are not easily defined. We know 

that change in the environment was happening before 

the earliest humans arrived in North America at the end 

of the Pleistocene, and it has continued with varying 

degrees of human influence both before and after modern 

settlement. Fire, freezing, drought, floods, along with 

global climatic variation, modify vegetation patterns. 

At times, these changes may be drastic and rapid: a 

flood removes riparian vegetation along a stream or 

wildfire eliminates a mature stand of trees. Between such 

catastrophic events, the mosaic of vegetation changes 

shifts subtly with long-term fluctuations in precipitation, 

temperature, and agents of seed dispersal.

Thus, any perception of “original conditions” at 

any given site are dependent upon the time in history 

when a particular observer entered the scene. Early 

Anglo settlers did not reflect upon landscape ecology, 

and such subjects as fire history, plant succession, and 

woodland demographics were not of concern. Owning 

the land, making a living, and growing rich, dominated 

their thoughts. Few carried cameras, and when they 

did, they mostly photographed other people. If they 

shot landscapes, they were usually of the grandiose 

and extreme, or of human settlements. Only a few kept 

diaries, mainly noting adventures and difficulties, hence 

their descriptions of vegetation were rare and brief. 

For most of them, the wilderness was something to be 

subdued; they had no reason to think of vegetation as 

a part of history.

Many questions therefore remain unanswered regarding vegetation change in northern Arizona. How much 

change has really happened in the grassland/piñon-juniper communities since Anglos arrived? How have the 

boundaries between woodland and grassland moved? 

How stable are they? How pervasive is the change in 

distribution of trees or shrubs? What were the original 

densities of woody vegetation? What was the timing 

of change? Did it occur rapidly following some single 

event—either natural or human-caused? Or is this an 

intrinsic pattern that may be only partly influenced by 

humans? What was the presettlement composition of 

Wood Plenty, Grass Good, Water None

Vegetation Changes in Arizona’s Upper Verde River 

Watershed From 1850 to 1997

Harley G. Shaw
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

the grasslands and understory vegetation within the 

woodlands?

The use of diaries and old photographs to view 

historic habitats provides one method of approaching 

these questions (Hastings and Turner 1965; Bahre 1991). 

Such sources give glimpses of the landscapes that existed 

immediately prior to, during, and since, settlement. Their 

use also leave many questions unanswered. They show 

us only the beginning and the present but little of what 

happened in between. They tell us little about early 

conditions regarding herbaceous or ephemeral plants.

Grazing by domestic livestock has been blamed for 

woodland encroachment on grasslands more than any 

other factor. That the sudden arrival of large numbers 

of ungulates could create change seems reasonable, 

especially if the area had previously been free of grazers. Grazing is a persistent, visible land use, hence easy 

to indict. But the intensity and time of grazing itself 

must be considered. Moderate, well managed grazing 

may create little if any change. Conversely, an event of 

extremely heavy grazing over a relatively short period, 

perhaps a decade or less, can permanently change a 

landscape, regardless of subsequent treatment. Other 

activities, such as the cutting of fuel wood for railroads 

and mines at the end of the last century, happen quickly 

and are easily forgotten. They too, may set ecological 

processes into motion that continue indefinitely. A 

problem exists in separating changes that would have 

happened regardless of human impacts and those that 

were truly caused by postsettlement activities.

 Fire is an important factor that falls within this second 

category. Fire frequency may have changed drastically 

due to reduced fuels on heavily grazed lands and of direct 

fire prevention efforts by land management agencies. The 

changes in fire frequency have been well-documented 

for forested areas at higher elevations in the Southwest 

(Swetnam and Baisan 1996). They are less understood 

for woodlands, especially pure juniper woodlands. This 

is in part because aging junipers with dendrochronological methods is more difficult than aging pine species. 

It is also partly because juniper does not sustain fire 

scars well and, in fact, often dies when subjected to 

fire. Evidence to date suggests that large fire frequency 

and replacement periods are much longer in woodlands 

than in forests (Floyd and others 2000).

Uncertainty exists regarding northern Arizona’s 

pre-grazing conditions. Some early writers suggest that 

the grasslands were originally more lush than they are 

today. One often-quoted statement, attributed to Charles 

Genung, an early settler of Skull Valley, proclaimed that 

grasses were tall enough to hide a horse (Hall 1934). 

While such stands might have existed in wetlands, they 

probably were not characteristic of the drier uplands. 

Certainly none of the presettlement photographs of the 

Plains and Great Basin Grasslands lend credence to 

such growth, and early diaries suggest that conditions 

were austere at best. Differences in observations may 

reflect annual or seasonal variations in precipitation, 

hence temporary vegetation conditions seen by different 

travelers at different times.

Early differences in descriptions of the landscape 

may also reflect the backgrounds, attitudes, and expectations of the observers. Many of the early diarists grew 

up in the forests of the eastern United States. While 

they might find the open stands of mature ponderosa 

pine forests on the Mogollon Rim imposing, they 

were probably not impressed with our southwestern 

oaks and “cedars,” compared with oak or red cedar 

forests of the East. Similarly, the short, sparse stands 

of grama grass in the Southwest were not particularly 

noteworthy compared with eastern savannas or tall 

grass prairie.

Study Area________________________

I focused mainly on the upper Verde River watershed, 

roughly from Bill Williams Mountain to the east, the 

head of Partridge Creek to the north, Aztec Pass to the 

west, and Walnut Creek where it enters Big Chino Valley 

to the south. The upper Verde River watershed was one 

of the last areas in the continental United States to be 

settled by Europeans when the 1850s military expeditions set the stage for settlement in the area.

The study area (fig. 1) encompasses the routes explored and described by Army Topographical Engineers 

Sitgreaves, Whipple, Ives, and Beale during the 1850s. 

I used the routes described by the various expeditions 

as historic vegetation “transects.” I emphasized that 

portion of the Whipple expedition between New Year 

Spring northeast of Bill Williams Mountain and Aztec 

Pass at the head of Walnut Creek because of the greater 

amount of information recorded by the members of the 

Whipple party. This route crosses much of the “dry” 

upper part of the Verde River watershed, including Big 

Chino Wash and its major tributaries, Partridge Creek 

and Walnut Creek.

In order to employ photographs by Timothy O’ 

Sullivan and diaries by Sitgreaves, Ives, Edward 

Beale, and Edgar Mearns, I also included portions of 

the Cataract Creek and Truxton Wash watersheds, all 

within the elevational and latitudinal ranges of the juniper/grasslands ecotone. For the most part, I deal with 

records and photographs in the Utah juniper and grama 

grass habitats along a belt paralleling present Interstate 
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

Figure 1. Study Area.
 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

Highway 40 and reaching out approximately 30 miles 

to the north and south.

Prehistory

Although prehistoric man had been in the Arizona 

study area for at least 1,500 years (the Archaic record 

is unclear), no large population centers such as those 

at Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, Canyon de Chelly, or 

Casas Grandes existed. The walls and ruins found along 

the Verde River and Walnut Creek, however, show that 

a culture once existed here that was more centralized 

than the Pai tribes that were present in 1850. The Pais, 

had then been in the area for perhaps 200 to 300 years 

(Robert Euler, 1999). The influence of prehistoric Indians 

on vegetation may have therefore been weaker than what 

occurred in other parts of the Southwest.

So far, packrat midden studies (Betancourt and others 1990) have not been carried out within the upper 

Verde River watershed. Pollen analysis has been done at 

Peck’s Lake (Davis and Turner 1986) near Cottonwood, 

Arizona, but this lies well outside of the study area and 

at a lower elevation. No fire history studies have been 

carried out within the woodlands. Faunal analyses 

from archaeological sites are scarce. Some insight 

comes from studies in other parts of the Southwest. 

The following quotation from Redman (1993), while 

not specific to our study area, represents the Central 

Arizona Highlands some 80 miles east (near Payson) 

and reflects vegetation changes in an area with similar 

elevations and climatic patterns:

“...the vegetation surrounding the settlements 

was broadly similar to that today with several 

interesting differences. When Shoofly Village 

was first occupied, the vicinity around it contained more grassland, fewer juniper trees, and 

far more grass than today. During the years 

the site was occupied, the number of junipers 

remained low, some undoubtedly being cut for 

use as construction and as fuel. At the same 

time, the proportion of weedy perennials that 

invade disturbed land around human settlements 

(e.g., cheno-ams) [lambsquarters and ragweed] 

increased. Toward the end of Shoofly’s occupation, the proportion of juniper pollen increased 

significantly, indicating a change in the surrounding area toward a denser woodland.”

Shoofly Village, near the present site of Payson, 

Arizona, was occupied between A.D. 1000 and 1300. The 

shift toward denser woodland occurred approximately 

700 years ago, long before cattle, horses, or sheep 

were present. It also occurred, apparently, in spite of 

woodcutting by the villagers.

Prehistoric climatic variation was documented 

for the upper Verde River through use of tree ring 

analysis. Nials and others (1989) suggest three periods 

of prehistoric rainfall: A.D. 900 to 1051, consistent 

rainfall; 1052 to 1196, extremes every 20 years with 

1/2 high, 1/2 low; and 1197 to 1353, extremes every 

decade, droughts more severe. The century between 

1210 and 1310 included 10 years of extremely low 

rainfall. Such relatively long-term changes in precipitation undoubtedly affected distribution and density of 

plants. Recent ecological studies (Burgess 1995) have 

shown, for example, that shallow-rooted grasses thrive 

best where the majority of rainfall comes in summer 

monsoon rainfall. Shrubs and trees do better where 

rainfall comes in the form of slow winter storms that 

allow moisture to penetrate deeply into the soil. Also, 

plants occurring at elevational limits of their range are 

likely to react more drastically to climatic change (Allen 

and Breshears 1995). The ecotone between grasslands 

and junipers may therefore shift over decades, according to the prevailing season of precipitation.

Anglo Settlement and Arrival of Livestock

Unlike southern Arizona and much of New Mexico, 

the study area was not grazed by domestic livestock 

during the period of Spanish settlement. Other than the 

relatively small herds of sheep driven by Sitgreaves 

and Whipple, few cattle or sheep entered the area 

prior to 1870. Haskett (1936), citing a U.S. Bureau 

of Animal Industry report Carman and others (1892) 

describes the route approximately along the present 

Santa Fe railroad as one of two major sheep driveways 

from New Mexico to California between 1850 and 

1860. I have inspected the above report and find no 

mention of sheep being driven across Arizona along 

the 35th parallel prior to the 1870s. Haskett also cites 

Farrish (1915 Vol. I) as saying that Francis Aubry 

drove a herd of sheep across this route in the 1850s. 

However, Wyman (1932) makes it clear that Aubry 

drove sheep from Albuquerque along the southern 

Gila River route rather than the 35th parallel. Aubry 

traveled the 35th parallel on two return trips from 

California to New Mexico, but did not drive livestock 

on either trip. I have found no mention of sheep or sign 

of commercial sheep drives in any of the expedition 

diaries from the 1850s, and I believe that Haskett was 

wrong in identifying it as a major driveway at that 

time. Haskett (1935) also noted that the Beale wagon 

route was later used to drive cattle, but gives no dates. 

The earliest recorded cattle drive across the area that 

I found occurred in late 1870 (Grounds 1977).
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006. 

Settlement of the Prescott area began with arrival 

of the Walker and Weaver Parties. These parties were 

quickly followed by the U.S. military, a territorial 

government, and settlers bringing livestock (Henson 

1965). While some efforts at open range ranching occurred as early as 1864, a successful range livestock 

industry did not become possible until at least 1874, 

after the Apache, Hualapai, and Yavapai Indians were 

subdued (Haskett 1935 and 1936; Wagoner 1952; 

Wilson 1995). Livestock numbers then increased during 

the following decade, but the market remained local, 

mainly military. Strong incentive for grazing large 

herds probably did not develop until the arrival of the 

railroad along the northern end of Yavapai county in 

1882. This provided a means of sending animals to 

California markets.

Relatively large numbers of livestock (Haskett 1935 

and 1936) were on the range by the early to mid 1880s, 

and much of the rangeland was heavily grazed during 

this decade. The severe drought of the 1890s caused a 

drastic reduction of livestock and concentrated surviving 

animals along waterways. The effects of such a concentration of livestock on subsequent vegetation have 

never been fully assessed. Distribution of animals was 

probably clumped due to water shortage, leaving some 

areas unaffected and others heavily grazed.

Historic Diaries, Journals, Reports, 

and Drawings_____________________

The diaries and reports of the Army Topographical 

Engineers provide the earliest descriptions of vegetation, 

so I have emphasized vegetation condition during the 

1850s. Two early Spaniards, Espejo in 1583 and Farfan 

in 1598, entered the Verde Valley from the north, but 

did not penetrate the study area (Bartlett 1947). Garces 

passed along the north edge of the area in 1776 (Coues 

1900) but said little about vegetation. Trappers and 

mountain men such as Ewing Young and Kit Carson 

had penetrated the region by 1825, but they left little 

written record. Three U.S. Army exploratory expeditions traversed northern Yavapai County between 1851 

and 1857, led respectively by Brevet Captain Lorenzo 

Sitgreaves in 1851 (Sitgreaves 1853); Whipple in 1853 to 

54 (Foreman 1941); and Lt. Joseph C. Ives in 1857 (Ives 

1861). All were accompanied by naturalists and all left 

descriptions of their routes of travel. In addition, journals 

of F. X. Aubry, who crossed the area in 1853 and 1854 

(Wyman 1932), and the wagon road survey of Edward 

F. Beale in 1857 (Lesley 1970), John Marion’s 1870 

account (Powell 1965), and Edgar Mearns unpublished 

1884 diaries provide limited comments on vegetation. 

Joseph Walker (Adler and Wheelock 1965) crossed the 

area in 1853 but left no description.

The quality and quantity of information provided 

by the expeditions was limited for a variety of reasons. 

Sitgreaves traveled with pack animals and a small 

military escort. His expedition was vulnerable to Indian 

attack. Also, by the time he reached the upper Verde 

watershed, he was growing short on supplies. Ives began 

his overland explorations after what had already been 

an extended effort at ascending the Colorado River by 

boat. He then traveled with pack animals and carried 

limited supplies. Both Sitgreaves and Ives necessarily 

moved rapidly through the area. Aubry prided himself 

on being able to cover long distances rapidly and rarely 

described his routes. Beale lingered for several days in 

the study area, mainly because of the inability of his 

guide to find water, but he recorded few details regarding vegetation.

Of all of these expeditions Whipple’s yielded the largest number of journals, the greatest amount of scientific 

information, and the best descriptions of vegetation. 

Benefiting from Sitgreave’s earlier experience, Whipple 

traveled with a well-supplied wagon train. He drove 

livestock for food, he was accompanied by a sizeable 

military detachment for protection from Indians, and 

he had a work force from the Rio Grande. Whipple 

planned to explore the area in detail, and one of his 

main objectives was to map the poorly-known terrain 

between Bill Williams Mountain and the Colorado 

River. As a result, he spent more time in the upper Verde 

watershed than he did in any area of similar size along 

his route. At least six individuals kept journals for all or 

part of the trip. These included Whipple, German artist 

Balduin Möllhausen, physician and zoologist C. B. R. 

Kennerly, escort commander Lieutenant John Tidball, 

John P. Sherburne, and David Sloane Stanley. A second 

physician John Milton Bigelow served as botanist. Jules 

Marcou served as geologist. These scientists collected 

specimens, maintained field notes, and contributed to 

final reports of the expedition.

Joseph Christmas Ives, who later re-crossed the 

area with his own expedition, contributed to Whipple’s 

final report. Möllhausen, Tidball, and A. H. Campbell 

made drawings along the way, but only one drawing by 

Tidball actually shows terrain in the study area. It does 

not provide much information on vegetation, and may 

have been modified by a lithographer before publication. When Möllhausen re-crossed the area with Ives in 

1858, he left several watercolors with renditions of the 

vegetation (Huseman 1995), but here, too, we do not 
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

know the extent of artistic license employed in making 

or printing the drawings.

Photographs_______________________

The earliest known photographs for the area were 

taken in 1867 by Alexander Gardner. Gardner accompanied William Jackson Palmer on a private railroad survey 

(Babbitt 1981) and left six photographs near the Whipple 

route. Three were taken in the study area. Gordon and 

others (1992) also repeated these photographs in 1989 

during a study of vegetation history. Timothy O’Sullivan, 

who accompanied Wheeler in 1871, took the next series 

of photographs in northern Arizona. O’Sullivan recorded 

two landscapes in the juniper-grassland habitats near the 

route that Sitgreaves had traversed. The five Gardner and 

O’Sullivan photographs were taken before the arrival 

of established ranches and railroads.

All subsequent photographs post-date grazing by 

livestock. The next landscape photographs were taken 

in 1911 by Fewkes (1912) in association with archaeological surveys, and King in about 1916 (Johnsen and 

Elson 1979), documenting range conditions for the U.S. 

Forest Service. I also used a 1927 photograph by Gus 

Pearson and a 1932 photograph by Arthur Upson, both 

from Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment 

Station files.

Retracing Whipple’s Route__________

I traveled on or near Whipple’s route from Leroux 

Springs to Aztec Pass at the head of Walnut Creek 

(fig. 2). I concentrated on the area covered between 

December 31, 1853 and January 22, 1854, when the 

party was traversing piñon/juniper woodland and 

grasslands of the upper Verde River watershed. While 

on the Verde watershed, Whipple led three mounted 

reconnaissances to locate the best wagon route and 

locate water for the expedition. By making these wider 

sorties, he was able to explore and describe a much larger 

area than if he had stayed with the wagons. The first of 

these reconnaissance trips started on December 30, 1853 

and lasted until January 6, 1854, during which Whipple 

rode from Leroux Springs, around the northwestern 

base of Bill Williams Mountain to the head of Hell 

Canyon, off of the Mogollon Rim’s western-most point 

and across a rolling juniper/grassland savanna to the 

approximate site of present Ash Fork, then northwest 

into an easterly tributary of Partridge Creek. From that 

point he turn east to rejoin the wagons at a place he 

had named New Year’s Spring.

His second foray was from a campsite midway along 

Partridge Creek, westward to Picacho Mountain, then up 

the center of Chino Valley to an unidentified mountain 

somewhere southwest of present-day Seligman. He rejoined the wagon train where it waited near the southwest 

base of Picacho Mountain. His final reconnaissance led 

southwesterly across Chino Valley, through the eastern 

foothills of Juniper Mesa to an unknown hillside south 

of Walnut Creek (called Pueblo Creek by Whipple; see 

Appendix B for current names of features mentioned 

in historic documents), thence back to, and up Walnut 

Creek to a point beyond Aztec Pass. From here, he 

rode back down Walnut Creek and awaited the wagon 

train in the general area of the present Walnut Creek 

Ranger Station. While crossing the Verde watershed, 

Whipple traveled with the wagons only seven of 26 

days. As Whipple explored ahead on horseback, the 

wagons came up slowly behind to campsites he had 

located, usually associated with water. Contact with the 

wagons was accomplished through couriers sent back 

from the reconnaissance party or, less successfully, by 

smoke signals. Members of reconnaissance parties and 

the wagon train maintained diaries, so vegetation and 

terrain are described from the perspective of both.

I tried to retrace the reconnaissance groups and the 

wagons, locating as closely as possible the places the 

various members of the parties describe in their journals. 

I photographed or described these areas and key points 

along the routes in order to relate present day conditions 

with those described in 1853 to 54. In some cases, I felt 

fairly confident that I had climbed the same mountains 

party members climbed and photographed the same 

terrain they viewed. In other places, after several days 

of reading journals in the field, I still was not certain 

of their exact route.

To allow a better visualization of the early landscape and subsequent change, I repeated the Gardner 

and O’Sullivan photographs taken near the routes of 

the above expeditions. Gardner’s photographs were 

taken 13 years after Whipple passed through the area; 

O’Sullivan’s 17 years. I believe that it is safe to assume 

that juniper distribution or density had not yet been 

influenced by settlers’ activities and that any significant 

impacts by livestock on grassland had not yet occurred 

when these pictures were taken. I also repeated a variety 

of early post-settlement photographs that happen to 

match particular areas traversed by Whipple or other 

diarists. These later photographs were taken after the 

grazing impacts of the 1880s and 1890s.

Photo-points that I relocated prior to 1995 were recorded on topographical maps (fig. 3). Point coordinates 

relocated after January 1, 1995 were determined with 
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

Figure 2. Whipple’s reconnaissance and wagon routes between Leroux Spring and Aztec Pass.
 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

Figure 3. Location of photograph points used in this study and route of Sitgreaves’ 1851 Expedition).
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006. 

a hand-held Trimble GPS receiver (Appendix A). My 

GPS receiver locations were not differentially corrected 

so may have an error of up to 100 meters. Anyone revisiting these sites in the future can use the GPS receiver 

coordinates to locate the general site, but must use the 

photographs themselves to determine the exact photo 

location. The photo point for figures 4, 5, and 8 were 

marked with cairns and rebar driven to ground level. 

All of the King photographs were marked by Johnsen 

and Elson with steel fence posts. Other photo points 

used here are unmarked.

Past and Present___________________

Ewing Young and Kit Carson

During the fall and winter of 1829 to 30, a party of 

trappers that included Ewing Young and Kit Carson 

traveled up the Verde River from its mouth and camped 

near its headwaters (Quaife 1966). They then headed 

westward across the upper Verde watershed, ultimately 

crossing the Colorado River and going on to the mission of San Gabriel in California. Of the upper Verde, 

Carson wrote:

“Game was very scarce. After remaining three 

days continually on the hunt to procure the 

necessary supplies, we found we had killed 

only three deer[probably mule deer], the skins 

of which we took off in such a manner as to 

make tanks for the purpose of carrying water.” 

For the country between present Chino Valley 

and Truxton, he noted that the “march was 

over a country, sandy, burned up, and without 

a drop of water.”

The Sitgreaves Expedition

Sitgreaves and his physician/naturalist, S. M. 

Woodhouse (Sitgreaves 1853), provided the first scientific descriptions of the area. On October 25, 1851 

at Camp 23, Sitgreaves traversed the country lying 

between present Ash Fork and Seligman, now along 

Interstate 40 (fig. 3). Water was a major problem during 

the fall of 1851, as it had been for Young and Carson 

in 1830. Juniper was present, but the descriptions for 

October 25th are sketchy. Today, much of this route 

has a continuous, dense juniper stand, or areas where 

juniper has obviously been removed.

Woodhouse writes at Camp 24 (October 26): 

“This night we made our fires of the yellowwood, which imparts much heat and a peculiar, 

pleasant odor. On leaving this camp, which was 

on the edge of a large valley in which there 

was plenty of grama grass, we again entered 

the dense cedar timber; on leaving this, cacti 

and the Obione canescens [fourwing saltbush] 

abound.”

Wallace (1984) places Camp 24 a little west of 

present-day Seligman, perhaps on the southern edge of 

Aubrey Valley. Yellow wood is undoubtedly algerita; 

Obione canescens, four-winged saltbush. Their use of 

algerita for firewood may bespeak a lack of juniper at 

this campsite. Certainly today, they would have had 

no trouble finding juniper to burn anywhere along 

this route. However, they could have used algerita for 

a single evening’s fire, simply because it was easily 

broken and burned well. Woodhouse’s comment that 

they “again entered the dense cedar timber” would leave 

one to believe that at least some dense stands had been 

encountered earlier.

Woodhouse continues: 

“After leaving camp 24 and passing over a 

plain, the first part of which was covered with 

[twoleaf] piñon, cedar, and yellow wood, the 

ground becomes more bare, producing cacti, 

Ephedra Americana [Mormon tea], Yucca agrifolia [yucca], Agave Americana [American 

century plant], and Obione canescens [fourwing 

saltbush]. From this valley we commenced 

ascending a mountain of quartz rock, on the 

top of which the cedars become quite thick; 

here is a portion of country apparently without 

animal life.”

The granite boulder country west of present Seligman 

still harbors dense stands of juniper. The plain covered 

with Mormon tea, yucca, agave, and saltbush does not 

match most openings in this area today, which tend 

to be covered more with grama grasses. Woodhouse 

goes on: 

“Camp No. 25 [October 27] was in a small 

valley, with a little grass; on the side hills were 

growing cedars, yellow-wood, and Fallugia 

paradoxa.... A truly miserable country is this, 

where an insect can hardly exist.”

“Camp No. 26 [October 28] in the mountains, 

near two small springs; the vegetation is the 

same as in the last camp.... Following down 

a valley from here until within two miles of 

Yampai creek, there was but little change; 

there we found cedars, some dry grass, cacti, 

and a few birds; not a flower have I seen for 

several days.”

On October 30, at present-day Truxton Springs, 

Sitgreaves noted: 
10 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

“This rivulet, which I have called the Yampai, 

has its sources in three small springs; it is 

repeatedly lost in the ground within a distance 

of half a mile; after which it disappears entirely. 

A few willow and cotton-wood trees grow upon 

its banks, and green grass was seen here for 

the first time since leaving the San Francisco 

Mountains.”

Woodhouse wrote at Camp number 28 

[November 1]: 

“...at Yampai Creek, water and grass abundant...the banks of the stream are covered by a 

small scrub oak, (Q. emoryi) several species of 

willow (Salix spp.) over which in many places 

are creeping grape vines, (Vitus) forming dense 

thickets; also a few cottonwood trees, several 

species of currants (Ribes), artemesia, Obione 

canescens, ephedra, and several varieties of 

cactus.”

On November 2, probably in the vicinity of the present Kingman, Sitgreaves finally adds some descriptive 

notes: 

“We kept down the valley of the Yampai some 

twelve miles, when, finding that its course was 

out of our most direct route, we diverged from 

it across a wide barren plain, and encamped 

without water, grass, or wood, the only fuel 

being the withered cacti with which the plain 

abounded.”

Figure 4 was taken by Alexander Gardner 16 years 

after Sitgreaves passed this vicinity (fall, 1867). The 

photo point is north of the route Sitgreaves followed 

on October 25 and 26, 1851, and the view is southerly 

across the route. Sitgreave’s description at Camp 23 

represents the country west of the site in this photograph. 

Whipple later passed through this same area a few miles 

further to the south, as he traveled between Partridge 

Creek and Picacho Butte. The photograph will again be 

discussed in conjunction with his journals.

Figure 5 shows the same view on August 2, 1995—128 

years after Gardner’s photograph was taken and 144 

years after Sitgreaves passed. It shows minimal change. 

Some of the taller grass stems are missing, and juniper is slightly more abundant. A low shrub, probably 

winterfat, is less abundant. The railroad that Gardner’s 

party surveyed has been built and subsequently abandoned.

Timothy O’Sullivan, traveling with the Wheeler 

expedition in 1871, took two pictures in the uplands 

near Sitgreaves’ Yampai Creek (Truxton Wash). The 

first, showing a grassland and flat-topped mesa (fig. 6) 

is just east of the present town of Truxton. The repeat 

of this picture (fig. 7), taken August 23, 1995, shows 

minimal change in the structure of the grassland. The 

second O’Sullivan picture was taken northwest of 

Truxton in the foothills of the Music Mountains (fig. 8). 

The repeat of this picture (fig. 9), taken August 24, 1995, 

shows considerable increase in tree density, especially 

piñon, which was not apparent at the site in 1871. Also 

noteworthy are three shrub oaks in the foreground that 

may be the same individual plants that were present in 

1871. The 1871 picture shows an even-aged stand of 

juniper, apparently becoming established on a previously 

open landscape.

Without riding through this country under the same 

conditions experienced by Sitgreaves and Woodhouse, 

it is now hard to envision it as being as harsh as they 

described it. The grass, even if dry, was nutritious. 

Water was their main problem, and they had to hurry 

between springs. This made it difficult to rest animals 

and give them time to graze. Their failure to mention 

pronghorns or prairie dogs is interesting, because both 

species are now present along the route. Both Whipple, 

in 1854 and Mearns, in 1884, noted pronghorns being 

abundant. Mearns also observed prairie dogs.

Whipple’s Expedition

In early 1854, some two years and three months after 

Sitgreaves, Whipple’s party crossed the upper Verde 

watershed in a more leisurely manner (Whipple 1856), 

exploring a different route (fig. 2), and from heights, 

viewed much of the country that Sitgreaves had explored. 

A horse and mule detail led by Whipple ranged ahead 

of the wagons, exploring widely and plotting the wagon 

route. The wagons, led by Lieutenant Ives, waited at 

water holes until word came from Whipple to move 

foreword. The wagon train functioned as support for 

the exploration party, carrying supplies and technical 

personnel. It gave Whipple the freedom to explore more 

widely, knowing that he had a well-supplied base coming 

up behind. The independent movements of the wagons 

and the reconnaissance parties created confusion, at 

times, in interpreting the journals. The wagons and 

pack train did not necessarily follow the same routes 

even on the days that they moved in tandem and ended 

at a common camp.

The New Years reconnaissance—Whipple’s first 

reconnaissance into the Verde watershed began on 

December 30, 1853, when he led a small party away 

from the wagons and rode westward from Leroux 

Spring at the base of the San Francisco Peaks. This 

group included Whipple, Bigelow, A. H. Campbell, 
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006. 11

White, and guide Antoine Leroux. They were escorted 

by a regular army detachment under the command of 

Lieutenant John Tidball. The reconnaissance party 

was away from the main wagon train for seven days. 

During this time, Whipple and his companions began 

to view the most important area of their expedition, 

and Whipple began to doubt the accuracy of the route 

of the Bill William’s Fork shown on the map produced 

by Sitgreaves and Kern.

Whipple was led to believe that the Bill William’s 

Fork arose near the base of Bill William’s Mountain and 

flowed west to the Colorado River. Because his objective 

was to find a suitable route for a railroad, the idea of a 

long, gradual river gradient to the Colorado River was 

attractive. Such a drainage might provide the easiest 

route for laying track. While the party explored the upper 

Verde River watershed during the first week of January, 

1854 Whipple gradually realized that Sitgreaves, Kern, 

and Leroux were wrong, and that the Williams Fork did 

not flow where he had hoped.

Alpheus Favour (1962, page 209 to 210) identified the 

source of Whipple’s belief regarding the headwaters of 

the Bill Williams Fork as being an erroneous statement 

by Leroux while he was guiding Sitgreaves. Leroux 

was apparently still confused while guiding Whipple 

and thought that the Bill Williams Fork headed out 

on the west end of the Mogollon Plateau. In a sense, 

his confusion was fortuitous for the present study as 

Figure 4. 1867 photograph by Alexander Gardner taken west of present Ash Fork, Arizona. Picacho Mountain is in the distance. 

Courtesy of Boston Public Library.

Figure 5. 1995. Repeat of Figure 4. A few junipers have invaded and a low shrub, possibly winterfat, is less abundant. Otherwise, the site is still a relatively open grassland. Photograph by R. M. Turner.
12 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

Whipple explored and described a much larger portion 

of the Verde River watershed than he might have had he 

found a river running straight to the Colorado.

On December 30, 1853 Whipple, along with 

Bigelow, Campbell, White, Leroux, and Tidball traveled through ponderosa pine forests and camped that 

night in Government Prairie, probably near the base of 

Klostermeyer Hill.

For December 31, Whipple’s entry is:

“We continued our march through the long 

prairie that we crossed yesterday. It is surrounded by pine forests, and nearly enclosed 

by volcanic hills. The snow being from three 

to eight inches in depth, and covered with a 

hard crust, our mules, for several hours, made 

slow progress. Afterwards we entered a forest 

of pines and dwarf oaks, with large cedar trees 

bearing sweet berries. The snow becoming soft 

and less deep, we progressed more rapidly, 

and at 2 1/2 P. M. bivouaced upon a hillside, 

Figure 6. 1871. Grassland east of present Truxton, Arizona. Photograph by Timothy O’Sullivan. This photograph 

was taken near the route traversed by Sitgreaves in 1851.

Figure 7. 1995 repeat of Figure 6. Little change is apparent in grassland structure 124 years later. Photograph 

by Raymond M. Turner.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006. 13

Figure 8. Timothy 

O’Sullivan photograph 

of Music Mountains 

taken in 1871 near 

present Truxton, Arizona. It represents 

the juniper/grassland 

interface prior to the 

time that heavy permanent grazing had 

occurred in the area. 

It is possible that livestock had been herded 

through the area by the 

time this photograph 

was taken.

Figure 9. August, 

1995 repeat of Figure 8. Woodland has 

grown denser124 years 

since the first photograph was taken. 

Pinyon, not visible at 

all in 1871, has become a major component of the woodland. 

While some evidence 

of woodcutting is apparent in the area, it 

does not appear to 

have undergone any 

major juniper eradication. Note that the 

three turbinella oaks 

in the foreground may 

be the same shrubs 

that were present in 

1871. Photograph by 

Raymond M. Turner.

where abundance of bunch grass, quite green, 

and cedars for shelter and for fuel, afforded 

a fit resting-place for the night. From the top 

of the hill we could distinguish the vicinity of 

Leroux’s spring, lying due east at a distance 

estimated at twenty miles. The surface between 

is nearly level. Looking west and southwest 

appeared an open country, with imperfectly 

defined valleys, among a dense growth of 

cedars; but it was difficult to say in what 

direction was the slope. A blue mountain range 

some fifteen or twenty miles distant limited 

the view. From south to south-southwest, 

about ten miles from us, was Bill Williams’ 

mountain, the highest in this vicinity. North 

and northwest were black volcanic hills, and 
14 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

a high prairie devoid of snow, and nearly 

destitute of trees.”

Whipple’s handwritten diary (unpublished, Oklahoma 

State Historical Society) contains additional information 

on the landscape and vegetation: 

“We are upon the edge of a long prairie 

surrounded by pine forests and enclosed by 

mountains and hills most of them volcanic, apparently isolated sufficiently to afford a passage 

between. They are covered with snow and with 

trees excepting the conino peaks which are solid 

rocks of molten lava. Below them, upon a slope 

of the mountain is a distinctly defined curve the 

“limit of pines” found by measurement to be 

4169 feet above the valley of Leroux Spring. 

At that height no one was able to mount on 

account of snow but the trees seemed to be of 

a new species.”

Thus, Whipple estimated the elevation of the timber 

line on San Francisco Peaks (which he was then calling 

“conino” peaks). He also notes that the trees higher 

on the mountain were of a different species than those 

existing near their camp. In a sense, he was prescient 

here, recognizing the life zones which C. Hart Merriam 

later named while viewing these same mountains.

Government Prairie is still an open grassland surrounded by ponderosa pine. It now has some young 

ponderosa pines scattered through it, suggesting that 

some encroachment by trees may have occurred over 

the past 130 years. Whipple’s comment about “dwarf 

oaks” west of the prairie is interesting, because oak is 

presently scarce along that portion of his route. Whipple 

had been passing through stands of Gambel oak since 

entering New Mexico, so I have to wonder why he 

bothered to mention it here and if, possibly, the species was more abundant along this route in 1853 than 

it is now. Regarding oak, the handwritten diary states: 

“...Afterward we entered the forest where abounded 

timbers of oak and pine with large cedar trees covered 

with sweet berries.” The word “dwarf” was added later 

to the published itinerary. While the Gambel oak in this 

immediate area is now scarce, it grows in a tree form. 

Relative to oaks in eastern forests, perhaps it could be 

considered a dwarf form. Nonetheless, the need to add 

the diminutive in retrospect seems odd.

Based upon the location where they were mentioned, 

the “sweet-berried” cedars are probably alligator-bark 

juniper. This species is conspicuous along this part of 

the route. Rocky Mountain Juniper also occurs in this 

vicinity, but is neither conspicuous nor large. It tends 

to occur only at higher elevations or on cooler sites. Dr. 

Bigelow (1856) had difficulty identifying the various 

junipers. In his report on the botany of the expedition 

(p. 20), he wrote: 

“On the bluffs of the Llano Estacado, and 

from that point west as far as the Cajon Pass, 

occur in many places, and sometimes in great 

abundance, two or three other species of cedar. 

Of a collection made by Dr. Woodhouse, Dr. 

Torrey, in the Report of an Expedition down 

the Zuni and Colorado Rivers, by Captain 

Sitgreaves, observe ‘that one may be Juniperus 

occidentalis, (Hook) the second J. tetragona, 

(Schlect.), while the third is probably new’ 

Mine are probably included in his list; and if so 

excellent a botanist as Dr. Torrey is in doubt in 

reference to the species and varieties of these 

plants, it would be folly in me to attempt to 

reduce or determine them.”

I do not know the identity of the bunch grass that 

was present and “quite green” at this elevation in 

midwinter.

Dr. Andrew Wallace (unpublished manuscript) has 

devoted considerable time to locating the hillside where 

the party camped on December 31 and the spring they 

visited on the morning of January 1, which Whipple 

named New Year’s Spring. Wallace presents strong 

evidence that the hill they climbed on December 31 is 

the one now called Radio Hill, located in Range 2E, 

Township 22N, Section 3, and that the spring may have 

been near the present site of Hitson Tank about a mile 

to the northwest in Section 4.

Radio Hill is now covered with ponderosa pine, 

Gambel oak, a few piñons, and a scattering of large, 

old alligator-bark junipers, some of which may be the 

same trees used by the party for shelter on New Year’s 

Eve, 1853. The blue mountain range Whipple noted to 

the southwest is the combined ridges of Picacho and 

Mount Floyd (Sierra de la Laja). Whipple’s estimate 

of distance was off somewhat, Floyd and Picacho both 

being over 30 miles direct line from Radio Hill. My 

camera was unable to penetrate the haze on the day I 

took a photograph, hence the blue mountain range barely 

shows (fig. 10). Whipple’s description of the area to the 

west and southwest as having a dense growth of cedars 

corresponds with the view today. However, the vegetation to the northwest of Radio Hill may have changed 

since 1854 (fig. 11). The country he describes as nearly 

destitute of trees certainly now holds a significant stand 

of alligator-bark juniper.

Whipple’s notes for January 1, 1854 say: 

“The morning was bright and clear. Upon 

leaving camp, we visited New Year’s Spring, 

about a mile west....After travelling about 
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006. 15

twelve miles, we spread our blankets beneath 

a cedar tree three miles west of Bill Williams’ 

mountain. Good grass and timber are found 

here; but we have failed to reach the waters of 

Bill Williams’ fork....”

“We are now near the trail of Capt. Sitgreaves, 

who passed around the southern base of Bill 

Williams’ mountain, and thence proceeded 

towards the west-northwest, in the direction 

of Yampais creek. Lieut. Tidball has taken 

a sketch showing the Sierra de la Laja and 

Picacho, some twenty-five miles distant, 

between which the trail crossed. A chain of 

blue hills appears in the distance, and extends 

towards the south-southeast; its crest evidently 

preserving nearly the same altitude; but the 

descent of the valley along its foot causes the 

southern portion, represented in the sketch, to 

appear a formidable range. The drainage of the 

ravines is towards Picacho, through a generally 

level country, containing prairies mingled with 

copses of piñons and cedars. The soil, being of 

decomposed volcanic rock, is rich; and, judging 

from the vegetation which covers it, must be 

well-watered. Captain Sitgreaves, according 

to Leroux, found this region to be a plain 

intersected by numerous and difficult ravines. 

The country beyond proved to be an elevated 

prairie, considerably broken, and nearly devoid 

of water and wood, forming a dreary jornada. 

The grass, though nutritious and abundant, was 

parched, indicating a long drought. The soil was 

so light and porous, that there appeared little 

chance of finding water in pools....”

“The region from the San Francisco mountain 

to this place contains much volcanic sand and 

scoriaceous rock, quickly absorbing rain and 

melting snow.... Pine forests, interspersed with 

Figure 10. View from Radio 

Hill, December 1996. Wallace (unpublished manuscript) has identified this as 

the hill climbed by Whipple 

on December 31, 1853. 

“Looking west and southwest appeared an open 

country with imperfectly 

defined valleys, among a 

dense growth of cedars; 

but it was difficult to say 

in what direction was the 

slope. A blue mountain 

range some fifteen or 

twenty miles distant limited the view.” The distant mountains are Mount 

Floyd, called Sierra de la 

Laja by Whipple. Photograph by Harley Shaw.

Figure 11. View to northwest from Radio Hill, December, 1996. Whipple’s 

1853 description was: 

“North and northwest were 

black volcanic hills, and 

a high prairie devoid of 

snow, and nearly destitute 

of trees.” The woodland 

has grown denser in this 

direction. The valley to the 

northwest of Radio Hill, 

while still having some open 

grassland, now holds a 

mixture of ponderosa pine, 

alligator barked juniper, 

and piñon. Photograph by 

Harley Shaw.
16 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

prairies, seem to extend towards the south to the 

blue mountains that are just visible above the 

horizon. The appearance is somewhat similar 

to the Cross Timbers upon the Canadian. Our 

camp is on a dry branch of Bill Williams’ fork, 

and according to the barometer, 400 feet below 

the bivouac of last night.”

Whipple has modified his description of vegetation 

here from that in his handwritten diary. There, his only 

note of the appearance of vegetation says: “Pine forests 

interspersed with prairies extend in all directions to 

the furtherst limits of sight.” He makes no mention of 

piñon or cedar. In his later report, he adds the sentence 

on copses of piñons and cedars, apparently because by 

then he had ridden through them and realized that they 

were not all pine forests. Based upon his diary written 

on site, the general appearance of the landscape has not 

changed much since Whipple described it.

Whipple states that they failed to reach the waters 

of Bill William’s Fork, yet says at the end of the entry 

that they were camped on a dry branch of that river. I 

believe they encamped just west of the present town 

site of Williams. The hill they climbed was probably 

one now named on maps as Signal Hill. One source 

of evidence I used in locating this hill is Lieutenant 

Tidball’s sketch (fig. 12), which apparently was erroneously labeled in Whipple’s report. Rather than Picacho 

and Sierra de la Laja, Tidball’s sketch better matches 

the landscape to the southwest of this hill. This shows 

Granite Mountain and Sullivan Buttes near the present 

site of Prescott, although the sketch seems magnified 

from the actual view (fig. 13). I climbed several of the 

hills in this immediate vicinity, but this location provides 

the only scene that approximates the angle of the sketch 

(which may have been embellished by a lithographer). 

Whipple’s handwritten diary supports this conclusion, 

noting that Tidball’s sketch is of the south end of the 

range that includes Juniper Mesa and the Santa Maria 

Mountains. From this hill, Granite Mountain appears 

to be an extension of that range.

The handwritten diary adds to the confusion about this 

sketch. In it, Whipple does not mention Tidball’s sketch 

of “Picacho” but rather notes: “Bill Williams Mt rises 

behind us presenting a view correctly represented in a 

sketch by L. Titbald.” He does not mention Picacho or 

Sierra de la Laja until January 3, and at that time, does 

not distinguish them as two mountains noting, rather: 

“...The Mesa Mountain which bounds the valley on 

the S.E. is called Sierra Tonto. South is Sierra Prieta 

and due west is a sugar loaf peak called Picacho Laja.” 

Sierra Tonto, I believe is Woodchute Mountain east of 

Chino Valley; Sierra Prieta is Granite Mountain and 

the present Sierra Prieta/Bradshaw complex (I believe 

Tidball actually sketched this); and Picacho Laja is 

Picacho Peak. When compiling his report, Whipple apparently gave the name Sierra de la Laja to Mount Floyd 

in retrospect. Whipple refers to the Santa Maria range 

when he discussed the unbroken range of hills (hidden 

by haze in fig. 14). Here, I suspect he is expressing his 

puzzlement over the route of the Bill William’s fork. 

His view of Chino Valley, obviously running in the 

wrong direction to lead him easily to the Colorado, is the 

first hint that his expectations regarding the William’s 

Fork may be unfounded. His description of a prairie, 

mingled with copses of piñon and juniper does not 

match the present scene, where a relatively dense stand 

of juniper now exists. Many of the openings across the 

center of the recent photograph are clearings caused by 

eradication of juniper during the past century in efforts 

to favor grasses.

Comparing Whipple’s description of this area with the 

current photos, we see evidence that, although juniper 

densities have increased, the area was not devoid of 

junipers in 1854. Any increase seems to be a result of trees 

filling in spaces where the species was already present, 

rather than a shifting of woodland boundaries.

Leaving this campsite on January 2, Whipple describes the route for that day:

“Turning south and southeast along the channel 

of an arroyo, in half an hour we found pools of 

water. Willows growing upon the bank seemed 

to indicate that it was permanent, though melting snows have probably added to the usual 

quantity. Keeping our course three miles over 

a prairie which sloped from the southern base 

of Bill William’s mountain, we again found 

water which supplied the train. We then followed Leroux in search of the main stream, to 

a point which he recognized as being near Capt. 

Sitgreaves’ Camp no. 21. Here we saw the ravine 

in which the creek flowed south, and followed 

a branch about four miles to a point of hills, 

where we again encamped. The stream below 

us flows in a cañon 150 feet deep. Ascending a 

hill half a mile south, we saw an immense and 

beautiful valley, into which the creek enters from 

the mouth of the cañon about four miles distant. 

The valley is striped with timber and prairie, and 

extends from north-northwest to south-southeast. It seems to be a well-watered region, and 

a winter retreat of Indians, for several smokes 

were seen there. Upon the slopes of the hills 

we find in the vegetation an agreeable change 

from that of the higher country we left. Agave 

Mexicana is quite abundant. It is the beautiful 

American aloe, the Century plant, called in this 
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006. 17

Figure 12. Drawing by Lt. John Tidball from “Telegraphic Hill.” Apparently looking southwest toward Granite Mountain 

(see Figure 13).

Figure 13. Recent photograph of Granite Mountain and Sullivan Buttes as seen from Signal Hill. I believe that this is the landscape that Lt. John Tidball sketched on January 1, 1854. “Lieut. Tidball has taken a sketch showing the Sierra de la Laja and 

Picacho, some twenty-five miles distant.... the descent of the valley...causes the southern portion, represented in the sketch, to 

appear a formidable range.” The photograph here, taken in 1996 , is a telephoto shot framed to try to match Lt. Tidball’s sketch. 

The sketch resembles this landscape and bears no resemblance at all to either Picacho Mountain, Mount Floyd, or Bill Williams 

Mountain as seen from this point. The buildings to the left are the Headquarters of the Hat Ranch. The clearing and drainage 

running down and to the right of these buildings is the route, I believe, the party traversed on the morning of January 2, 1854 

in their futile search for the headwaters of the Bill Williams River. Photograph by Harley Shaw.
18 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

country Mezcal. The Apaches roast it for food; 

Mexicans distil from it a spiritous liquor.”

The arroyo they followed upon leaving this camp 

was probably the Pine Springs drainage, and the prairie 

through which they passed the next morning would be 

in the vicinity of present-day Hat Ranch. This prairie 

slopes more from the westerly base of the mountain. The 

stream (either Hell Canyon or Devil Dog—they parallel each other in this vicinity) runs more westerly than 

southerly. Actually, the handwritten diary says: “Here 

we saw the line of river flowing S.W....” The W is at the 

edge of the diary page and was apparently inadvertently 

dropped when the itinerary was published.

I tried, but failed, to match Whipple’s directions with 

terrain features other than the above . By assuming he 

was loosely designating directions (calling northwest, 

west and southwest, south) the route followed on 

January 2 makes sense and places their evening camp 

on somewhere near the present Nagiller Tank on the 

Kaibab National Forest. This matches with coordinates, 

provided by Tidball in his journal, for the hilltop they 

climbed the morning of January 3 (quoted below).

On January 3, the party climbed a hill, then dropped 

off of the west end of the Mogollon Rim, heading 

northwest. In his entry for this day, Whipple first 

acknowledges his suspicion that the drainage they 

were camped on was not Bill William’s Fork. In fact, 

his decision to leave this drainage suggests that he 

was already abandoning it as a possible route and was 

planning to explore gentler terrain to the north. He 

realizes that he cannot take the wagons off of the rim 

this far south. He notes:

“A mile west from our bivouac No. 4, we ascended a ridge called Topographical hill, where 

we had a view still more extensive than noted 

yesterday. We can now trace the great valley, as 

well as the western ridge of mountains which 

bounds it, far towards the north-northwest. A 

mesa mountain towards the southeast has been 

named Sierra Tonto. South-southwest is the 

Sierra Prieta, with indications of passes upon 

both sides of it. From thence, northerly extends 

a range with a snowy peak near the center . 

Nearly west is seen ‘Picacho.’ Intervening is a 

low ridge, covered with a dense growth of dark 

cedars and piñons, which we call the “Black 

Forest.” This seems to divide the drainage 

of the valley—one system of streams flowing south-southeast to Rio Verde; the other 

towards the west and south-west, probably to 

the Colorado. That upon which we encamped 

belongs to the first system, and therefore may 

Figure 14. Recent photograph of Picacho and Mount Floyd (Whipple’s Sierra de la Laja) viewed from 

Signal Hill. Whipple notes that Sitgreave’s route led between these two mountains, as did later the 

Beale Wagon Road, the Santa Fe Railroad, U.S. Highway 66, and Interstate 40. He wrote: “The drainage of the ravines is towards Picacho, through a generally level country, containing prairies mingled 

with copses of pinyons and cedars.” The vegetation would better be described today as an extended 

woodland with scattered openings. Most of the openings are areas that have been cleared of juniper 

by the U.S. Forest Service. Photograph by Harley Shaw.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006. 19

not be Bill William’s fork, as at first supposed. 

At all events, it passes far towards the south. 

Our bivouac No. 3 was upon a branch which 

appeared to flow westerly, more in the direction 

of our route. Therefore, to explore it, we took a 

course north 70 degrees west, descended into 

the valley, and, after travelling about ten miles, 

encamped upon a creek where were large pools 

of water. Small Alamos [cottonwood] and willows cover the banks. Grama-grass is abundant 

in the vicinity. We now seem to be below the 

region of pines, and of the sweet-berried cedars. 

Red cedar [juniper] is, however, abundant; 

larger and finer than before seen. There are also 

numerous piñons with esculent nuts, affording 

food for wild beasts as well as for Indians. We 

have seen today black-tailed deer [mule deer], 

rabbits [cottontails or California jackrabbits], 

and quails [Gambel’s quail]; also footprints of 

many antelope [pronghorn] and bears.”

I wonder about the source of the name of Topographical 

Hill, as well as the source for other mountains. Whipple 

often writes as if their names were known, but I suspect 

the party assigned most of them. Topographical Hill has 

no name on present-day maps. The handwritten diary 

does not mention this name, so it was apparently given 

to the hill later, during the compiling of the published 

itinerary.

The mesa to the south (Sierra Tonto) is the Woodchute/

Mingus Mountain complex; the range to the west was 

undoubtedly the Santa Maria Mountains, where the 

snowy peak is probably either Hyde Mountain or Denny 

Mountain. The ridge of the Black Forest (fig. 15) is 

now called Big Black Mesa. It lies along the northeast 

side of Chino Valley, running southeast from Picacho 

Peak. Its name is significant here as it tells us that 

junipers were noticeably dense on that ridge in 1854. 

Both Whipple, and later Möllhausen, mentioned it as 

a significant feature.

On this day, the party drops out of the ponderosa pine 

vegetation and alligator–bark juniper and enters the 

elevations of predominantly Utah juniper. Their route 

off of the plateau passed just south of the small butte 

now named Sawtooth Peak, thence west and slightly 

north across rolling terrain. They camped that night on 

Ash Fork, a tributary of Partridge Creek, not far from 

the site of the present-day town of Ash Fork. Whipple 

remarks again on the abundance of juniper along their 

route. His note that the juniper was larger and finer than 

seen before is significant. The junipers in the area today 

are mostly young or mid-aged—regrowth, no doubt 

from fuelwooding and juniper control efforts over the 

past 100 years. Many large, old stumps, remains of the 

earlier mature stands, are scattered through the area. 

The handwritten diary stated: “For fuel it is excellent 

and even for railway ties it is doubtful whether this 

country west of the Delnorte can furnish anything 

superior.” Few, if any of the junipers in this area today 

could be considered large enough to provide ties. The 

large trees were apparently harvested quickly after the 

Anglo arrival.

By calling these trees larger and finer, I suspect 

Whipple was comparing them with shaggy-barked 

Figure 15. On January 3, Whipple described this landscape, looking westward across the present site of Drake as “a low 

ridge, covered with a dense growth of dark cedars and pinyons which we call ‘the Black Forest’.” With the exception of areas 

cleared by the U.S. Forest Service treatments at the right, this view is now probably similar to what Whipple observed in 1854. 

Photograph by Harley Shaw.
20 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

junipers he had observed east of the San Francisco Peaks. 

Much of the juniper in that region is one-seed juniper, 

which is difficult to distinguish from Utah juniper but 

tends not to have large, single trunks. I find it hard to 

believe that he was comparing the trees near Ash Fork 

with the alligator juniper at higher elevations. That 

species has a distinctive bark and consistently produces 

massive trunks. Many large, old alligator junipers are 

present today in the region Whipple traversed before 

descending to Ash Fork and were undoubtedly present 

then.

Along the drainage where they camped on January 3, 

he notes: “Small alamos and willows cover the banks.” 

I found neither cottonwoods nor willows in this area. A 

few small Arizona ash are the only riparian vegetation 

now present.

Lieutenant John Tidball’s journal (typed manuscript, 

University of Arizona Library) becomes available on 

January 3. His is the only additional journal covering this 

reconnaissance mission. For this day, Tidball notes: 

“Travelled about 10 m. W. N. W. First ascended 

for a mile up the westerly base of the ravine 

upon which we encamped to the top of a high 

hill or mountain from which we could see the 

whole country round for 50 mi. From the West 

to the S. E. of us extended ranges of mountains: 

apparently three running somewhat parallel to 

each other the nearest about 30 mi. off. The 

intervening space between them and us was a 

gently rolling country covered to a great degree 

with cedars and cut with many ravines.”

In this entry, Tidball notes that the country before 

them is covered with juniper, but he does not consider 

it dense. It seems that the distribution of juniper was 

similar in 1854 to what it is today, although the density 

may have increased. As mentioned above, based upon 

Whipple’s note that the red cedars near the present Ash 

Fork draw were “larger and finer” than previously seen, 

we can conclude that at least some of the juniper stand 

here was mature woodland.

In a recently-discovered heretofore unpublished 

description (Tidball, 2004) of the trip, Tidball notes: 

“A species of cedar, hardly worthy the name of 

tree, is found in most localities, and frequently 

gives the landscape the appearance of an old 

apple orchard. The wood of these cedars is 

extremely brittle; a slight wrench brings off the 

stoutest limb, and axes are not required in obtaining fuel.” Later, in describing the January 1 

drawing, he wrote: “In looking southward from 

the San Francisco plateau the lay of the country—gradually sloping downwards—brings 

the scrub cedars into such position as to cut off 

from view the wide intervals between them: 

thus giving the landscape an appearance of a 

dense forest, the dark hue of which suggested 

the name ‘Black Forest.’ It is in reality no forest 

at all.”

In his diary, Tidball continued on January 3: 

“Bill Williams Mt. bore N. 70 degrees E. and 

was about 15 mi. off. The top of San F. could 

not be seen. From this hill we took a W. N. 

W. course, winding down through the ravines 

upon the side of the hill, which upon this side 

was about 15 hundred feet. The descent was 

exceedingly difficult and hard upon the mules 

from the hard angular, volcanic stones of which 

the mountains are composed. We then travelled 

along the dry ravines and rolling grounds to our 

present camp 19th which is upon a stream running westwardly, dry however except in holes. 

The snow, which I suppose was lighter in this 

long. had entirely disappeared. Grass good.”

Tidball’s compass bearing on Bill William’s 

Mountain, and his note that the San Francisco Peaks 

were hidden, help to identify the hill they climbed 

the morning of the third, and I feel confident of its 

location. His description of the volcanic rock where 

they descended the rim also delineates their route in 

descending the west end of the Mogollon Rim. Much 

of the area here is made up of sandstone. The volcanic 

materials, however, flow to the bottom of the rim along 

the route depicted in figure 9.

Neither Whipple nor Tidball provide much information regarding the exact route or campsite for January 4. 

Nor do they describe vegetation. Whipple notes they left 

the basaltic soils and entered the region of sandstone. 

Figure 9 shows a possible route, but it is purely speculative. They more or less paralleled Partridge Creek, 

staying to its east. They camped somewhere near the 

hill now called Eagle Nest, which may have been the 

hill they climbed on the evening of the 4th.

The route on January 5th is even more difficult to 

trace, but the party ultimately turned east and headed 

toward New Year’s Spring. Whipple notes: 

“Soon the forest became so dense that, not only 

could we not see beyond, but could scarcely 

make our way through. At length, having travelled about fifteen miles, we came to the end 

of the range, and saw Bill Williams’ mountain 

before us.”

This is the first time they comment on difficulty in 

passing through the junipers. As best I can determine, 
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006. 21

they were in the vicinity of the present Paradise Ridge, 

either crossing it diagonally from northwest to southeast, 

or riding along its east slope. Emerging from trees near 

the southeastern end of this “range” provides a striking 

view of Bill Williams Mountain. Tidball also notes the 

denseness of the “cedars,” so they were apparently a 

significant and extensive feature of the day’s route. 

Actually, Whipple makes no mention of this dense forest 

in the original diary, so his description of vegetation for 

this route was added later when he was compiling the 

report. By that time, of course, he had led the wagons 

over the route, so had traversed it twice.

The entries of Whipple and Tidball for January 6th 

are equally vague, but their route probably ran near the 

present Santa Fe Railroad, a relatively gently grade that 

would keep the tributaries of Cataract Creek to their 

left. On this day, they rejoined the wagon train, which 

had moved forward from Leroux Springs to New Year’s 

Spring and was awaiting their return.

The wagon train—Leroux Spring to Partridge 

Creek—While Whipple explored ahead, the wagon train 

moved from Leroux Springs to New Year’s Spring and 

then waited for further instructions (fig. 2). During this 

mid-winter period, some members of the party, including Lieutenant Ives, were sick with smallpox. Ives was 

still convalescing when Whipple rejoined the train on 

January 6. Möllhausen (1858), John Sherburne (Gordon 

1988), John C. Tidball (unpublished diary, University 

of Arizona Library), and David S. Stanley (unpublished 

diary, Bancroft Library) gave their accounts of this route, 

which Whipple had already covered.

 Stanley wrote for December 31, 1853, upon leaving 

Leroux Spring: 

“Our road lay through a pass in the mountains, 

covered with a forest of lofty pines on either 

hand, lofty hills rising on either hand . . . . 

The traveling today was very laborious. The 

snow was deep and had a crust upon it which 

chafed the legs of our mules most cruelly. We, 

encamped after a march of nine miles, upon the 

south slope of a hill, it being the only place we 

could find grass for our half-famished mules. 

I ascended a high hill in our vicinity, but no 

promised cañon repaid me by the prospect for 

my toil. Rugged mountains and bare valley, 

covered with snow, form the only features as 

far as the eye can reach.”

This must be somewhere in the vicinity of Government 

Prairie. Stanley’s “promised cañon” presumably is Bill 

William’s Fork—the drainage they hoped to descend. 

Klostermeyer Hill, about 9 miles from Leroux Spring, 

would be a good candidate for the hill that Stanley 

climbed.

Stanley’s entry for January 1 is brief, noting that they 

progressed six miles. On January 2, he notes: 

“March nine miles to-day through a pine wood 

and encamped upon a spring in a beautiful 

little valley, north of Williams Mountain. Saw 

many tracks of grizzly bear—killed squirrels 

[Abert’s].”

This camp was at New Year’s Spring. Whipple had 

sent messengers back on December 31 to lead the 

wagons to this point. The country approaching it is still 

a pine wood. The mention of grizzly bear by Stanley, 

also Möllhausen, is of interest. Although Whipple had 

passed through this area only two days before, he does 

not mention bear sign in any of his report. However, 

in his diary, on January 3, he writes: “...During our 

reconnaissance footracks of antelope and bear have 

been numerous.” Whipple often caught up in his diary, 

recording some things in retrospect perhaps several days 

after he had noticed them. Thus, he probably did see bear 

tracks near New Year’s Spring, on New Years Day, but 

did not get around to recording them until January 3. 

Grizzlies are known to hibernate, usually entering their 

dens by mid-November (Brown 1985, Storer and Tevis 

1955). Observations of grizzlies in mid-winter are rare, 

even in modern studies where the animals are being 

radio tracked. For this party, virtually the first group of 

naturalists to visit the vicinity of Sitgreaves Mountain, 

to find large numbers of grizzlies wandering around in 

early January seems extremely unusual.

From Whipple’s official report in the section titled 

Description of the Country, the area around New Year’s 

Spring was thus described: 

“Nearly south-southwest from New Year’s 

spring is Bill Williams mountain, about 10 

miles distant, whose peaks are above 3000 feet 

high [here, Whipple refers to their height above 

the plateau]. The intermediate country has a 

generally level surface, divided into woodland 

and prairie. The hill slopes are covered with 

pine timber.”

“One mile east from New Year’s spring there 

is a hill about 200 feet high, from the top of 

which is obtained an extensive view of the 

surrounding country. Towards the north and 

north-northwest appears an elevated plain, 

looking bleak, waterless and barren. It is dotted 

with conical hills of black and volcanic rock. 

In a west-northwest direction, a broad, open 

valley, dark with the foliage of cedar forests, 
22 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

extends to the mountains of La Laja, and for 

some distance is bounded upon the southwest 

by a low range of hills covered with trees excellent for timber. Towards the south-southwest 

lies the volcanic pile of mountains called “Bill 

Williams”, west of which is a succession of 

valleys and plains extending about 30 miles 

from New Year’s spring to a conspicuous peak 

known as Picacho. This is the southern terminus 

of the range of La Laja; and at its base Partridge 

Creek, which drains the intermediate country 

and empties into Val de China. The triangular 

space included between New Year’s spring, 

Bill Williams Mountain, and Picacho, has the 

appearance of a vast plain sloping gently to the 

southwest; examined more minutely, it is dotted 

with small hills and traversed by valleys, which 

in a few places are contracted, and enclosed by 

low walls forming canyons. There is good pine 

timber in the vicinity of New Year’s spring and 

also in the region of Bill Williams’ mountain. 

East of Val de China lies an extensive tract 

covered with large cedars and pinions, forming 

the so-called Black Forest.”

“New Year’s spring, at Camp 94, is at the head 

of one of the branches of Park valley. It is 

surrounded by a grove of pine trees, from 125 

to 150 feet in height. Leaving the spring, we 

ascend the low prairie ridge and take a westerly 

course over a surface that, at a distance appears 

level, but is found to be considerably broken by 

ravines, some of them 30- to 50-feet in depth. 

The first contained pools of water. Station 1 

[station numbers apparently refer to observation points used by the geologist, Marcou] 

is in Park Valley which, covered with cedar 

trees, extends like a broad plain towards the 

northwest, with the view uninterrupted almost 

to the horizon.”

These various quotations from both the reconnaissance party and from the members of the wagon train, 

which camped at New Year’s Spring for about six days, 

combine to leave an impression that the area has not 

changed much in aerial appearance over the past 130 

years. It still supports stands of ponderosa pine mixed 

with alligator-bark juniper and piñons. We can judge little 

about age and distribution of pines from the journals, 

beyond the fact that a stand of large ponderosa pines 

apparently surrounded New Year’s Spring. The country 

around Spring Valley may have been somewhat more 

open than it is now, but Whipple’s comment that Park 

Valley was covered with cedar trees seems to contradict 

his earlier description in the itinerary.

Describing the camp and area northeast of Bill 

Williams Mountain, where the main party awaited 

Whipple during his reconnaissance to the west (approximately January 1 to January 8), Möllhausen wrote:

 “We had now for a considerable extent the same 

scenery, the same rough ground, the same deep 

ravines, lava fields, and volcanic hills. Here and 

there we saw solitary specimens of the blacktailed deer and antelope, and more frequently 

wolves and cayotas announced their presence 

by howling and chattering as they prowled 

around us in the scanty cedar woods; there 

was a dreary character in the whole landscape 

that gave us little hope of any better pasture 

for our cattle...” 

Janknecht (personal email communication) notes that 

a more accurate interpretation would be “better terrain 

for our animals,” which might refer to the condition of 

the route over which they were passing. Möllhausen’s 

use of the word “scanty” in describing the cedar woods 

could be significant. In most places where juniper 

exists today, it is relatively dense. However, he may 

have been referring to the size of the trees rather than 

their density.

In his Report on the Botany of the Trip, Dr. Bigelow 

provided an overview of the area: 

“On the slopes east and south of San Francisco 

mountain, looking into this valley and also westwardly, are vast forests of piñon, intermingled 

with cedars, perfectly black in the distance, 

by their density. From elevated points near 

the southern base of Bill Williams’ mountain 

we had extensive and beautiful views of these 

forests, which extended southwestwardly, apparently some fifteen or twenty miles. This one 

we denominated the ‘Black Forest’.”

Dr. Kennerly was the frequent companion of 

Möllhausen, yet his description (Kennerly 1856) of the 

same area contrasts somewhat with that of his friend: 

“A few short marches through dense pine forests and the deep snow brought us near Mount 

Sitgreaves, from the base of which stretched 

beautiful valleys, covered with grass and dotted 

by clumps of cedars. This mountain had been, 

apparently before the falling of the snow, the 

peculiar home of grizzly bears; but the cold 

and want of food had caused them all to go in 

search of other quarters. The number of trails 

of this animal that we found here, all leading 

towards the south, is almost incredible.”
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006. 23

“From this point our journey lay, for some days, 

along beautiful valleys, and often through thick 

and dark forests of cedars....”

After rejoining the wagons at New Year’s Spring, the 

reconnaissance party rested and worked on equipment 

for a day, then on January 8, they all started down the 

western slope of the Mogollon Rim. Their route was 

probably close to the present gas pipeline leading westward from Radio Hill (and Hitson Tank) to a spring they 

called Lava Spring. Whipple, in his handwritten diary, 

calls this Santo Domingo Spring, showing that names 

changed and evolved as the party discussed them over 

time. Dr. Andrew Wallace (unpublished manuscript) 

presents evidence that Lava Spring was approximately 

at the present site of Canyon Tank, some 5 miles NW 

of the present town of Williams. Whipple’s notes for 

the day tell us little about the vegetation or terrain, but 

Stanley wrote on January 8: 

“Moved this morning—a westerly course—over 

a country of dreadful extremes—rough and 

difficult. Surface of the country undulating 

with cañon in the traprock. Pine timber for 

six miles—where the character of the surface 

changes somewhat and the growth is scrub 

cedar. Encamped, after a march of ten miles, 

at the head of a deep and rugged canon, where 

water is abundant, but hard to approach. No 

game except a few small rabbit.”

Stanley therefore documents their transition into 

juniper vegetation. His description generally fits the 

area today. His comment on “scrub cedar” suggests 

the juniper trees may not have been large. Through 

this stretch today, the uplands around Canyon Tank 

are covered with dense stands of alligator-bark juniper 

interspersed with piñon. Ponderosa pine grows along 

the drainages.

For January 9, leaving Lava Spring, Whipple 

notes:

“A dense growth of tall cedars and piñons 

covered the ground.... Having travelled ten 

miles, we encamped in the valley, near a cedar 

grove, where we found good grass as usual, 

and a patch of snow upon the hillside which 

supplied us with water.”

In his diary, he describes the camp for January 9 as 

being “among fine cedars with grass....”

Tidball writes for January 9:

“Traveled 10 1/2 mi. leaving our exploring trail 

slightly to our right. Encamped without water, 

good grass, and so much cedar that it is difficult 

to travel through the thickets.”

Stanley, January 9:

“Marched ten miles to-day, over an undulating 

country covered with cedar. Encamped without 

water. From one of the heights to-day had an 

extensive view, embracing San Francisco Mt., 

Sitgreaves, Sennrick [Kendrick?], Pineletta 

[Pinevita?], Bill Williams, Picacho, Black 

Mountain, north of puno [?] villages. Passed 

down a very bad hill and through a dense growth 

of cedar. Encamped in a pretty little valley at 

the mouth of a deep canon. To our north we 

have an extensive plain, extending north to 

the Colorado”

John P. Sherburne did not often mention the vegetation, but his few descriptions are revealing. On January 

9, he notes: “No water in camp, plenty of wood.... 

Part of the road had to be cut, the timber (cedar) was 

so thick.”

This is the stretch between Lava Springs [Canyon 

Tank] and Cedar Creek [Polson Dam Draw]. There is 

little doubt that a fairly dense woodland existed on this 

westerly face of the Mogollon Rim in 1854. Today, this 

area is an ecotone between alligator-bark juniper and 

Utah juniper. They were entering the general area that 

Whipple had earlier noted dense juniper on the reconnaissance and where Beale later mentioned difficulty 

passing through the area because of tree densities. Thus, 

it seems that somewhere in the vicinity of Polson Dam 

Draw and perhaps extending across what is now called 

Paradise Ridge, a belt of extremely dense woodland was 

present. Polson Dam Draw is now an open valley.

I cannot, from the journals, plot their exact route 

through this stretch, however I suspect that they followed close to or just north of the present railroad, 

perhaps leaving it at the head of KY Canyon, starting 

down that canyon, climbing out one side or the other 

(most likely the north side) then dropping over the rim 

of Polson Dam Draw to camp (perhaps near the mouth 

of KY Canyon). Wallace (unpublished manuscript) 

supports this route.

Whipple notes on January 10: 

“We traversed the fine valley of Cedar creek, 

and passed westwardly over an almost inappreciable ridge into a wide ravine; which by 

gradual descent, led into the great basin of the 

Black Forest. Thence four miles south brought 

us to large pools of water in a rocky glen called 

Partridge creek. It is believed that water exists 

here at all seasons. Our camp ground is excel-
24 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

lent; possessing, as usual, rich grama-grass, and 

large cedar trees for fuel and shelter.... Tracks 

of deer [mule], antelope [pronghorn], bears, and 

turkeys [Merriam’s] are numerous.”

Of this portion of the journey, Möllhausen wrote:

“After leaving Lava Creek, the next place 

that deserves any mention is Cedar Creek, a 

tolerably broad valley, richly grown on eather 

side with cedar woods, whence the small river 

or brook, which seems to contain water in the 

rainy season, has received its name.” 

Möllhausen’s description of the cedar woods existing 

on either side of the broad valley of “Cedar Creek” is 

more consistent with present conditions than some of 

the above descriptions.

Möllhausen’s description of their descent toward 

Partridge Creek says little about vegetation, but dwells 

upon the roughness of the terrain.

 On January 10, Sherburne notes: “Road good—Plenty 

of wood, water & grass in Camp. Very little cutting to 

do on the march.”

And Tidball on January 10: 

“Travelled 13 1/2 mi. chiefly along our reconnoitering route and encamped in the cañon in 

which we last got water when out upon that 

reconnaissance. Good wagon route except 

strips of cedar forests. For the first few mi. our 

course was S. Westwardly then South down a 

valley and finally for a short distance E. of S . 

...Good grass.”

Finally Stanley’s notes for January 10: 

“Left camp and, after marching about three 

miles up a narrow valley we reached the summit, 

between the waters of Yampias Creek and Bill 

Williams fork. Here we again entered a valley 

and marching down it some eight miles, we 

crossed a ridge of lava and soon came upon the 

canon, supposed to the head of Williams Fork, 

which we entered and camped. Black-tail deer 

and hare were seen to-day and one deer was 

shot. Had fine sport late in the evening shooting 

the partridge of the country.” 

Stanley is wrong regarding the summit between 

“Yampias Creek and Bill William’s fork.” They are 

within the Verde River watershed on this day. The 

partridge referred to here are Gambel’s quail.

Based upon the description of their arrival at Partridge 

Creek, the wagons followed Polson Dam Draw to 

Martin Dam Draw and then followed the route of the 

present road by Sandstone Tank, Little Aso Tank, and 

Mike Tank. Just southwest of Eagle Nest Mountain, 

they turned down the broad valley toward Big Aso 

Tank and followed the general route of the present 

main road (forest road 142) until they crossed over and 

joined Partridge Creek somewhere in the vicinity of 

its juncture with Martin Dam Draw. At that point, they 

followed Partridge Creek for a short distance where it 

heads southeast to the approximate location of present 

Garden Tank. This route is over gentle terrain and fits 

the description of “marching down a wide valley.” It 

also allows the four mile passage to the south coming 

into Partridge Creek as noted by Whipple and Tidball. 

The wagon train’s first camp on Partridge Creek was 

near the head of the narrow basalt gorge, which starts 

just downstream from the present Garden Tank, and 

matches their description of the gorge. It is the only 

point along Partridge Creek with high, narrow walls 

on both sides.

Reconnaissance—Partridge Creek, Picacho, and 

Big Chino—On January 11, Whipple, again set out 

with a reconnaissance party, leaving the wagons at 

Partridge Creek: 

“Following Partridge creek, nearly south, six 

miles, we found large pools of water at distances 

of a quarter mile from each other, with numerous 

recent Indian lodges along the banks. The ravine 

turned eastward, and appeared, after making a 

long, semi-circular bend, to follow the northern 

base of the Black Forest ridge towards Picacho; 

we therefore bivouaced under wide-spreading 

trees upon the banks.”

In his handwritten diary for the day, Whipple stated: 

“Fine large cedar trees as usual furnished tents and 

fuel.” They were not far from the place they camped 

on Ash Fork the evening of January 3, where Whipple 

had described the “red cedars” as “larger and finer than 

before seen.” They were well below the elevations of 

alligator-bark juniper and cypress, so Whipple was 

undoubtedly describing Utah juniper.

Balduin Möllhausen accompanied Whipple on this 

reconnaissance and wrote his impressions of the area. 

For January 11, he notes (Möllhausen was off by one day 

throughout his report, showing events as occurring one 

day later than noted by the other journal-keepers): 

“The bed of the river [Partridge Creek] could 

not, it must be owned, be called a positively 

good road, though comparatively with the 

ground we had ridden over for the last few days 

it might be called so. A few stunted bushes and 

a little grass made their appearance here and 

there between the clean-washed stones and 

boulders, but the upright, broad-leaved cactus 
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006. 25

(Opuntia) attained its full growth in the chasms 

on the rocky banks.”

Möllhausen’s comment about cleanly washed boulders suggests a relatively open stream bed, similar to 

that which occurs there today. Coming out of Partridge 

Creek near its bend to the east, he continues: 

“...towards the west lay a plain that appeared 

convenient for travelling.... Closely-growing 

cedars, whose branches touched the ground, 

formed us a capital roof, and as we lay beneath 

their verdant screen we had a famous fire burning at our feet.”

“Leaving Partridge creek, which flows 65 degrees east, we turned towards the southwest and 

west over a smooth prairie, about eleven miles 

to the southeast base of Picacho. There finding 

pools of water, we again bivouaced among our 

favorite cedars. ...beyond is a broad smooth 

valley sweeping towards the south- southeast, 

and extending in that direction to the verge of 

the horizon.... The ridge of the Black Forest 

bounds this valley on the east.”

Riding westward toward Picacho, Möllhausen 

says: 

“The ground was hilly and rugged, alternately 

bare and covered with light cedar woods...we 

encamped...where some scattered cedars offered us a tolerable shelter as well as fuel...”

They camped that evening near the southeast base of 

Picacho Mountain.

On January 13, 1854, the reconnaissance party turned 

up Big Chino Valley. Just east of the present Double 

O Ranch headquarters, in the narrows of Big Chino, 

Whipple wrote: 

“This is the most dreary camp-ground we have 

had. There is neither water nor wood. Our 

blankets, with saddles for pillows, have been 

placed in the middle of the valley, to be as far 

as possible from any ambitious Indians that 

might desire to practice archery at night from 

the hills. There is not a rock nor a bush near us 

from which a sheltered and home feeling can be 

derived.... The rich black loamy soil we have 

passed over is covered most luxuriantly with 

the excellent grama-grass, so often referred to 

as being abundant throughout this region, called 

by Mexicans “de china”, from which the valley 

derives its name. It is now grazed by numerous 

herds of antelope and deer, and would furnish 

pasturage for thousands of cattle and sheep.”

In this quotation, Whipple not only identifies the 

source for the name of Chino Valley, he also clearly 

states that grama grass was the dominant grass in the 

valley at this time.

January 14, after crossing Chino Valley, Möllhausen 

notes: 

“...found ourselves then at the western end of the 

valley, where our progress seemed to be barred 

by round hills and mountains almost destitute 

of vegetation.... Withered grass and bushes 

covered the bottom of the valley, which widened 

and narrowed as the steep hills and rocks approached or receded from one another.”

Viewing the country from the camp in the narrows 

of Chino Valley, the same one that Whipple described 

as dreary, Möllhausen wrote: 

“A desolate looking table-land, cleft by deep 

chasms, seemed to extend in all directions; here 

and there a crippled-looking cedar rose out of 

one of the chasms, but there were no signs of 

life in the wilderness....”

The reconnoitering party proceeded up Big Chino 

Valley for another day, climbing two buttes somewhere 

along its west side. Whipple describes the roughness of 

the mountains to the west and an open prairie, probably 

Aubrey Valley, to the north. He makes no other mention 

of the vegetation. Möllhausen, riding up Big Chino 

Valley noted that a wooded mountain bound it to the 

west. This would probably be the northerly extensions 

of juniper mesa, an area heavily covered with trees 

today. They camped under a “far spreading cedar” that 

evening and burned cedar wood.

Whipple, January 15:

“...we descended the broad sloping prairie to 

Picacho spring, where we found the main party 

with the train. They had been here two days, and 

the mules were literally rolling with sataiety in 

the luxuriant grass of the valley.”

Whipple notes the acquisition of a bighorn sheep skull 

in this vicinity.

The wagon train—Partridge Creek, Picacho, and Big 

Chino—While the reconnaissance party was ranging 

ahead, the wagon train had come along behind and set 

up a new camp east of Picacho Mountain (fig. 2).

Sherburne, on January 12, with the wagon train at 

Partridge Creek, wrote:

“...plenty of wood, water & grass.... Vegetation 

has already commenced along the route—a 

pretty good evidence that Spring is coming. 

The grass looks green & the bushes are shooting out. In a few weeks the country will be 

delightful.”
26 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

And Tidball, remaining this time with the wagons, 

wrote of January 12:

“Travelled 4 mi. in a S. S. W. course, upon the 

west side of the canon.... Road quite rough, 

grass good. Water in holes in the canon.”

Stanley on January 12 comments:

“...bad country covered with mal pais.... Doct. 

K. and myself went in search of mageng and after 

a lanorious [laborious?] walk of three miles or 

more, we found some very pretty plants....”

I have been unable to identify “mageng.” They were 

near the mouth of the narrow basaltic gorge through 

which Partridge Creek flows, just northwest of the 

town of Ash Fork.

 After traveling to the base of Picacho with the 

main Whipple wagon party on January 13, Sherburne 

notes: “...wood in vicinity scarce.” He gives no further 

descriptions of vegetation across Chino Valley or up 

Pueblo Creek.

Tidball, on January 13, writes: 

“...struck S. Westerly across a fine rolling 

country for about 9 mi. at which we left the 

end of a range of hills to our left and struck a 

series of canons very difficult to pass and which 

debouche into a valley running S. E. Encamped 

at No. 27 without much wood in our immediate 

vicinity. Water in holes in canons near by. Grass 

pretty good.”

The wagons camped on the point of a ridge overlooking the convergence of Partridge Creek with Chino 

Valley. This site was exposed to high winds, and the 

wagons were moved to a camp at the edge of Chino 

Valley on January 16.

Reconnaissance—Picacho to Aztec Pass—Leaving 

the wagons on the easterly side of Chino Valley, just 

south of Picacho Butte on January 16, and headed 

west across Chino Valley, Whipple notes:

“The soil of the valley where crossed today 

proved no less fertile than it appeared from 

Picacho. It may be denominated a rich meadow 

bottom, although the surface and several waterworn channels were dry.”

Whipple’s description of “water-worn” channels suggests that some channel erosion existed in the valley.

On the morning of January 17, he noted: 

“At daybreak the ground was white with snow. 

Even our wide-spreading cedar tree under which 

reposed a dozen persons was penetrated....”

Riding out with Whipple, Möllhausen notes: 

“...we soon reached the dry river bed that runs 

from north to south through the Chino Valley; 

but as the water here had worn the ground more 

deeply than farther to the north, we did not find 

so convenient a passage.” 

Thus Möllhausen also documents channel erosion in 

Chino Valley.

He continues: 

“Before evening we were surrounded by cedar 

woods.... In thick woods where there is abundance of dry fuel, you scarcely miss a tent even 

in the coldest weather....”

Dr. Bigelow gave an overview of Chino Valley:

“Between this elevated plateau [he is referring to the area northeast of Picacho Butte], 

extending some seventy-five miles west of 

Mount San Francisco, and a low range which 

we named the Aztec mountains [Santa Maria 

Mountains], there is a wide valley, (about 

eighteen miles by the diagonal path in which 

we crossed it) averaging some ten or fifteen 

miles in width. It is so densely covered with 

the best grama grass, that we named it Val de 

China.”

“The hills bordering this valley, especially on 

the west are densely covered with cedars, 

spruces, oaks, etc., which are sufficiently 

abundant to serve all the purposes of agriculture, 

domestic economy, and railroads.”

Bigelow was in error regarding the presence of 

spruce at these elevations. He may have been referring 

to Douglas fir. He continues:

“Besides the trees already mentioned, we have 

here two or three species of cedars; one with 

a large, sweet, edible berry. In times of great 

scarcity of food, I believe nearly every animal 

in the region resorts to this fruit. Pinus edulis

(piñon) grows in great abundance nearly the 

whole length of this district. The highlands 

which form spurs to the San Francisco, Bill 

Williams and Sitgreaves mountains are covered 

with these trees; their deep green foliage giving 

the forests a peculiarly dark and sombre aspect, 

forming a strong contrast with the surrounding...grassy plains.”

On January 17 the party struck the drainage now 

named Pine Springs Draw, although they called it 

Turkey Creek at the time. Whipple notes:

“Its banks were lined with rushes, and a basinlike valley was covered with a thick growth 

of timber—cottonwood, walnut [Arizona], 

and ash [Arizona mountain]. A large flock of 
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006. 27

turkeys [Merriam’s] was hunted in the grove, 

and one killed.”

Möllhausen provides a more graphic description of 

this site:

“...we had not gone many miles before our 

attention was powerfully atracted by a row of 

cottonwood trees; and on coming nearer we 

discovered the dry bed of a stream that appeared 

to proceed from the mountains. Some closelygrowing willows that we saw in a ravine led 

us to infer the neighbourhood of water; and 

we accordingly turned the steps of our mules 

in that direction.”

“As we rode through the long withered grass 

that covered an opening in the wood, we 

suddenly came in sight of a numerous flock 

of wild turkeys, which, startled at our approach, were running at a great rate towards 

a hiding-place. The shots fired among them 

were eminently successful; but when several 

of them fell, the rest spread their wings and 

flew away as fast as they could. The birds 

killed had fallen in the neighborhood of water 

that gushed out of the ground over an area of 

some acres in extent, and turned it into a kind 

of marsh, with occassional pools; only at one 

place did it flow bright and clear, towards the 

above-mentioned bed, and was there lost again 

after a short course.”

I suspect this site was where Ciénega Springs Draw 

and Pine Springs Draw run together. A voluminous 

spring still exists further up Ciénega Springs Draw. This 

spring has been diverted for agricultural purposes and 

no longer runs directly down the canyon. A dry, barren 

flat occupies this site at present.

Going southwest, they encountered Walnut Creek. 

Whipple writes:

“Above was a wide bottom-land, bearing faint 

traces of former cultivation, although now partly 

covered with a beautiful grove of ash trees. 

Below, timber of walnut [Arizona] and oak 

fringed the stream, rendering the site a pleasant spot for a settlement.... Proceeding to the 

bottom, with some difficulty we made our way 

through rank grass and thick willows.” 

In his handwritten diary for January 17, Whipple 

noted:

“...Above appeared a large forest of ash[Arizona 

mountain] trees. Walnut [Arizona] oak and cedar 

lined the banks.” For January 19, Whipple’s 

diary further described the valley: “Above the 

Pueblo is a siennega [ciénega] surounded by 

a beautiful grove of ash [Arizona mountain] 

trees.”

They climbed a ridge between two running streams, 

apparently Walnut Creek and Apache Creek, then 

explored southward into wild and rough country. They 

camped somewhere on the slopes of Mount Hyde on 

the evening of the 17th. On the 18th, they returned to 

Walnut Creek and explored westward along it. Whipple, 

January 18, says:

“...we camped near the headwaters of the 

[Pueblo] creek, where grass and wood were 

abundant.... Turkeys [Merriam’s] and deer 

[mule deer] have been plenty since leaving 

Picacho.”

Of the country around Pueblo (now Walnut) Creek, 

Möllhausen wrote: 

“It was not, however, the grand forest such as 

may be seen more to the East, nor the dreary 

deserts characteristic of this mountain chain; 

but low cedars and scattered oaks and pines, 

growing as irregularly as if they had been flung 

there at random among fantastically formed 

rocks, and masses of rolled stones, that had 

much the appearance of masonry.”

On January 19, the party crossed the pass at the head 

of Walnut Creek and rode a few miles westward, finally 

reaching the headwaters of the long-sought Bill Williams 

Fork. Weather and short rations turned them back to the 

head of Walnut Creek, where they once again camped 

just below the pass. On January 20, they returned to the 

juncture of Apache Creek and Walnut Creek and set up 

camp to await the arrival of the wagons.

Möllhausen, on January 20 (his journal date—still 

trailing other journals by one day) describes the valley 

further: 

“The many windings of the stream, and the small 

lakes, marshes, and islets formed by it, delayed 

us a good deal; but we got at last upon firmer 

ground, where, if we only avoided the thick 

parts of the wood, there seemed likely to be 

little difficulty in getting the waggons through.” 

But further upstream, “The hindrances to the 

progress of waggons appeared to be almost 

insurmountable; trees would have to be felled 

and hills cut through....”

The wagon train—Picacho to Pueblo Creek—The 

wagons, upon seeing smoke from Whipple, moved out 

on January 19. Their route was similar to the reconnaissance party. Tidball, crossing Chino Valley with 

the wagons notes:
28 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

“Travelled in a S. 20 degrees W. direction across 

the valley to the westward of our camp. 8 mi. 

and encamped in a sheltered spot among the 

cedars.... Good grass, no water. A messenger 

arrived from the advanced party stating that to 

the west of S. of us were two running creeks 

beside a small lagoon and other water.”

They camped in the same juniper grove that the 

reconnaissance party had used two evenings before. 

The next day, they proceeded southward and, after a 

short but rough excursion up the wrong canyon, where 

they disabled a wagon beyond repair, they reached the 

ciénega in “Turkey Creek” (Pine Springs Draw). Tidball 

notes on the 20th: 

“Travelled 10 mi. S. 25 degrees W. among the 

hills upon the Western side of the valley which 

we crossed the day before. Road pretty good 

but much obstructed by cedars and pinons 

and several bad aroyoes. Volcanic rocks have 

entirely disappeared since we left the eastern 

side of the valley. Carb. limestone and N. R. 

Sand. Encamped at a small running rivulet 

proceeding from a number of springs among 

the hills, and running from W. to E. with tall 

cotton wood trees about the springs grass good 

but covered with snow...”

Dr. Bigelow recorded his impressions of the creeks 

in this area in his report:

“Along the banks of Turkey creek, Pueblo 

creek, and the streams which we first passed 

after crossing Aztec Pass, we observed large 

quantities of willows, which is rather an unusual 

occurrence in this country....”

And Dr. Kennerly provided one of his few descriptions: 

“After leaving the Chino Valley, we entered 

again the cedar forests, where we found wild 

turkeys once more very abundant, frequenting, 

for the most part, the neighborhood of the little 

brooks that we found in this region, and feeding 

upon the berries of the rough-barked and other 

species of cedar.”

On January 21, Tidball writes at Walnut Creek:

“Travelled S. 7 mi. and joined the reconnoitering party upon a stream of considerable size 

and encamped with plenty of wood and grass. 

The stream runs from S. W. to N. E. From 

all appearances it is permanent at all seasons 

and has upon its banks willows, cottonwood, 

ash [Arizona mountain], oak and walnut 

[Arizona] trees.”

Stanley on January 21 notes: “Black-tail deer and 

turkeys abundant. Pueblos, deserted, numerous on the 

high hills adjoining this creek....” Several of these prehistoric pueblos, resembling “forts,” have been recorded 

by archaeologists. They were built ca. AD 1200-1300 

by Indians of the Prescott Tradition (R. Euler, 1999, 

pers. comm.).

On January 21, Whipple summarized his impressions 

of the area:

“We are in the pleasantist region we have seen 

since leaving Choctaw territory. Here are clear 

rivulets, with fertile valleys and fine forest 

trees. The wide belt of country that borders 

the Black Forest, and probably extends along 

the Rio Verde to the Salinas and Rio Gila, 

bears every indication of being able to support 

a large agricultural and pastoral population. 

The valley of Rio Verde, which we saw from 

the source in San Francisco mountains, is 

magnificently wooded with firs and oaks, 

affording excellent timber. Ancient ruins are 

said by trappers to be scattered over its whole 

length to the confluence with Rio Salinas. We 

therefore seem to have skirted the northern 

boundary of a country once populous, and 

worth of becoming so again.”

Whipple’s description of the Valley of Rio Verde 

being wooded with firs is, of course, wrong. The summarization from the published itinerary, above, should 

be compared with his entry in the diary: 

“This stream is the most beautiful yet found 

in New Mexico; so limpid are its waters, so 

thick and luxuriant the carpet of grama upon 

its valley and hills so inviting are its forests of 

ash and walnut. Here as elsewhere the hills and 

even the mountains are covered with cedars; 

generally of great size and beauty. Their trunks 

are from one to three feet in diameter and six 

feet from the ground immense branches put 

forth in all directions affording comfortable 

shelter from wintry winds and charming retreats 

from summers sultry sun. These branches 

are of a size sufficient to make good railway 

ties and the forests we have seen may afford 

an abundant supply. For fuel dry cedar can 

scarcely be excelled. It has everywhere been 

plentiful since we left pine forests at New 

Years springs.”

Thus the reference to firs was added to the published 

itinerary later.

Whipple’s use of the name Rio Verde is of interest. 

At no place in the diary does the name Rio Verde ap-
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006. 29

pear, at least not while the party was in the Verde River 

watershed. Sometime after the completion of Whipple’s 

exploration, but before the Itinerary was published, 

Whipple began to use Verde. Prior to this time, this 

river was called the San Francisco, and Leroux, on his 

return trip across this country in May, 1854, continues 

to call it the San Francisco. Another river, heading out 

near Luna, New Mexico, and feeding into the Gila River 

now has the name of San Francisco River.

Everyone together—up Pueblo Creek and over Aztec 

Pass—On January 22, Tidball wrote:

“Travelled 7 mi up the stream that we encamped 

on last night.... The mountain contracted as 

we ascended to a narrow ravine along which 

it was difficult to drag the waggins of the S. 

P. although almost empty and 8 mules. With a 

little labor it could be made quite a practicable 

wagon road. Encamped (camp 31) in the gorge 

of the mountains. G. grass.”

Stanley reinforces Tidball’s description of their passage up Walnut Creek:

“Passing up the canon this morning we had 

the worst road we have yet had since leaving 

Albuquerque. After having passed up the canon 

for three miles, we were obliged to take to the 

steep sides of the mountains after upsetting 

nearly all the waggons, pitching down precipices and almost dragging our waggons over 

perpendiculars, we arrived at a place where the 

canon was wide enough for us to form a camp. 

We made in all to-day six miles. Game abounds 

on this creek. Skeleton of grizzly bear found in 

our camping ground.”

Tidball, January 23: “Travelled 6 mi.... Good grass, 

wood, & water.”

On this day, they finally passed out of the Verde River 

watershed and into the Bill Williams drainage.

In his journal entry for January 24th, looking back to 

the east from Aztec Pass, Möllhausen writes: 

“The ravine, seen from above, looked like a 

long strip of pine-wood inclosed on both sides 

by high rocks and mountains.... Even in its 

wintry robe, the scenery was beautiful, but 

must be far more so when the now leafless 

cotton-wood trees that border the Pueblo Creek 

wear their rich spring decorations, and a bright 

green serpentine line winds along the tops of 

the dark pinewoods....”

Other Expeditions—Francis Aubry, 

Joseph Ives, Edward Beale, John Marion, 

and Edgar Mearns

It is difficult to plot Aubry’s routes across the area. 

He traveled fast and left sketchy notes. However, one 

of his entries, made during 1854, is of interest. Somewhere west of the upper Big Sandy River, he notes 

crossing Whipple’s wagon trail and says:

“...we struck heavy and thick timber of pine, 

cedar, and piñon, where we were detained 

hours without being able to get through it and 

it is barely possible to pass on foot (Wyman 

1932, p. 30).”

Beale (Lesley 1970), in September, 1857, traveling 

north of the routes taken by Whipple, Sitgreaves, and 

Ives, describes the countryside in the vicinity of upper 

Cataract Creek, northwest of Williams perhaps 25 

miles:

“Encamping in a valley among the cedar trees 

which cover the country here....”

He also notes at this point looking over the country to 

the west:

“I am strongly tempted, however to alter my 

course to northwest, for to the northward 

appears a boundless plain.”

And later:

“This evening our road, or rather direction to 

the westward, led us over successive ravines, 

all leading to the great plain lying to the northward. Intervening, the ground was covered 

with a thick growth of pine and cedar trees, 

and apparently this country extended for a 

considerable distance....”

At this point, the density of junipers on a more westerly 

course is causing Beale to consider an alternation of 

his route. This dense stand of trees would be across 

“Cedar Creek” northeast of Ash Fork and on toward 

Mount Floyd, the same area that Whipple had earlier 

noted to hold a dense juniper stand. On his return trip 

(February 1, 1858), Beale also remarked on the thickness 

of the woodland in this vicinity and notes finding what 

he believes to be Whipple’s wagon tracks on this day, 

apparently in the vicinity of Polson Dam Draw.

Of the country north of his location, Beale says: 

“These plains are treeless, with the exception of a very 
30 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

few scattered cedars of small growth.” He is describing 

the landscape northwest of Kendrick, San Francisco, 

Sitgreaves and Bill Williams Mountain and south or 

slightly southwest of Red Butte.

Continuing northwest, he notes:

“Cedar wood was also abundant for camp 

purposes on the side of the hills.... On the 

plain there is but very little growth of wood 

of any kind; once in a mile or so one sees a 

small cedar.”

Somewhere near the east side of Cataract Canyon 

where it begins to drop more rapidly into the Grand 

Canyon, Beale notes:

“A heavy growth of pine and cedars covered the 

hills in every direction, around the great cañon 

I have mentioned, and extended as far as we 

could see from the high hill we ascended.”

Finally, heading southward in search of water, and 

camping on the north face of Mount Floyd, probably 

at the head of Partridge Creek, Beale notes: 

“The cedar growth here is quite heavy and 

abundant; I measured one tree today sixteen 

feet in circumference, and it was by no means 

the largest I saw....”

Ives (1861), in April, 1858 (fig. 16), remarked on 

a dense juniper stand between the general vicinity of 

Frazier’s Well and upper Partridge Creek: “...A thick 

growth of cedars and pines offered occasional obstructions to the pack animals, who would get their loads 

tangled among the low branches.”

Further along, still apparently northwest of Mount 

Floyd, Ives noted: 

“...The face of the country continued much 

the same. The trees generally intercepted the 

view.... At the end of ten miles of weary travel, 

a steep ascent brought us to the summit of a 

table that overlooked the country towards the 

south for a hundred miles. The picture was 

grand, but the cedars and pines kept it shut out 

during most of the time.” 

This is in the vicinity of the Aubrey Cliffs, before dropping into the flatter terrain around Rose Well. At this 

point, they would be looking south and southwest toward 

Mount Floyd. The picture that evolves is of countryside 

with dense clusters of juniper, some extensive in area, 

with relatively open country in between.

On April 25, 1858, catching up on his diary, he 

wrote: 

“Camp 80.... Partridge ravine widened as 

it was descended, til it became a beautiful 

valley, covered with grassy slopes and clumps of 

cedars. It contained neither springs or a running 

stream, but among the rocks along the base of 

the bluffs many pools were discovered. The 

pasturage was excellent. The place is a great 

resort at this season of grizzly bear, antelope 

[pronghorn], deer [mule], and wild turkeys, large 

numbers of whose tracks were seen leading to 

and from water holes.” 

Writing this, Ives had the benefit of having traversed 

this area twice, once in the winter and then three years 

later in the spring.

Möllhausen, riding with Ives, noted the poor condition of the junipers. On April 19, 1858, in the vicinity 

of the lagoons on the present Hualapai Reservation, 

he wrote: 

“The soil despite of the new snowfalls was dry 

and barren, small cedar forests decorated the 

sides of the hills, but on the plains only individual 

shrubs were standing and changed their shape 

in the distance in mirages or, dead and devoid 

of their green ornamentation, stuck up like the 

antlers of prehistoric elks.”

On April 21, headed southwestward from the lagoons, 

he notes: 

“The character of the environment would have 

also reminded me of the proximity of the trail, 

which in 1854 I passed in the expedition of 

Captain Whipple, because everywhere I saw 

the already known change between lime- and 

sandstone as well as the black lava fields, which 

were crossed in all directions by deep gorges. 

The almost sole tree vegetation was formed by 

crippled cedars, which in places crowded into 

black, but thin forests or covered wide areas 

with their dried up, skeleton-like remains.”

Finally, on April 22, entering Partridge Creek, he 

writes: 

“Again, we spotted the scene of a cedar forest, 

the trees of which all had died at the same time, 

namely as I assume as a result of an extended 

fire, which had not affected the wood, but yet 

removed the bark and needles.” 

The years of 1856 to 57 were two of the driest on record 

for the southwest (Swetnam 1999, personal communication). Möllhausen has mentioned dead junipers over a 

three-day period, suggesting extensive fires, which he 

assumes to have happened. His use of the word “assume” renders his statement a little puzzling. He does 

not claim to have seen obvious evidence of fire, but 

rather dead trees over a large area. Another possibility 

would be drought kill.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

 31Figure 16. Approximate routes followed by Ives in 1857 (solid line) and Mearns in 1884 (broken line).
32 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

On August 30, 1870, journalist J. H. Marion 

(Powell, 1965) described the country between present 

Paulden and Drake (the area Whipple called the “Black 

Forest”) he notes: 

“We soon reached that venerable old box in the 

earth known as ‘Hell Canyon’, and in going 

down its southern side, met with accident No. 

2, ie, the upsetting of a wagon, which, luckily, 

caused no serious trouble, and broke nothing. 

After passing this fearful chasm, we drove 

about one mile and encamped in a beautiful 

grassy spot, surrounded by juniper trees, near 

some water tanks, around which were bones 

of horses, mules, and oxen, which Lo, the poor 

Indian had stolen and eaten. The country passed 

over today is admirably adapted to stock raising, 

grass being abundant, and water plenty in tanks 

in the canons. We had a splendid view of the 

country to the East and West, saw the great 

and productive Chino Valley stretching away 

to the West; likewise the fine large valley that 

stretches away to the Verde River, and which, 

with its thick, rich coating of green grass, its 

groves of junipers and cedars, pleased the eye, 

and filled the mind with visions of flocks and 

herds, which ere long, are destined to feed 

upon it.”

This suggests more open stands of trees than exist in 

the area today. That livestock were not yet prevalent is 

apparent from Marion’s “vision” of the future. Heading 

northeast, Marion continues: 

“Wednesday, August 31. Our road, to-day, 

wound through ‘the Cedars’, which are of good 

size, and cover the entire face of the country. 

As trap continued to be ‘the formation’, the 

reader may well believe we had a rough road, 

over which it was impossible to make good 

time.... Grass was plentiful on some portions 

of the hills, and scarce on others.”

Marion’s journal, written prior to heavy grazing, 

railroads, or fuelwooding, suggests that the upland 

around the present site of Drake, 16 years after Whipple 

had passed, was interspersed grassland and juniper 

woodland, with woodland being dense in places.

On November 6, 1884, Edgar A. Mearns (unpublished 

journals, Smithsonian), Post Physician for Fort Verde, 

rode from Banghart’s Ranch near Del Rio Springs to Ash 

Fork, where he met General George Crook and Captain 

John Bourke en route to Supai (fig. 16). Coming out of 

Chino Valley headed north, Mearns notes:

“The country rises by irregular undulations, until 

Hell Canyon is reached, bordered by cedar-clad 

plateaus, with a small stream flowing at the 

bottom. Thence to Ash Fork the road crosses 

a rolling country, wooded in most places with 

cedar and rough-barked juniper.”

Going northwest from Ash Fork on November 7, 

1884, Mearns describes this general area:

“Left Ash Fork at six o’clock and marched 

about 22 miles to Stones Lake, a sheet of water 

covering from 14 to 25 acres of ground said to 

be 28 acres in extent. The country traversed was 

rolling and hilly with cedar forest, interrupted 

by grassy valleys and prairie-like stretches.”

Mearns crossed Partridge Creek in the vicinity 

traversed by Whipple 30 years earlier, and presents a 

picture of interspersed woodlands and open valleys. 

This country today is virtually covered with juniper, 

with little open land within it. The only early photograph 

available for this area was taken by Alexander Gardner 

at Russell Tank in 1867 (fig. 21 and 22).

Mearns left a description of the landscape lying north 

of the Whipple route in 1884. On November 7, riding 

with General Crook between Ash Fork and Stones Lake, 

Mearns notes: 

“Left Ash Fork at six o’clock and marched 

about 22 miles to Stone’s Lake, a sheet of water 

covering from 15 to 25 acres of ground, said to 

be 28 acres in extent. The country traversed was 

rolling and hilly with cedar forest, interrupted 

by grassy valleys and prairie-like stretches.”

“The cedars bore rather unusually large berries. 

Those that were ripe and dry were sweet and 

agreeable in flavor....”

“A band of Antelope [pronghorn] was seen in 

front of the column. General Crook wounded 

one at long range but did not follow it. They 

crossed the trail right ahead of us, making a 

pretty picture, as they bounded through the 

cedar grove.”

“We camped under some large cedars beside 

the Lake....”

“In the evening we built several large fires 

around the bases of some large, dead cedar-trees, 

which burned all night....”

Mearns recorded many species of waterfowl and 

shore birds at Stone’s Lake, including herring gulls. He 

also mentions tracks of pronghorns, coyotes, mountain 

lions, and bears in the mud around the lake. Leaving 

Stone’s Lake on November 8 and riding 12 miles to 

“Black Tank,” he notes: “The trail lay through handsome 
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006. 33

groves of cedar . . . .” He notes killing quail “a long way 

from water and where cedars. . . and grass were about 

the only vegetation.”

Synthesis_________________________

Other workers (Cooper 1960, White 1985, Covington 

and Moore 1992) have discussed change in the ponderosa 

pine forests of the Mogollon Rim. Most of these workers suggest that the presettlement forests were made up 

of large, older trees in more open stands. Based upon 

comments by Whipple, Gambel oak may have been 

more abundant in 1854 than it is now between Leroux 

Springs and Radio Hill.

Whipple described Park Valley as covered with 

cedars. At this elevation, the species was undoubtedly 

alligator-bark juniper. By the time the party reach “Lava 

Springs,” which is believed to be in the vicinity of the 

present Canyon Tank, they described the area as being 

covered with “scrub cedar,” still alligator-bark, no doubt, 

but possibly a young stand. As the wagons dropped over 

the rim into Polson Dam Draw, the junipers became 

thick. At this point, they are increasingly shaggy-bark, 

mostly Utah juniper. All along both sides of Polson 

Tank draw and Martin Dam Draw were dense stands 

of juniper, as was apparently the case across the top of 

Paradise Ridge. This general area was one region where 

all observers noted juniper dense enough to obstruct the 

passage of horses or mules, and to interfere with the 

ability of explorers to see the countryside.

Traversing Martin Dam Draw, Whipple’s wagons 

had to negotiate sparse strips of cedar, where little cutting was necessary for their passage. Southbound into 

Partridge Creek, they mention no problems with trees, 

but rather note the rough terrain immediately north of 

the point they enter Partridge Creek. The long valley 

they followed southward toward Partridge Creek—a 

continuation of Martin Dam Draw—now has stands 

of young juniper that would probably be too dense in 

places for wagons to negotiate. The party would now 

have to cut a wagon trail or find a longer route around 

juniper stands, where they apparently passed with fair 

ease in 1854.

On January 5, 1854, when Whipple headed easterly 

from the vicinity of Partridge Creek toward New Year’s 

Spring, both he and Tidball had commented on the density of the trees, problems in seeing beyond them, and 

difficulty in passing through them. They were relieved 

when they finally broke out and could once again see 

Bill Williams Mountain as a landmark. This leads to the 

conclusion that a dense stand of juniper existed over 

some considerable acreage in the vicinity of the present 

Paradise Ridge, Polson Dam Draw (which the party later 

named “Cedar Creek”), and the sloping terrain just east 

of Polson Dam Draw. A dense woodland exists in these 

areas today, except for Polson Dam Draw, which is a 

flat grassy drainage.

Whipple, Möllhausen, Tidball, and Bigelow all 

commented on the Black Forest, lying southwest 

of the reconnaissance route. Tidball considered its 

“blackness” to be a result of the angle of view from the 

plateau on January 3 rather than extreme density of the 

trees. However, the party did not enter this woodland 

and viewed it only from a distance. They rode along 

its northern edge on January 3, through an area that 

matched Tidball’s description of a savanna. At present, a dense stand of juniper exists across much of this 

valley and onto the slopes of Big Black Mesa, which 

Whipple called “the ridge of the Black Forest.” North 

of this Black Forest, for 10 to 15 miles south of present 

Ash Fork, junipers were present, but apparently older, 

larger, and more dispersed than now (figs. 17 to 20). In 

the country traversed on January 3, between Nagiller 

Tank and Ash Fork, Whipple noted that large, fine 

junipers existed. Neither he nor Tidball commented on 

difficulty of travel due to the trees. Both Marion and 

Mearns noted relatively dense stands of juniper north 

of Hell Canyon in 1870 and 1884.

The landscape in upper Partridge Creek and northnorthwest of Mount Floyd varied between open valleys 

with relatively open stands of juniper around their edges. 

At least one extensive stand of dense juniper was present 

northwest of Mount Floyd. The pattern of open valleys 

with surrounding juniper exists today, but the density 

of juniper has apparently increased over much of the 

area (figs. 21 and 22).

The country from the point the Whipple party 

departed Partridge Creek to where they camped on 

the southeast side of Picacho Butte was apparently 

devoid of woodland. Whipple found enough wood 

on the southwestern point of the mountain to build a 

signal fire. The wagon train, camping on more level 

terrain away from the mountain, found wood scarce. 

Few stands of juniper exist now near the southeasterly 

base of Picacho, but finding firewood would not be a 

problem, hence the woodland has probably increased 

in density.

The Alexander Gardner photograph (fig. 4) taken 

of Picacho in 1867 near what is now the abandoned 

Pineveta siding on the old railroad, looks across the route 

traveled by Whipple and probably represents the way 

this prairie appeared in 1854 . It was grassland with a 

sparse scattering of young juniper. The stretch traversed 

by Whipple between Partridge Creek and Picacho Butte 
34 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

has since changed little in terms of woody vegetation 

(fig. 5), but dense, mature junipers grow immediately 

north and west of the place where the Gardner photo was 

taken. This may also have been the case when Gardner 

took the 1867 picture.

Between Picacho Butte and Walnut Creek, the journals provide only sparse information regarding the 

woody vegetation. Stands of juniper occurred along 

the westerly edge of Chino Valley, but seemed to give 

the wagons little difficulty in passing.

Figure 17. 1928. Looking toward the “ridge of the Black Forest” from the north. Whipple’s reconnaissance party would have 

crossed left to right through this landscape on January 3, 1854, probably just behind the butte to the left. Whipple noted large 

“red cedars” in this area. Some large junipers are still present along the drainages, but a young stand of trees is developing on 

the slopes. Photograph by Gus Pearson, USFS. Courtesy of Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station.

Figure 18. 1995 repeat of Figure 17. An exact repeat was not possible due to presence of freeway. The open area in the foreground has grown up and been cleared since 1928. A stand of shrub oak has taken over much of the clearing. Juniper density 

has increased across the middle area. Photo by Harley Shaw.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006. 35

Rex King photographed the general area north of 

Walnut Creek, along the route that the wagons took in 

1916. Johnsen and Elson (1979) repeated his photographs in 1977, and we have again repeated selected 

photographs from this collection in 1997 (figs. 23 to 28). 

Based on the King photographs, junipers have increased 

on the ridges through this area. The flatter areas north 

of Walnut Creek show an interesting transition from 

relatively shrub-free in 1916 to stands of unknown 

shrub species and cactus in 1977, then back to a shrubfree condition by 1997. Johnsen and Elson noted the 

dominant vegetation here in 1977 was made up of blue 

grama, sand dropseed, groundsel, vine mesquite, and 

some Utah juniper.

Figure 19. Another photograph (1936) of same general area shown in Figures 17 and 18. Juniper density had 

increased since Figure 17 was taken in 1928. Photograph by Arthur Upson. Courtesy of Rocky Mountain Forest 

and Range Experiment Station.

Figure 20. 1995 repeat of Figure 19. The ridge in the mid-ground has filled in completely over the intervening 60 

years. A cleared area shows around the base of the butte, with a new stand of shrub oak. Photograph by Harley 

Shaw.
36 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

Another significant vegetation change along this route 

segment is the apparent disappearance of a ciénega. I 

believe this was caused by diversion of a spring for irrigation of fields upstream from the area. The Ciénega 

Ranch, where this spring surfaces, was first occupied in 

the late 1860s or early 1870s. I do not know how long 

after settlement of the ranch the spring was diverted. 

The photograph by Rex King in 1916 of the flat at the 

convergence of Pine Springs Draw and Ciénega Springs 

Draw (fig. 27) shows no sign of riparian or wetland 

vegetation, so the area had apparently been modified 

well before that time. Juniper has increased considerably 

on the surrounding uplands since 1916 (fig. 28).

Photographs taken by J. W. Fewkes in 1911, showing 

the easterly points of Juniper Mesa and looking back 

up along Whipple’s approach to Walnut Creek (figs. 29 

to 31) suggest that the junipers were much less dense 

during the 19th century.

Alexander Gardner’s photograph of the meadow 

just upstream from the present K4 Ranch shows an 

Figure 21. 1867 photograph by Alexander 

Gardner. Wagon train 

of Palmer’s railroad 

survey at Russel Tank 

on Partridge Creek 

near the area traversed 

by Whipple on his New 

Years reconnaissance 

in 1854.

Figure 22. 1995 repeat 

of Figure 21. Juniper 

and other woody vegetation have increased. 

Several trees were 

recently cut in foreground. Photograph by 

Raymond M. Turner.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006. 37

Figure 23. 1916 Rex King picture taken near 

Whipple route approaching Walnut Creek 

and 1977 repeat by Elson and Johnsen.

Figure 24. 1997 repeat 

of Figure 23. Junipers 

increased more since 

1977 than between 1916 

and 1977. Photograph by 

Harley Shaw.
38 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

Figure 25. 1916 Rex King picture of area 

near Whipple’s approach to Walnut Creek 

and 1977 repeat by Elson and Johnsen.

Figure 26. 1997 repeat of Figure 

25. Junipers are slightly more 

dense in the flat. Shrub present 

in 1977 is gone. Area actually 

appears to be more like the 1916 

photograph. Photograph by Harley 

Shaw.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006. 39

Figure 27. 1916 photo by Rex King of 

Pine Springs Draw and 1977 repeat by 

Elson and Johnsen.

Figure 28. 1997 repeat of Figure 

27. I believe this is the area that 

Whipple described as a cienega 

with willows, cottonwoods, and 

flowing water in 1854. Photograph by Harley Shaw.
40 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

Figure 29. 1911 photograph by 

J. W. Fewkes looking north from 

Indian Hill above Walnut Creek. 

Long ridge across valley is the 

eastern-most extension of Juniper 

Mesa.

Figure 30. 1997 repeat of Figure 

29. Juniper has filled in spaces in 

foreground. Far ridge obscured 

from sight. Photograph by Harley 

Shaw.

Figure 31. Another 1997 repeat of 

Figure 29 taken above and behind 

original point to show changes in 

distant landscape. Juniper and 

shrub density has increased markedly across the valley. Photograph 

by Harley Shaw.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006. 41

Figure 32. Alexander Gardner 1867 photograph looking up Walnut Creek from approximate site of 

present bridge on Williamson Valley road.

Figure 33. 1997 repeat of Figure 32. Rocks in center of photograph were removed during road and 

bridge construction. This is near the point Whipple entered Walnut Creek in 1854. Photograph by 

Raymond M. Turner.
42 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

Figure 35. 1997 repeat of Figure 34. Photograph by Harley Shaw.

Figure 34. J. W. Fewkes 1911 photograph of Walnut Creek, looking from site of Whipple’s “old pueblo” down and across the 

stream. This photograph probably looks down on a place Whipple camped in Walnut Creek while waiting for the wagons to 

catch up.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006. 43

area that appears to be a wet meadow (figs. 32 and 

33). No cottonwoods are visible here. By this time, the 

canyon was receiving sporadic use as a road between 

Hardyville on the Colorado River and the new settlement of Prescott. Both military and civilian wagons 

had moved through the area, and some livestock had 

been driven along the drainage in addition to mules 

and horses. It probably was not settled or being used 

as permanent pasture as yet because of the continued 

attacks by Indians. Walnut Creek apparently was a 

wetland in the vicinity of the present K4 ranch and 

narrowed to a drainage bordered by cottonwoods 

higher up. It is interesting that Whipple failed to 

mention cottonwoods in the Walnut Creek drainage, 

identifying everything as ash, walnut, and willow. 

Tidball and Möllhausen both mentioned cottonwoods 

in Walnut Creek. The ciénegas are missing today, and 

cottonwoods have extended into the area photographed 

by Gardner.

Fewkes took one photograph looking down Walnut 

Creek from the site of Whipple’s “old pueblo” (fig. 34). 

Quality of this photograph, taken from the report, is not 

good, and it is difficult to identify tree species growing 

along the stream channel. Cottonwoods were present in 

1997 when this picture was repeated (fig. 35).

The picture that emerges of the general study area, 

for the mid-19th century, is one of a dry short grass 

prairie intermixed with stands of juniper. It may have 

been more savanna-like than it is now. Woodlands now 

seem denser, mainly on ridges in areas where they 

existed in 1854, but I see no evidence that they have 

greatly extended their range into the larger valleys, 

such as Big Chino.

A few stands of extremely dense juniper were present in the 1850s. The general vicinity of Polson Dam 

Draw, named Cedar Creek by Whipple, had dense 

juniper stands surrounding it. The ridge to the west of 

this draw and portions of upper Partridge Creek toward 

Mount Floyd were covered with dense juniper in some 

areas. The general vicinity surrounding the present site 

of Drake also held an extensive stand of juniper, but 

the diaries are equivocal about tree densities. The aerial 

extent of these juniper forests is difficult to determine 

from the diaries.

I cannot generalize further on vegetation change. 

This work has identified a few locations that merit 

further field study. Juniper population structure studies 

would be of value in the areas identified as historically 

having dense juniper stands. These should incorporate 

studies of harvest history. The area surrounding the site 

west of Ash Fork, where Gardner took the photograph 

of Picacho Butte in 1867, needs further investigation. 

While this photograph shows little change since 1867, 

a possibility exists that juniper treatments have been 

carried out here. A better knowledge of postsettlement 

history of this site would be valuable.

Another area that needs scrutiny is the juncture of 

Ciénega Creek and Pine Springs Draw, called Turkey 

Creek by Whipple. This area was apparently a riparian 

drainage in 1854. It is now a dry flat transected by a 

deep gully. Here, a soils analysis to confirm or negate 

its past status as a wetland would be interesting.

Because of the relatively late Anglo settlement of the 

area, a study of fire history might be especially interesting. If the Fewkes 1911 photograph of the east point of 

Juniper Mesa (fig. 29) accurately represents conditions 

at that time, the area may have burned between 1854 

and 1911. The poor quality of the photograph makes 

it difficult to determine if the distant slopes were truly 

bare or if resolution of the photograph was too poor to 

show trees. The Whipple wagon train noted moderate 

densities of juniper on the slopes where they approached 

Walnut Creek. The area now holds dense stands of juniper and chaparral. With the exception of Möllhausen’s 

observation of widespread dead juniper north of Mount 

Floyd and along Partridge Creek in April, 1858, no other 

mention of possible natural or Indian-caused wildfire 

exists in any of the diaries. It would be interesting to 

attempt to confirm the occurrence of an extensive fire 

in the woodlands in the above area between the years 

of 1854 and 1858.

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46 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

#’s	 Description of Photograph and Location*	 Utm E	 Utm S

4-5 **1867 Gardner. Picacho Butte from vicinity of old RR E. of NA NA

 Ash Fork

6-7 **1871 O’Sullivan. Grassland and Mesa E. of Truxton AZ 12 271529 3929701

8-9 **1871 O’Sullivan. Music Mountains NE. of Truxton AZ 12 260016 3929605

10 Radio Hill looking west/southwest 12 403346 3908166

11 Radio Hill looking northwest 12 403268 3908081

12-13 Signal Hill (Whipple’s “Telegraphic Hill”) looking southwest. 12 386403 3899996

 Tidball’s Sketch and repeat

14 Signal Hill looking west. Picacho 12 386403 3899996

15 “Topographic Hill” looking south/southwest 12 378494 3891335

17-18 1928 Pearson 1928. E. of Ash Fork, looking south. I-40, just NA NA

 NE of Monte Carlo sign

19-20 1936 Upson. E. of Monte Carlo interchange along old Hwy. 66 12 371922 3898426

21-22 **1867 Gardner. Russells Tank 12 359811 3917622

23-24 1916 King. Near Whipple’s approach to Walnut Creek 12 334126 3878481

25-26 1916 King. Near Whipple’s approach to Walnut Creek 12 334126 3878481

27-28 1916 King. Upland near Pine Springs Draw 12 337958 3876302

29-31 1911 Fewkes. Looking northwest from “Shooks Fort” 12 334615 3866936

32-33 **1867 Gardner. Looking up Walnut Creek from site near 12 334240 866694

 present bridge

34-35 1911 Fewkes. From “Old Pueblo” looking across Walnut Creek 12 330486 3865505

*All UTM locations were taken with a hand-held GPS and are uncorrected. They are only accurate to about 100 M. Observers would have 

to use original photographs to get exact location.

**Has rock cairn and buried rebar at photopoint.

Appendix A. Locations of Photographs
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006. 47

Name in Diaries	 Current Identity

Aztec Mountains Santa Maria Mountains

Aztec Pass (Whipple) Aztec Pass

Banghart’s Ranch (Mearns) No present name. Was located north of Del Rio Springs near 

 present Sullivan Lake.

Bill William’s Fork (Sitgreaves, Whipple) Devil-Dog Canyon and Hell Canyon, draining from the SW 

 slope of Bill William’s Mountain, were mistakenly believed 

 to be the upper reaches of Bill William’s Fork by Sitgreaves, 

 Leroux, and, initially, by Whipple. Whipple discovered them 

 to be tributaries of the Verde River. The stream now called 

 Bill William’s Fork heads west of Aztec Pass and runs to the 

 Colorado River.

Black Forest, Ridge of Black Forest Area of dense junipers lying between “Topographical Hill” and 

Big Chino Valley. Encompassed an undefined area around 

 approximate present site of Drake, Arizona. The Ridge of the 

 Black forest is now called Big Black Mesa and lies northeast 

 of Paulden, Arizona, along the northeast edge of Chino Valley.

Black Tank (Mearns) Not sure

Cajon Pass (Bigelow)

Campsite on January 13. Near creek This was on Ash Fork, just south of the town of that name. 

 Approximate UTM: 12 363798 X 3897010

Cedar Creek (Whipple) Polson Dam Draw

Hillside camp, December 31, 1853 (Whipple) Radio Hill. UTM 12 403346 X 3908166

Lava Spring (Whipple) Canyon Creek. Approximate UTM: 12 388172 X 3906771.

Leroux Springs Leroux Springs

Llano Estacado (Bigelow) Llano Estacado, Texas and New Mexico

New Year Spring (Whipple) Possibly Hitson Tank

Park Valley (Whipple) Spring Valley

Partridge Creek (Whipple) Partridge Creek

Picacho Laja Picacho Mountain

Pueblo Creek (Whipple) Walnut Creek

San Francisco River (Whipple) Verde River. The stream now called the San Francisco River 

arises near Luna, New Mexico and flows southward to the 

 Gila River.

Sierra de la Laja (Whipple) Mount Floyd

Sierra Prieta Granite Mountain, Sierra Prienta, Bradshaw complex

Sierra Tonto (Whipple) Woodchute/Mingus Mountain complex

Stone’s Lake (Mearns) Stone’s Lake

Telegraphic Hill. Hill climbed morning of Signal Hill. UTM 12 386403 X 3899996

Jan. 2, 1854 (Whipple)

Appendix B. List of Place Names (Diarist) 

Discussed in Text
48 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

Topographical Hill (January 3, 1854) Now with no name. Westernmost point of Mogollon Rim, 

 approximate UTM: 12 378494 X 3891335

Turkey Creek (Whipple, Möllhausen) Convergence of Pine Springs Draw and Ciénega Creek. Another 

 creek NW of these is now called Turkey Creek, but Whipple 

 did not visit it.

Val de China (Whipple) Big Chino Valley

Yampai Creek (Sitgreaves) Truxton Wash or tributary
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006. 49

Common Name Scientific Name

Abert’s squirrel Sciurus aberti

Alligator bark juniper Juniperus deppeana

American century plant Agave Americana

Apache plume Fallugia paradoxa

Arizona cypress Cupressus arizonica

Arizona mountain ash Sorbus dumosa

Arizona walnut Juglans major

Bighorn sheep Ovis Canadensis

Blue grama Bouteloua gracilis

Cactus, cacti Opuntia spp.

Cedar Juniperus spp.

Colorado piñon, piñon, pinion Pinus edulis Engelm.

Cottontail rabbit Sylvilagus spp.

Cottonwood Populus spp.

Coyote Canis latrans

Currant Ribes spp.

Douglas-fir Pseudotsuga menziesii

Eastern red cedar Juniperus virginiana

Elk Cervus elaphus

Emory oak Quercus emoryi

Fir Abies spp. also, probably, Tsudosuga menziesii

Four-winged saltbush Atriplex canescens

Gambel oak Quercus gambelii

Gambel’s quail Callipepla gambelii

Grama grasses Bouteloua spp.

Grape Vitis spp.

Grizzly bear Ursus arctos

Groundsel Packera spp.

Hare, jackrabbit Lepus californicus

Herring gull Larus argentatus

Juniper Juniperus spp.

Lambsquarters Chenopodium spp.

Merriam’s turkey, turkey, wild turkey Meleagris gallopavo

Mormon tea Ephedra viridis

Mountain lion, panther Puma concolor

Mule deer Odocoileus hemionus

Oak Quercus spp.

Appendix C. Scientific Names of Plants, 

Mammals, and Birds Mentioned in Text
50 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-177. 2006.

One-seed juniper Juniperus monosperma

Ponderosa pine Pinus ponderosa

Prairie dog Cynomys spp.

Prickly pear Opuntia spp.

Pronghorn Antilocapra americana

Ragweed Ambrosia spp.

Redberry juniper Juniperus coahuilensis

Rocky mountain juniper Juniperus scopulorum

Rushes Juncus spp.

Sage brush Artemisia spp.

Sand dropseed Sporobolus cryptandrus

Spruce Picea spp.

Utah juniper Juniperus osteosperma

Willow Salix spp.

Winterfat Krascheninnikovia lanata

Wolves Canis lupus

Yellow wood, algerita Mahonia trifoliolata

Yucca Yucca spp.
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RMRS

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Studies accelerate solutions to problems involving ecosystems, 

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