Mohave County miner., 1891-07-04
Early Days in Mohave.

Arizona lorin III thereirOm, The Terri.
toy was org aized and the counties OF
/ Mgjlve, Pima, Yivdpii and Yuma set
off. The first Legislature for the new Terri
tory Was elected IN 1863, but il was not con-
yenei until the following wear. We have
not been able to obtain the names OF our
first legislators, bat the county offices
were filled by the following named gen
! tlemcB, vino will be remembered by all
old timers: Sheriff, Thomas Mathews
Treasurer, Sam Todd; Recorder, Will
| liam Walters; District attorney, G. w. G.
Rowell. No supervisors we're elected.
and the first named three gentlemen
acted as auditors. fhe county seat OF
the new county was located at Hardy
vil.e.
The first locations made were in the
mountain range 10 the east OF Hardyyille
by party Of prospectors sent out by
George Hearst, Levi Parsons, Joe Clark
and numDer OF other San Francisco and
San joe capitalists. The Moss Lode
had five or six locations made on it, one
being called the California Moss and an
other the Rochester Moss
The Planet copper mines, below Au-
brey, had been discovered some time be-
fore this and the copper company. with a
/ gentleman by the name OF Tilden as
superintendent, had put two steamers on
the Colorado TO haul ore to the Gulf of
/ California aad take provisions and sup
pies TO up river points. These steamers
together with those belonging TO the Col
rado Steamer Navigation company ena-
bled the miners to ship in''grub"and ship
their ore to the San Francisco market
The company Of soldiers at Fort Majiv
had been organized in the mining coun-
ties Of California and were under the
command oi Capt. Charles Atchisson,
the finest gentleman that ever set foot on
Arizona soil. The Captain allowed
into the mountains 10 the east ot the
Fort AZ will, and as a result In any mines
were struck in the WaIlapai and Ger
bat ranges OF mountains.
About this time 1854 the Wallapai
Indians become rather hostile, trouble
having occurred at Fort Rock and Will
lows between them and some cattle men
located there. AZ the Willows two In
dians were killed for stealing cattle and
a. Fort Rock three more were sent to
their long home, and mail rider was
killed. A party OF whites were organized
at Hardyviile and sent out TO the Will
lows to quel the Indians, but no Indians
could be iound. The party returned to
the river by way of Thorn Springs where
they fell in with party Vi thirteen OF
tl.e willy redmen, and the bones Of each
and everyone was left TO bleach ON the
hills around the spring.
The prospectors became very cautious
from this on, but the Indians, although
vosing vengeance, kept away flom the
small settlements. At Chloride party
Of prospectors from Sonoma county. Cal
iiornia made number Of locations, one
of'whirh is now called the Valley View
On the 22no OF September 1865, the loca-
tors We're at work in the shalt, then about
one hundred feet in depth, when without
warning the Indians sprung up from ev-
cry conceivable spot and commenced fir
ing at the luckless miners. The man at
the windlass. Ira Woodworth, was shot |
through the heart and fell dead on the
dump. The other two, Andrew Judson |
and Metcalf Baher, were in the bottom Of
the shaft, and the Indians amused them
selves by throwing large chunks OF lead
ore down the shaft upon the unfortunate
mcn. Judson must have been killed by /
the first rocks thrown down, but Baker
made wonderful struggle for life, as his
body was found lying upon six feet of
rock with which, the shalt had been filled. |
Two other men, James Conover and
Sam knoodles, who were working on /
the Antietam, now the Altata, were also
attacged, hut fortunately drove the In
lians away after Knoodles btd been shot
through the shoulder. Uriah Benjamin
who Was working on claim some dis
tance away stood the Indians off with a
sh.t ,y,,r, aud triad m uoaka hia .,a,.,,,a !