Arizona weekly citizen., 1892-08-06
THE PLEASANT vALLEYwAR
A Bloody Guerrilla Feud in the
 Mountains of Arizona.
Gazette,

Leading up to thls crime is a tale of 1 blood known to few outside of Arizona
 Meager news could be obtained from the
 mountainous portions of Arizona at tbe
 time of what was known as the Pleasant
 Valley war. It started in July, 1888 in
 an attempt of Tewksbery brothers to bring a large band of sheep into Pleas
 ant Valley, an extensive and we'll stock
 ed graziog section on the northern slope
 of the Sierra Ancha mountains, m the central part of the Territory. It was
 knowr that Daggs brothers the heaviest sheep owners m the southwest, were
 behind the move and the ca:tlemeD, un- 1 der the leadership of the Graham bro-
 thers, prepared to resist to the death.
 Trouble began with the disappear ! ance of ''old man" Blevins, one of the Graham faction. His body was never found, though 1t Is now known he was murdered. Several days after a search ing party rode up to the ranch of Geo Newton, when without warning they were met with a muIderous fusllade from the rifles of a dozen sneepmen con- cealed m the buiidiug. Hemphill Bic vens and man named Payne was thus killed and number of others wounded. The wounded were galantly helped off the field on the few horses not killed.
 A week after the Tewksberys drove off hObbled horse from the Graham ranch and killed William Graham as he followed he trail
 Naturally, matters by this time were getting warm and the otter side So tried guerrilla tactics. John Tewks berry and Bill Jacobs, prominent sheep owner were surprised not far from hOne and killed. Their bodies were mashed with rocks asd were left to be almost consumed by wild hogs.
 And ew Blevlns (alias Cooper, ] claimed the high credit of this murder At HOlbToOk Sheriff Owens, of Apache county. met with resistance while try Ing to arrest B!evins and killed him. Blevins' brother, lad of thirteen years, graSped gun and attempted 10 Kill the sheriff. Ills mother held the boy, how ever, the sheriff taking advantage of tee situation by killing the lad m his l mothers arms. The fighting officer al 1 so managed to kill third party on thls | interesting occasion.
 The next episode was an attack on i the Tewksberry ranch by the cattlemen The Tewkesberrys vera hid in the brush | however, and escaped alT ost unharmed, killing on the other side two cowboys, 1 named Ellingwood aud Darlington.
 Sheriff Mulvenoo. of Yavapai county, then came down with posse to restore peace. This wSs helped on by their | killing John Graham and Chas Blevins
 The Graham party seemed to get the worst after this. Al. Rose, one of their number, was way laid ard kiIll d, thirteen bullet holes beng counted i1 the body.
 Two of the Tewkesberry crowd were shot at and wounded white after, a cir cumstance which led their friends to form lyinchiDg bee Getting the drop of tree of the Grahamits, by name Scott. Stoit and wilson, they hanged nsm Bil. And this young man Rhodes YVES the leader of the lynching party on thst occasIop. lie did not serve in the Tanke all through the war, but was ac- we near it's close, cementing his ai- lance by marry ing the widow of John Tewksberry.
 It Is much to be feared that the kill ing of Tom Graham will reopen this old feud- Th0ugh the pri ncipal actors are deai. tbere yet remain many parti- sans of 0Oih sides, who have been sleep lng on their arms. AnG there is fear the sitiatiDn has Oesn made worse by the ID irder of Hiram Yost, who has at tended 70 Graham's cattle interests for several years. He has not been heard from tor several week, and as Ed. TewEs- berry had just come from the vIcinity of the Graham cattle ranch, it is thought that he had preceded ths murder of Graham. by tbat of Yost. Graham's last words were ex pressive of fear for the safety of hIs friend
 If trouble breaks out afresh, it will probably bs heavily put down. The sentiment in Ariz1ns Is strongly aGains; such an outrage and the people will iu- sist that the murderer be punished.