Phoenix weekly herald., 1896-07-02
IN THE BOX CANYON.
Story Of the Killing of a Band of
Apachss.
TOKYO BASIN. June i

EDITOR HERAKD: [ am lying under
The shade of mesquite eb the
,dge Of Flppen's barley field, after
camp fire dinner of SaItsRiver fish and
feeling quite comfortable and happy in
spite of the heat Mr., Flippin has
juss informed me that his Thermometer
IN the shady side of the house stands at
100 degrees. l have always found it
hotter here than it Phoenix; bat today
Shere are compeusstions-am among them
the neglige that one wear in camp; end
she fact that black heavy thunder
cloud is just nov threatening 80 glide
over from the Sierra AnchA and give US
a drenohing.
We have come thus far-Mr. ]. A.
Stewart and ,self-on- trip TO the
mead of Salt River; where we intend
to revel in mountain trout, deer, tur-
key, Indians, and everything else that
cannot be had in the valley. We came
on horseback with pack mule from
Goldfeld, over fearful and wonderful
trail that hugs the south side of she
river along the box Canon 1t is wild
and lonely region OF gloomy mountains,
With bare rocky slopes, dizzy precipices
and impossible gorgee, and the decent
of the trail into Fish Greek canon down
a succession Of Precipices and terraces
for twelve hundred feet at an angle OF
about 15 degrees from the peFpendi-
cular, is an engineering feat that, were
1t better known, would place the names
of Lewis & Pranty,its constructore,h high
up on the proud pinnacls of fame.
Lewis & Pranty are cattlemeD, and at
their ranch where the cannon is shaded
by eycamores and q cold spring bursts
out of the black soil we spent the night.
Their dwelling would have been q
splendid model OF a hunters cabin for
the Worlds Fair, SO filed is it with
trophies of the chase. Skins of lion,
wild cat, deer, coon aud fox cover the
walls, entlsrs do duty on ali sides for
racks and over the Fireplace are arreug-
ed half q dozsn fierce, grinding skulls of
mountain lion. So numerous were the
latter varmint on their range that they
III ROA pG0 SbAOS AuC OO1bQS 6uQ OGCduC
hunters per force. This was two years
ago and since that time they have
hunted down aud killed thirty-four
IONS
But before forget it must tell you
the story of an Iadisn killing that oc-
CURED IL large cave on the north side of
Salt river box canyon, as it was told me
by Mr. Lewis, the discovereF of the
cave:
Four years sgo Lewis was exploring
along the beetling cliffs on the north
side OF the box canyon, near Sieber
canyon, when, in climbing down the
summit, he came to little shelf where
over sixty cartridge shells lay in a scat
tered manner. Looking over the cliff
from where he stood be discovered that
the point commanded a view into 6
cave some eighty feet beneath him, on
the floor of which be could see heap
of bleaching bones. The pile of empty
cartridge shells taken in connection
with the heap of bones formed a coin
cidence too ominous and too suggestive
TO be disregsrded, so descending to the
bottom of the canyon he searched for
and found en- entrance to the cavern
Here he was confronted by a startling
sight, The floor of the cavern, which
was nearly 100 feet in length, wss lis
terry covered with bones a0d fragmeD te
of bones and grinning skulls. He
~ T. IL IL
and from the other crum bling frag ments
he estimated as many more. Lying
here and there among the gastly re-
msiIs were twelve or fifteen butcher
knives and many Indian baskets and
broken esrthenwars.
Great was his desire TO learn the
time and cause OF this Wholesale mas
sscre. His curiosity was not satisfied
until a year later, when he met A
SiebeF, the old time Chief of Scouts,
and described the cave to him.
Sieber told him that in 1872 he was
scouting on Salt River canyon with
band of Pima Indians who we're en-
ployed as Government scouts. He was
camped On the River above the ''Box"
at the plscs now known as Coffin's
rLnch, when one afternoon the Pims's,
who had been nosing around for
Apache's brought in word that they had
discovered O cave full OF them They
were eager TO be allowed to attack
them; aud accordingly after dark he
led to the vicinity of the cave, and all
eneconced themselves ss points of van
tage TO await the dawn. just before
day he gave the "word'' and the Pims'e
turned themselves loose" and the
slaughter COMMENCED
From the bed of Salt River one car
DOT see into the cave, but by directing
their shots at its fsring roof the balls
we're DETECTED downward on the help
less victims to the farthesb end of she
chamber.
That is all there is to tell When
they thought all were dead or disabled
shey entered and finished the survivors
Sieber counted fiji y-nine bodies, ofbucke
squaws and papooses; but one OF
them escaped, for years sfterWard an
Apache on the Reservation told Sieber
that he was in the cave at the time and
had hidden himself under the heap of |
dead until the attacking party had de- |