Arizona daily citizen., 1901-04-27
The Early Days
Of Tombstone.

The early days of Tombstone afford
scope for many interesting stories, for
the life of the old camp 10 marked by
many thrilling scenes of the frontier.
George w. Parsons has contributed to
the Los Angeles Mining Review num-
Der OF sketches which are interesting
reading. In an article describing the
early Days OF Tombstone, the" writer
says:
ind in my journal an entry dated
at Tucson, Tuesday, February IL. 1880,
which reads as follows; early break
fast at Katie's before light" (Katie's
last name escapes nae at the present
moment, but all Tombstoners will know
who / mean when refer to the stam.
pede from Tombstone TO Lower Califor-
MIA, via Guaymas, when Katie headed
the crowd in her buckskin trousers and
other toys, and preserved her dignity at
the same time.) ''Stage on hand about
o'clock. Six Of us ON top, with driver;
Bob Lewis, ex.post master of Cleveland
w. P. Stanley, fine old boy, my sub
sequent partner; Redfern, as true as
steel and one Stewart. My friend,
Milton Clapp, and faced to the rear
and completed the top load. Pleasant
day. Twenty-Five miles out we changed
horses at Cienega Wells and bowled
along pleasantly another twenty-five
miles to ohnersorgn Station, on the
mesa, where we met q relay OF six fresh
horses, and found orders to drive fast to
beat the opposition stage. Fine drive
but driver was forced TO be very cruel
to the horses to obey orders, and the
sixteen miles to Contention were made
in an hour and half-about IL miles
an hour. The horses were Oh dead
run and jump all of the time, up hill
and down. passengers wildly clutching
ayn thing stationary, with feeling OF
relief in one direction, that no Apaches
or Rustlers could catch them. When at
last we climbed down from our perch.
one OF the fine leaders was found nearly
dead, and all the horses were badly
winded. Four fresh horses carried MS
the remaining ten miles, and We reach
ed our destination fTombstone) at $50,
only to find ourselves nearly an hour
behind the opposite stage line. Kin
near's rough place, consisting Of one
street of shanties, some with canvas
roofs"
But, ''tempora mutaturp While
Tombstone was in those davs the liveliest
mining town in the United States, 1t
gradually settled down to the possession
of more or less peaceable community.
Our reception was lively enough, es.
pecially for "tenderieet," but as we had
come to stay, we didn't take us long to
become identified with the town and its
costom, although we got along very well
at "breakfast" time, without the neces-
sity of cutting notch on our Colts to
whet the appetite.
Churches and schools multiplied;
nevertheless, the early attempts to tame
the unruly and bring all under proper
restraint by the aid and help Of institu-
tions provided for the moral betterment
OF all were at times attended with anus
ing results. recall the attempts of the
Rev. Mcintyre, the first CLERGYMAN in
the place, early in 80, to hold church
services. Seated on old boxes and boards
in large tent, everything went all
right, but when hall was hired and
little luxury INDUCED in, church mat
ters became confusion worse confounded.
The hall faced on Allen and Fremont
streets, had a common platform in the
center, which was divided by curtain, so
that sounds were painfully percoptible
from the Fremont-street side, and poor