Arizona republican., 1921-04-13
MRS. LIZZIE STEELE WAS PUPIL AT FIRST
 SCHOOL IN PHOENIX

The following detailed account of early days in Arizona, and partic ularly of the district around Will cox, was prepared for the Pioneers edition of The Republican by Mrs. Lizzie Steele of Ajo:
 attended the first public school in Tucson and also the first in Phoe- nix, my teacher being a Frenchman named Derochie. Mrs. William and Mrs. Neri Osborn, who live in Phoe- nix, were schoolmates of mine. I also attended the first school at Stafford on the Gila river, where I lived for sometime before moving to Wilcox with parents. In 1880. met my hus- band, Thomas Steele, and we were married in Tucson the following year, February 2S. 1881.
 I was born in Tucson in 1861, my father being w. H. Kirkland. who needs no introduction to the pioneers of this state. With Mir Mckinney he dug the first canal at Tempe, which Is still known as the kirkland Mckinney ditch.'' This canal also furnished the power for the old Hay den flour mill, which, I believe, is still in operation.
 My mothers name was Miss Mis- souri Ann Bacon. She was born in St. Louis and crossed the plains with her parents on journey to Califor- nia- Sickness developed among the party, which stopped at Tucson, where she met and married my fa- ther. who has often declared in my hearing that he and my mother were the first to be married in the Old Pueblo. I have lived in Arizona con tinuously all my life, and have raised a family of six children, three of whom are still in the state.
 After my marriage to Mir. Steele we made our home on cattle ranch nine miles from Willcox at place called Croton Springs. My nearest neigh Dor lived at what was called Points of the Mountain" an old stage station built by my husband and MT. McKin- ney in the early seventies. This sta tion was between Fort Grant and Tres AlamoS, about nine miles from our Croton Springs ranch.
 This is where I had my first Indian scare. sOne night in the fall of 1881 runner was sent out from Wilcox to notify all of the ranchers to go to WILCOX as soon as possible, as a band of Apaches had left the San Carlos reservation and were headed for the Chiricahua mountains through the Oochise stronghold, leaving a bloody trail behind them.
 Samenlego's train of wagons from Tucson was coming through loaded
 
 was attacked by the Indians and one of the Sameniego brothers was mur- dered along with all of the drivers As l remember it, only one man es- capped the massacre. The train was attacked between Fort Grant and Eureka Springs.
 After committing this terrible crime the Indians set fire to the wagons and drove off the stock. This. however, was not the end of their bloody work. for they travelled along and killed everyone they met My father and mother were living at the old stage station and they had hardly got to Wilcox when the Indians came up and killed an old man who had been living with them. He had stayed behind to attend to some milk cows and calves, and his body lay unburied for two days
 There were two companies of Unit ed States soldiers waiting at Wilcox for orders from Washington to go aft CT the Indians. The Indians camped for day and a night at the station and destroyed everything they got their hands on- After leaving there they came down to a small range of mountains back of our ranch where they stopped long enough to kill a cali for milk and round up some of our saddle horses, turhing loose their l own, which were worn out
 MT. Steele, myself and the cow l punchers stayed on the roof of the house watching the savages and ex- 1 pecting to be attacked and murdered at any minute. But we were well armed and had enough lead to make It hot for them for a while at least, but never expecting to get away alive, for we were greatly outnum- | pered- But. fortunately, they moved on and did not molest us. I shall never forget my great feeling of re- lief when those redskins moved on. In the meantime the United States soldiers were in town drinking and gambling and allowing all of these depredations.