The Coconino sun., 1925-03-20
CHARLES DCESHA DIES;
ROMANTIC CAREER AS
AN EARLY GIJNFICHTER

Charles Doesha, 81 years old, one
Of the early pioneers of Arizona who
is known to hundreds of Arizonans
as one of the most fearless gum
fighters of early days, died Tuesday
at his home in Phoenix after a brief
illness. Death was due to pneumonia
which ended career perhaps without
parallel in the annals of Arizona.
Born in Kentucky in 1928, Doesha
came to Arizona in 1878, and estab-
lished himself on small strip of land
in the Tonic basin, where he engaged
in raising sheep. To the west we're
large tracts on which roamed thou
sands Of sheep, the property of his
neighbors, while on the east gfazed
thousands of cattle, the property of
the Graham family.
Several years later, feud broke
out between cattle men and sheep men
ard Doesha aligned himself with the
Graham faction and engaged in many
gun battles with the sheep heIders.
His fame as a gun man and also as a
dead-shot soon spread throughout the
! length and breadth of the state, and
at one time, it is stated, the sheep men
posted notice on the door OF the
Phoenix postotfice waning Doelha to
| leave the country. Doesha, it IS said
tore down the notice and that day met
sheepman on the trail back to the
Tonto and killed him on sight.
! The sheepmen, realizing that they
could not scare Doesha into running
away, imported two of Oklahoma S
most notorious gun men into Arizona
6 H. nf Ill n
! Doesha. Within a week after the gun
men arrived in Arizona, Doesha eli.
countered them together on the Ton
to trail and killed them both and then
/ tossed their bodies over cliff.
Later, asheepman, Tewksbury, killed
Ten Graham, a prominent cattleman,
at the base of Twin Buttes, near
| Tempe. Doesha it is claimed, went
out and killed another sheepman in
retaliation. The Tewksbury Graham
case was set for trial in Phoenix, but
change of venue to Tucson caused
/ the case to be opened there. The
case was brought into the Phoenix
courts in 1892, and while the triai was
/ in progress, the widow of G.aham
drew a pistol and shot at a man
named Rhodes, a brother-in-Iaw OF
/ Tewksbury. The bullets went wild
and the trial proceeded, but not until
| Doesha had made a speech in the
courtroom in which he deplored the in
1 accuracy of Mrs Graham's aim, and
/ informed his auditors that he would
plug the first sheerman he encoun-
/ tered with two bullets instead of the
customary one. This threat he car
ried out within a few days, it is said
/ Following the Tonto Basin feud
Doesha disposed of his sheep, and for
years was not seen in Phoenix. About
] four years ago he returned to The city
and upon questioning, it developed
that Tom Graham's daughter about
six years ago had married c. E. Con-
verse. a multimiilionaire of Santa
i Paula. Calf. The daughter, although
! a child at the time her father was
killed by the sheepmen, had never for
gotten Doesha's undying devotion tc
/ her father, and it is stated that Mrs
/ Converse had spent many months II
Arizona trying to ascertain the
whereabouts of Doesha. her searcf
took her to Aguila, Ariz.. where
Doesha had established small ranch
and was engaged in raising horses
and pigs.
The book of nature is easy tc
study when autumn turns the leaves