Arizona Legends
Pleasant Valley War
Typically, cattlemen and
sheep-herders in the Old West didn't get along and this was no
exception in the Pleasant Valley of Arizona during the 1880's. The
Pleasant Valley War, also called the Tonto Range War, first began as
early as 1882 between the cattle-herding Grahams and the sheep-herding
Tewksburys.
Though the feud would last for almost
a decade, it was most heated between 1886 and 1887. The conflict
between the two factions began over property lines and water and
grazing rights. Adding fuel to the fire was the long-standing cowboy
disdain for sheep-herders. Even without legitimate conflicts, there
would, no doubt, have been a personal dislike of the Tewksburys on the
part of the Grahams. The Grahams also contended that the sheep grazed
the open range clean, leaving nothing left for the cattle.
Ironically, the Tewksburys were
actually cattlemen, but supported the sheep-herders due to a
long-standing quarrel with the Grahams. This first dispute was said to
have been over cattle stolen from a man named James Stinson. In any
event, when the Pleasant Valley conflict erupted, the Tewksbury’s gave
protection to a band of sheep actually owned by the Daggs brothers of
Flagstaff.
In addition to the Grahams, there
were numerous other settlers in the area who were upset at the
appearance of sheep on the open range that had been previously utilized
exclusively by cattle. Those who had not taken part in the
Tewksbury-Graham quarrel before, began to unite in defending their
range against the sheep. Almost every man in the valley was eventually
drawn into the conflict.
The long-standing argument turned
deadly when, in February, 1887, a Navajo Indian employed by the
Tewksburys was herding sheep in an area called the Mogollon Rim, a
vicinity that had been accepted as the line across which sheep were not
permitted. The Indian was shot and killed by Tom Graham, who also drove
out or destroyed the sheep. This event began the bloody battle that
would be responsible for 19 known deaths, and as many as 30. At one
point, known hired killer Tom Horn took part in the “war,” but it has
never been established which side employed him.
On August 17, 1887, William Graham
was gunned down at his home but lived long enough to identify Ed
Tewskbury as the shooter. A jury found Tewksbury guilty in his absence
and Sheriff Mulvenon set out to arrest the man, but he had fled into
the hills.
In September, 1887, the Graham
faction surrounded one of the Tewksbury cabins and shot down John
Tewksbury and William Jacobs as they started out for horses. Though the
two were dead, the Grahams continued firing at the cabin for hours,
only stopping when Mrs. Tewksbury finally came out of the cabin with a
shovel to bury the dead men.
A few days later, a man named Andy
Blevins, a member of the Graham faction, was overheard in Holbrook,
Arizona, bragging that he had killed both of the Tewksbury men.
Holbrook Sheriff, Commodore Perry Owens, got wind of the confession and
having a warrant for Blevin's arrest for cattle rustling, decided it
was a good time to pick up the lawless man.
When Owens went to the Blevins family
home on September 4, 1887, the family was in the midst of Sunday dinner
and Andy refused to come out. Within moments, Andy’s half brother,
John, opened the door and took a shot at the sheriff, who quickly drew
his six-guns, sending bullets into both John and Andy.
A gunfight inevitably erupted and Sam
Blevins, just 15 years-old, ran out the door firing at Owens, who
returned the shots. A friend of the Blevin family named Mose Roberts
also fired upon the Sheriff. The melee, lasting less than a minute,
left Andy and Sam Blevin, as well as Mose Roberts dead. John Blevins
was wounded. Despite the many shots fired at him, Owens was uninjured
and as word spread about the gunfight, it made the man a legend. Though
the shooting was ruled as self-defense, Owens was fired by the County
over the incident.
Later that month, Sheriff Mulvernon
of Prescott pursued brothers, John and Tom Graham, and Charles Blevins
to Young, Arizona. Leading a posse sprinkled with Tewksbury
sympathizers, they caught up with the trio on September 22nd. As the
three men approached Perkins Store, Mulveron demanded their surrender,
but instead, a shoot-out ensued. When the dust cleared John Graham and
Charles Blevins lay dead. Tom Graham was able to escape.
Over the next few years, several
lynchings and unsolved murders of members of both factions took place,
often committed by masked men.
In August, 1892, the feud ended when
the last of the Grahams, Tom Graham, was murdered in Tempe, Arizona.
Before he died, Tom said that the shooter was Edwin Tewksbury, a fact
that was confirmed by several witnesses. Ed was arrested for the murder
and tried two times. However, the first trial resulted in a hung jury.
The second trial ended in conviction, but, because of a legal
technicality the verdict was deferred and in 1895 the case was
dismissed.
Edwin Tewksbury was the last of the
men involved in the Pleasant Valley War. He died in Globe, Arizona on
April , 1904.
Today, some of the graves of many of
the murdered men can still be seen in the Young, Arizona cemetery and
the Perkins Store still stands as a museum.
