Mapping the Way Through Arizona

The only map of the route of the Mormon Battalion is one made by Colonel Cooke. Outlined on a map of Arizona, it is printed elsewhere in this work, insofar as it affects this State. The Colonel's map is hardly satisfactory, for only at a few points does he designate locations known today and his topography covers only the district within his vision as he marched.

Judging from present information of the lay of the land, it is evident that LeRoux did not guide the Mormon Battalion on the easiest route.

Possibly this was due to the fact that it was necessary to find water for each daily camp. The Rio Grande was left at a point 258 miles south of Santa Fe, not far from Mesilla. Thence the journey was generally toward the southwest, over a very rough country nearly all the way to the historic old rancho of San Bernardino, now on the international line about 25 miles east of the present city of Douglas. The rancho had been abandoned long before, because of the depredating Apaches. It was stated by Cooke that before it had been deserted, on it were 80,000 cattle, ranging as far as the Gila to the northward. The hacienda was enclosed by a wall, with two regular bastions, and there was a spring fifteen feet in diameter.

The departure from San Bernardino was on December 4, 1846, the day's march to a camp in a pa.s.s eight miles to the westward, near a rocky basin of water and beneath a peak which Nature apparently had painted green, yellow and brown. This camp was noted as less than twenty miles from Fronteras, Mexico, and near a Coyotero trail into Mexico.

On the 5th was a march of fourteen miles, to a large spring. This must have been almost south of Douglas or Agua Prieta (Blackwater).

On the 6th the Battalion cut its way twelve miles through mesquite to a water hole in a fine grove of oak and walnut. It is suggested by Geo. H.

Kelly that this was in Anavacachi Pa.s.s, twelve miles southwest of Douglas.

On December 8 seventeen miles were made northwest, to a dry camp, with a view of the valley of the San Pedro. On the 9th, either ten or sixteen miles, for the narrative is indefinite, the San Pedro was crossed and there was camp six miles lower down on the western side. There is notation that the river was followed for 65 miles, one of the camps being at what was called the Canyon San Pedro, undoubtedly at The Narrows, just above Charleston.

December 14 there was a turn westward and at a distance of nine miles was found a direct trail to Tucson. The day's march was twenty miles, probably terminating at about Pantano, in the Cienega Wash, though this is only indicated by the map or description.

On the 15th was a twelve-mile march to a dry camp and on the 16th, after a sixteen-mile march, camp was made a half mile west of the pueblo of Tucson.

From Tucson to the Pima villages on the Gila River, a distance of about 73 miles, the way was across the desert, practically on the present line of the Southern Pacific railroad. Sixty-two miles were covered in 51 hours. At the Gila there was junction with General Kearny's route.

From the Pima villages westward there is mention of a dry "jornada"

(journey) of about forty miles, caused by a great bend of the Gila River.

Thus is indicated that the route was by way of Estrella Pa.s.s, south of the Sierra Estrella, on the present railroad line, and not by the alternative route, just south of and along the river and north of the mountains. Thereafter the marches averaged only ten miles a day, through much sand, as far as the Colorado, which was reached January 8, 1847.

The Battalion's route across Arizona at only one point cut a spot of future Mormon settlement. This was in the San Pedro Valley, where the march of a couple of days was through a fertile section that was occupied in 1878 by a community of the faith from Lehi. This community, now known as St. David, is referred to elsewhere, at length.

Manufactures of the Arizona Indians

Colonel Cooke told that the Maricopas, near the junction of the Gila and the Salt, had piled on their house arbors "cotton in the pod for drying."

As he pa.s.sed in the latter days of the year, it is probable he saw merely the bolls that had been left unopened after frost had come, and that this was not the ordinary method for handling cotton. That considerable cotton was grown is evidenced by the fact that a part of Cooke's company purchased cotton blankets. Historian Tyler states that when he reached Salt Lake the most material feature of his clothing equipment was a Pima blanket, from this proceeding an inference that the Indians made cotton goods of lasting and wearing quality. In the northern part of Arizona, the Hopi also raised cotton and made cloth and blankets, down to the time of the coming of the white man, with his gaudy calicoes that undoubtedly were given prompt preference in the color-loving aboriginal eye.

Cooke's Story of the March

"The Conquest of New Mexico and California" is the t.i.tle of an excellent and entertaining volume written in 1878 by Lieut.-Col. P. St. George Cooke, commander of the Battalion. It embraces much concerning the political features found or developed in both Territories and deals somewhat with the Kearny expedition and with the Doniphan campaign into Mexico that moved from Socorro two months after the Battalion started westward from the Rio Grande. Despite his eloquent acknowledgment of good service in the San Diego order, he had little to say in his narrative concerning the personnel of his command. In addition to the estimate of the command printed on a preceding page, he wrote, "The Battalion have never been drilled and though obedient, have little discipline; they exhibit great heedlessness and ignorance and some obstinacy." The ignorance undoubtedly was of military matters, for the men had rather better than the usual schooling of the rough period. At several points his diary gave such details as, "The men arrived completely worn down; they staggered as they marched, as they did yesterday. A great many of the men are wholly without shoes and use every expedient, such as rawhide moccasins and sandals and even wrapping the feet in pieces of woolen and cotton cloth."

It is evident that to the Colonel's West Point ideas of discipline the conduct of his command was a source of irritation that eventually was overcome when he found he could depend upon the individuals as well as upon the companies. Several stories are told of his encounters in repartee with his soldiers, in which he did not always have the upper hand, despite his rank. Brusque in manner, he yet had a saving sense of humor that had to be drawn upon to carry off situations that would have been intolerable in his own command of dragoons.

Tyler's Record of the Expedition

The best of the narratives concerning the march of the Battalion is in a book printed in 1881 by Daniel Tyler, an amplification of a remarkable diary kept by him while a member of the organization. This book has an exceptionally important introduction, written by John Taylor, President of the Mormon Church, detailing at length the circ.u.mstances that led to the western migration of his people. He is especially graphic in his description of the riots of the summer of 1844, culminating in the a.s.sa.s.sination of Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum at Carthage, Illinois, on June 27th. Taylor was with the Prophet at the time and was badly wounded. There also is an interesting introductory chapter, written by Col. Thos. L. Kane, not a Mormon, dramatically dwelling upon the circ.u.mstances of the exodus from Nauvoo and the later dedication there of the beautiful temple, abandoned immediately thereafter. He wrote also of the Mormon camps that were then working westward, describing the high spirit and even cheerfulness in which the people were accepting exile from a grade of civilization that had made them prefer the wilds. Colonel Kane helped in the organization of the Battalion, in bringing influence to bear upon the President and in carrying to Fort Leavenworth the orders under which the then Colonel Kearny proceeded.

Henry Standage's Personal Journal

One of the treasures of the Arizona Historian's office is a copy of a journal of about 12,000 words kept by Henry Standage, covering his service as a member of the Mormon Battalion from July 19, 1846, to July 19, 1847. The writer in his later years was a resident of Mesa, his home in Alma Ward. His ma.n.u.script descended to his grandsons, Orrin and Clarence Standage.

Standage writes from the standpoint of the private soldier, with the soldier's usual little growl over conditions that affect his comfort; yet, throughout the narrative, there is evidence of strong integrity of purpose, of religious feeling and of st.u.r.diness befitting a good soldier.

There is pathos in the very start, how he departed from the Camp of Israel, near Council Bluffs, leaving his wife and mother in tears. He had been convinced by T. B. Platt of the necessity of obedience to the call of the President of the United States to enlist in the federal service.

The narrative contradicts in no way the more extensive chronicle by Tyler. There is description of troubles that early beset the inexperienced soldiers, who appear to have been illy prepared to withstand the inclemency of the weather. There was sage dissertation concerning the efforts of an army surgeon to use calomel, though the men preferred the exercise of faith. Buffalo was declared the best meat he had ever eaten.

On November 1 satisfaction was expressed concerning subst.i.tution to the place of Philemon C. Merrill. When the sick were sent to Pueblo, November 10, Standage fervently wrote, "This does in reality make solemn times for us, so many divisions taking place. May the G.o.d of Heaven protect us all."

[Ill.u.s.tration 1: MORMON BATTALION OFFICERS 1--P. St. George Cooke, Lieut. Col. Commanding 2--Lieut. George P. d.y.k.es, Adjutant, succeeded by 3--Lieut. Philemon C. Merrill, Adjutant]

[Ill.u.s.tration 2: BATTALION MEMBERS AT GOLD DISCOVERY Above--Henry W. Bigler, Azariah Smith Below--Wm. J. Johnston, James S. Brown]

[Ill.u.s.tration: BATTALION MEMBERS WHO RETURNED TO ARIZONA 1--Sergt. Nathaniel V. Jones 2--Wm. C. McClellan 3--Sanford Porter 4--Lot Smith 5--John Hunt 6--Wilson D. Pace 7--Samuel Lewis 8--Wesley Adair 9--Lieut. James Pace 10--Christopher Layton]

San Bernardino, in Sonora, was reached December 2, being found in ruins, "though all around us a pleasant valley with good water and gra.s.s."

Appreciation was expressed over the flavor of "a kind of root, baked, which the Spaniards called mas kurl" (mescal). Many of the cattle had Spanish brands on their hips, it being explained, "Indians had been so troublesome in times past that the Spaniards had to abandon the towns and vineyards, and cross the Cordillera Mountains, leaving their large flocks of cattle in the valley, thus making plenty of food for the Apalchas."

In San Pedro valley were found "good horse feed and fish in abundance (salmon trout), large herds of wild cattle and plenty of antelope and some bear." The San Pedro River was especially noted as having "mill privileges in abundance." Here it was that Lieutenant Stoneman, accidentally shot himself in the hand. Two old deserted towns were pa.s.sed.

Standage tells that the Spanish soldiers had gone from Tucson when the Battalion arrived, but that, "we were kindly treated by the people, who brought flour, meal, tobacco and quinces to the camp for sale, and many of them gave such things to the soldiers. We camped about a half mile from the town. The Colonel suffered no private property to be touched, neither was it in the heart of any man to my knowledge to do so."

Considering the strength of the Spanish garrison, Standage was led to exclaim that, "the Lord G.o.d of Israel would save his people, inasmuch as he knoweth the causes of our being here in the United States." Possibly it was unfair to say that no one but the Lord knew why the soldiers were there, and Tucson then was not in the United States.

The journey to the Gila River was a hard one, but the chronicler was compensated by seeing "the long looked-for country of California," which it was not. The Pimas were found very friendly, bringing food, which they readily exchanged for such things as old shirts. Standage especially was impressed by the eating of a watermelon, for the day was Christmas.

January 10, 1847, at the crossing of the Colorado, he was detailed to the gathering of mesquite beans, "a kind of sweet seed that grows on a tree resembling the honey locust, the mules and men being very fond of this.

The brethren use this in various ways, some grinding it and mixing it in bread with the flour, others making pudding, while some roast it or eat it raw." "January 27, at 1 o'clock, we came in sight of the ocean, the great Pacific, which was a great sight to some, having never seen any portion of the briny deep before."

California Towns and Soldier Experiences

At San Diego, which was reached by Standage and a small detachment January 30, provisions were found very scarce, while prices were exorbitant. Sugar cost 50 cents a pound, so the soldier regaled himself with one-quarter of a pound and gathered some mustard greens to eke out his diet. For 26 days he had eaten almost nothing but beef. He purchased a little wheat from the Indians and ground it in a hand mill, to make some cakes, which were a treat.

Late in April, at Los Angeles, there was a move to another camping ground, "as the Missouri volunteers (Error, New York volunteers--Author) had threatened to come down upon us. A few days later we were called up at night in order to load and fix bayonets, as Colonel Cooke had sent word that an attack might be expected from Colonel Fremont's men before day. They had been using all possible means to prejudice the Spaniards and Indians against us."

Los Angeles made poor impression upon the soldiers in the Battalion. The inhabitants were called "degraded" and it was declared that there were almost as many grog shops and gambling dens as private houses. Reference is made to the roofs of reeds, covered with pitch from tar springs nearby. Incidentally, these tar "springs" in a later century led to development of the oil industry, that now is paramount in much of California, and have been found to contain fossil remains of wonderful sort.

The Indians were said "to do all the labor, the Mexicans generally on horseback from morning till night. They are perhaps the greatest hors.e.m.e.n in the known world and very expert with lariat and la.s.so, but great gamblers."

Food a.s.suredly was not dear, for cattle sold for $5 a head. Many cattle were killed merely for hides and tallow and for the making of soap.

About the most entertaining section of Standage's journal is that which chronicles his stay in Southern California, possibly because it gave him an opportunity to do something else beside tramping. There is much detail concerning re-enlistment, but there was general inclination to follow the advice of Father Pettegrew, who showed "the necessity of returning to the prophets of the Lord before going any further."

Just before the muster-out, the soldiers were given an opportunity to witness a real Spanish bull fight, called "a scene of cruelty, savoring strongly of barbarity and indolence, though General Pico, an old Mexican commander, went into the ring several times on horseback and fought the bulls with a short spear."

What with the hostility of the eastern volunteers, the downright enmity of Fremont's company and the alien habits of the Mexican population, the sober-minded members of the Battalion must have been compelled to keep their own society very largely while in the pueblo of Los Angeles, or, to give it its Spanish appellation, "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula." Still, some of them tried to join in the diversions of the people of the country. On one occasion, according to Historian Eldridge, there was something of a quarrel between Captain Hunt and Alcalde Carrillo, who had given offense by observing that the American officer "danced like a bear." The Alcalde apologized very courteously, saying that bears were widely known as dancers, but the breach was not healed.

Christopher Layton's Soldiering.

Another history of the Battalion especially interesting from an Arizona standpoint, is contained in the life of Christopher Layton, issued in 1911 and written by Layton's daughter, Mrs. Selina Layton Phillips, from data supplied by the Patriarch. The narrative is one of the best at hand in the way of literary preparation, though with frank statement that President Layton himself had all too little education for the accomplishment of such a task.