Valley of the Guns: The Pleasant Valley War and the Trauma of Violence

313 Pages·2018·23.142 MB·English

by  Eduardo Obregón Pagán

THE PLEASANT VALLEY WAR
AND THE TRAUMA OF VIOLENCE
E D U A R D O O B R E G Ó N P A G Á N
VALLEY OF THE GUNS
Top row: Ed Tewksbury, George Wilson, Charlie Meadows, Tom Horn,
Jim Tewksbury. Bottom row: John Rhodes, Carter Hazelton, Jim Roberts,
J. D. Houck, ca. 1886. Courtesy Chris Slosser.
VALLEY
OF THE
G U N S
THE PLEASANT VALLEY WAR
AND THE TRAUMA OF VIOLENCE
Eduardo Obregón Pagán
University of Oklahoma Press : Norman
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Name: Pagán, Eduardo Obregón, 1960– author.
Title: Valley of the guns : the Pleasant Valley War, and the trauma of violence /
Eduardo Obregón Pagán.
Description: Norman, OK : University of Oklahoma Press, [2018] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018003951 | ISBN 978-0-8061-6154-9 (hardcover : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Graham-Tewksbury Feud—Psychological aspects. | Graham-
Tewksbury Feud—Economic aspects. | Vendetta—Arizona—History. | Frontier
and pioneer life—Arizona—Pleasant Valley. | Pleasant Valley (Ariz.)—History.
Classification: LCC HV6452.A7 P44 2018 | DDC 979.1/55—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018003951
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the
Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library
Resources, Inc. ∞
Copyright © 2018 by the University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Publishing Division
of the University. Manufactured in the U.S.A.
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this book, write to Permissions, University of Oklahoma Press, 2800 Venture Drive,
Norman, OK 73069, or email [email protected].
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
To dedicated and patient teachers who still guide my understanding:
María Margarita Obregón Pagán
Inez Udall Turley
Nell Irvin Painter

CONTENTS
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Prologue 3
Introduction: At the Crossroads of Fear and Death 5
1. Terror on the Range 14
2. Frontier Entrepreneurs 45
3. Blood of the Covenant 55
4. To Suffer the Arrows of Outrageous Fortune 76
5. Enforcement with Extreme Prejudice 98
6. Rustlers Rousted 126
7. Blind Justice, Masked Justice 136
8. “From Hell’s Heart” 154
9. Burdens of Proof 164
10. The Trials of Ed Tewksbury 173
11. “What Dreams May Come” 183
Notes 205
Bibliography 269
Index 287

ILLUSTRATIONS
Figures
Ed Tewksbury, George Wilson, Charlie Meadows,
Tom Horn, Jim Tewksbury, John Rhodes,
Carter Hazelton, Jim Roberts, and J. D. Houck frontis
John Tewksbury 20
Edwin Tewksbury 21
The Tewksbury cabin 27
Gun ports 27
Johnny Graham 42
Thomas Graham 42
Apache forces 90
Red Holkam [Holcomb], Hampton Blevins, and
John Black Blevins 96
Andy Blevins, aka Andy Cooper 105
Perry Owens 121
Maps
Theft Corridor of the American Southwest before 1870 29
Theft Corridor of the American Southwest after 1870 32
Pleasant Valley War Sites 43
ix