|
 Prior
to roads and horse drawn carriages the only means of
travel between Superstition Mountain and the
surrounding towns was by horseback or afoot. Since
those long forgotten days, little has changed within
the boundaries of the Superstition Wilderness Area.
Today one still must travel by foot or on horseback.
The Department of Agriculture, in 1939, set aside
approximately 124,040 acres of land within the Tonto
National Forest to ensure the preservation of a
particular way of life and the natural wonders of
the Sonoran Desert. Today a continuous flow of
hikers and horseback riders travel these ancient
Indian and early cattle trails of the Superstition
Wilderness Area.
Since the first settlers arrived in this area it has
been known as the most hostile and rugged cattle
range in the American Southwest. The first cattlemen
fought Indians, drought, heat, famine, disease, and
winter storms to graze their cattle in the deep
canyons and towering ridges of the Superstition
Wilderness. A very rugged breed of cowman evolved
from this hostile environment.
These cattle drovers first arrived from New Mexico
and Texas shortly after the discovery of rich mining
properties in the central mountains of Arizona
Territory. Copper and silver were first discovered
around Globe just after the American Civil War. The
first cattle herds arrived around 1870-1871. The
small valley flats between the towering ridges and
cliffs of the Superstition Wilderness served as
grazing range for these Texas cattle brought in by
drovers. The discovery of the Silver King Mine in
1875 opened the region to cattle raising because of
the tremendous demand for beef on the hoof.
 The
sharp spines of desert flora, the summer heat, the
long droughts and the winter cold was nothing new
for these early cowmen. Many of the cattlemen came
to reap the profits associated with providing beef
for these early mining camps that dotted the
landscape of central Arizona. The miners purchased
tons of beef, making cattle raising a very lucrative
industry in the area. The somewhat mild climate,
good grazing and the market convinced many of the
cattlemen to stay on permanently. As the mining
industry grew so did the cattle business. The cowboy
was soon a common sight in the isolated canyons of
the Superstition Mountain region.
Hardships reflected life on these early cattle
spreads. There were no permanent shelters or medical
facilities. If a cowboy broke an arm or leg, his
only doctor was his partner or himself. If he picked
up a stray bullet he prayed that he could make it
back to headquarters before infection set in.
Infection was the greatest enemy of man and beast in
those days. Survival was for the strongest because
the weak often perished.
The early cowboy’s diet consisted of jerked beef,
pinto beans, chili and hardtack. His revolver or
rifle was his constant companion. Either weapon was
used against his many enemies.
A cowboy’s horse was his means of survival. A solid
and sound horse meant the difference between life
and death in the wilds of the Superstition
Mountains. The care of his horse was the most
important chore of his daily routine. Most cowboys
had a string of eight or ten horses and rotated
between them when working cattle. Providing care for
these animals required a considerable amount of
effort and time. There was always an animal to
doctor, shoe, or train. A cowboy’s work was truly
from sun till sun and it was never done. There were
always fences to mend, water holes to repair,
windmills to work on, stock to check, tact to care
for and every other job associated with cattle
ranching.
The advent of barbwire changed the early cowboy’s
way of life. Barbwire forever ended an open and free
range. It also ended the mighty cattle trail drives.
The colorful and romantic life of the cowboy so
often portrayed by western writers was more fantasy
than reality.
A herd of cows, calves and a couple of bulls would
be cared for by one cowboy. Most of these herds
numbered between a hundred and three hundred head.
Each spring and fall a rodeo (roundup) was conducted
to gather the cattle from the open range. The
purpose of the roundup was to brand, castrate and
doctor calves. Yearling steers were generally
separated from the herd and driven to the nearest
point of need. A typical roundup area consisted of
temporary catch pens, but most often it was open
ground work without the benefit of a corral. Open
ground work consisted of roping a wild range calf,
taking it away from its wild mother, and throwing it
to the ground without the benefit of a corral or
catch pen to keep the irate mother cow at bay.
The cattle drovers and cattle barons of the
Superstition Mountain area have long since
disappeared. The great herds that once grazed the
region under the brand of the Clemens Cattle Company
and others have also since vanished.
At the peak of the Clemans operation more than
12,000 head of cattle grazed the eastern fringe of
the wilderness. These huge herds overgrazed and
destroyed much of the range. Through the use of
careful range management techniques much of the old
range is returning to its original state.
There are many controversies associated with grazing
and non-grazing within the wilderness. Some range
managers believe grazing helps to reduce wildfires;
while others believed without wildfires the soil
becomes infertile.
Life was not easy on the open range, but it did have
its rewards. Those old range riders may not have
frequented churches very often, but they were close
to their God and the work of his mighty hand.
A cowboy’s sense of freedom and free spirit was
unequaled anywhere else in the country. Cowboys rode
through life uninterrupted by its’ complexities.
Cowboys generally didn’t lay awake at night
listening to sirens, bells and the noise of modern
traffic. Their nights were filled with silence
occasionally interrupted by the lonesome call of a
coyote or a hooting owl.
The cowboy recognized the value of sitting astride
his horse and traveling with the wind in his face.
Hollywood has immortalized the free spirit of the
American cowboy, therefore helping preserve the
ideals of our freedom. These old time cowboys and
their horses were true icons of American freedom and
they definitely have a place in the history of the
Superstition Wilderness Area and the American
Southwest.
The large cattle ranches of the Superstition
Wilderness have long since vanished from the Arizona
scene. Conservation methods did not destroy them.
The high cost of operation, limited grazing and
strict controls on public grazing lands have reduced
the productivity of these once large cattle empires.
Feeder pens are slowly replacing the range beef of
the past.
Today only a few isolated ranches survive, symbolic
of a time forgotten by many. These cattlemen and
cowboys are certainly a part of the history of the
Superstition Wilderness and our American heritage. |
