Fred G. Hughes

History of Arizona, 1896

Submitted by Elizabeth Burns

Fred G. Hughes was born at Cheltenham, England, March 30, 1837 and while a child was brought to the United States by his parents and passed the earlier part of his life in the city of New York, receiving his education in the public schools of that city. At the age of sixteen he left home and struck out for the Golden State and upon his arrival there first went to mining near old Hangtown. After about a year's stay he began prospecting on the Feather, Scott and Klamath Rivers and while in the latter country he had his first taste of Indian War with the Rogue River Indians. In 1857 he returned south and settled at New York Flat, in Yuba County, mining at that place during the summer and winter, and at Rabbit Creek, a camp about thirty miles above there during the spring. In January 1860 in the excitement upon the discovery of the Comstock he struck camp and went to the new El Dorado then known as Washoe. While in that country je joined the noted Ormsby party in their campaign against the Pi Utes. This was a party composed of lawyers, business men, young clerks, etc. who had gone to Washoe in the excitement and who had organized for military operations against Winnemucca and his tribe of pi Ute Indians for having killed two brothers named Williams on the Carson. This expedition was intended to wipe the Indians off the fact of the earth; but out of 103 men composing the party over two thirds were left dead along the banks of the Truckee and among them some of the most noted men of California. This affair is misnamed the "Washoe massacre." It was nothing of the kind. The whites were hunting a fight, got it and got badly whipped. Mr. Hughes afterward joined Jack Hays, the Texas ranger in his campaign against this same tribe, wherein they made short work of them and ended the war. The outbreak of our civil war found him at New York Flats placer mining and a candidate on the Douglas Democratic ticket to represent old Yuba in the Legislature. It was during that political campaign that Lincoln made his first call on California for 1500 men, which was to be known as the California Column. The militia company of which Mr. Hughes was a member was accepted as one of the companies of the column and he immediately withdrew as a candidate for political honors and joined his company to go to the front.

It was with the California Column that he came to Arizona and after serving with it until the end of the war, he determined to make Arizona his future home. His life here is known to almost every one. He crossed the Colorado River in December 1861. At that time not a soul, other than Indians, resided between Tucson and the Colorado River on the west and Tucson and the Rio Grande on the east and aside from the almost abandoned overland road which crossed the territory from east to West, Arizona was virtually a "terra incognita" dominated by the Apache Indians. The few forts in the territory had all been abandoned to the Confederates at the outbreak of the rebellion and they in turn had abandoned them to the Apaches. The overland mail of Wells, Butterfield and Company had been driven off and abandoned to theses same Indians a year before and no attempt had been made to re-establish it. Every tribe in Indians of note in both Arizona and New Mexico were on the warpath. The Apache, the Kiowa, Navajo, Cheyenne and Comanche all had their scalping knives ready to raise the hair of any whites they might encounter. Tucson at that time was a little hamlet in the desert occupied by about half a dozen Americans and a few Mexican families and the town was surrounded by an adobe wall some six or seven feet high to protect its inhabitants from the incursions of the Apaches, who as before said, held complete sway over the whole Territory.

At this time the Confederate troops of General Sibley held possession of the town and the mission of the California Column was to drive the Confederates from both Arizona and New Mexico and re-establish Uncle Sam's authority therein.

It was a strange condition of affairs which confronted both the Union and Confederate troops for while their hands were turned against each other the hands of the Apache were turned against both.

It did not take long to establish Uncle Sam's authority in Arizona and New Mexico. The column occupied Tucson on the 20th day of May 1862 and by the 1st day of August of the same year every town, hamlet, and fort in both Arizona and New Mexico were again under the protection of the U.S. government.

In those days it used to take forty days to get a letter or paper from San Francisco. The battle of Val Verde was fought on the 22nd day of February, 1862, a little over three hundred miles from where the California Column of which Mr. Hughes was a member, was at that time, yet the first news received of that battle was upon their entry into Messillo, New Mexico about the 1st of August. There were some Confederate papers found which had been left behind, giving an account of the battle.

After ridding the country of the Confederates the troops were ordered to turn their attention to the Indians. A portion of the column was ordered against the Apaches and another portion was ordered up the Rio Grande to operate with Kit Carson's regiment against the Navajo. The Navajo at that time were considered the most powerful and wealthy tribe in the West, but in a few months they were subdued and prisoners on the Bosque Redondo reservation in New Mexico.

About this time, a party under an old mountaineer, Joe Walker, had discovered some placer gold mines where the town of Prescott now stands, and the Federals were ordered there for the double purpose of protecting the miners from the Indians and also to prevent them from organizing Confederate Companies in their rear and it was known that all of Capt. Joe Walker's company were in sympathy with the Southern cause.

At this time the Government had appointed civil officers to come out and form a Territorial government for Arizona. These officers were to meet the troops further up the river and were to accompany them to the new El Dorado, and there establish their headquarters. The troops left Fort Craig October 16, 1863 and proceeded to old Fort Wingate in the Navajo country. The new officials failed to arrive and November 17th as the season was growing late, the troops decided to move without them. The expedition was composed of about forty wagons, three fourths of which were ox teams. The winter proved to be severe and December 18th they had reached the base of the San Francisco Mountains. The oxen had been giving out for several days and it had become a necessity to either destroy a portion of the stores or cache them. The latter plan was adopted and Mr. Hughes was left with a dozen men to guard the cache until the expedition could go on to their destination, establish their post and return with relief, which occurred about a month later. The relief expedition brought with them all their mules and the night they arrived the Indians attacked the camp and stampeded every hoof of the stock. The relief party were compelled to retrace their steps on foot to Chio Valley where they had established the post, and they finally brought the ox teams out and relieved the cache guards. Mr. Hughes finally reached Fort Clark, the newly established post about the 1st of March and from then until the close of the war was engaged in scouting and fighting Apaches.

At the close of the war he settled on some land on the Rio Grande just above Fort Craig. The Indians were still very bad, and he found ranching under such difficulties anything but profitable. It was while he was living there the settlers laid off on his land the town of San Martial and he was duly elected the first alcalde of the district.

While serving as alcalde at this place in 1868 the settlers had a fight with the Apaches at a place called Canada Alamosa, about twenty five miles below Craig, in which the Indians were signally whipped. A few days after this fight Loco one of the Apache chiefs came into San Martial and wanted to make peace. Not having authority to treat with the Indians Mr. Hughes arranged to take him down to Fort Craig the next day, where he could treat with the commander of the post. Loco had brought with him half a dozen squaws who understood the Spanish language which was spoken by a majority of the citizens of San Martial who were Mexicans. As nearly every family had lost some of its members by the hands of these Indians they began to talk about hanging the party of Loco, and the squaws who understood the Spanish language which was spoken by a majority of the citizens of San Martial, who were Mexicans. As nearly every family had lost some of its members by the hands of these Indians they began to talk about hanging the party of Loco, and the squaws understanding their talk, became frightened and fled to the mountains again. The next morning Mr. Hughes took their trail and followed them into the Magdalena Mountains and found some two or three hundred Indians camped there under the afterward noted Chief Victoria. The Indians were surprised to see him ride into their camp alone. To this act is attributed the reason the Indians ever afterward had so much confidence in Mr. Hughes. He had no trouble in making arrangements with them to meet him on the lains near Craig a few days afterward when he took them into the fort and they made a treaty with the commanding officer.

From that time the Apache tribes all over New Mexico and Arizona began to come in and ask for peace and shortly afterward all the tribes except that of Cochise, were on their various reservations. It was not until the fall of 1872 that the whites were able to get that old chief to lay down his arms and partake of Uncle Sam's hospitality.

Mr. Hughes is credited with being instrumental in bringing about the meeting of Cochise and General Howard which resulted in the treaty and setting apart of the Chiracahua reservation for them. Captain Jeffords and Mr. Hughes were placed in charge of them as an independent agency. This was done that they should not be hampered with the red tape of Territorial officials in their endeavors to keep these Indians in peace.

Mr. Hughes remained with these Indians until the winter of 1876 when becoming tired of civilizing Apaches, he left them and went to work at placer mining in the Santa Rita Mountains, now known as Greaterville. While at Greaterivlle mining the Chiricahua Indians broke out again and Mr. Hughes was called upon by the Government to assist in bringing them in and removing them to the San Carlos reservation. Although this was one of the most difficult and dangerous undertakings of his life, he made a complete success of the undertaking, although others who had no more to do with it than the Queen of England claimed and got the credit. Owing to the red tape modus operadi at Washington Mr. Hughes became disgusted and after the close of the Indian war went to mining in the Santa Ritas. The town of Greaterville is the result of one of his discoveries, also the Omega Copper Camp. He has also, in the meantime, held many offices of trust, having been elected four terms as a member of the Territorial Legislative Council and twice as president of that body.

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