Henry Clay Hooker

Ref: Arizona Pageant - A Short History of the 48th State, by Madeline Ferrin Pare with the Collaboration of Bert M. Fireman. Arizona Historical Foundation Tempe, 1875, pages 184-185.

Transcribed by Wilola Follette

One of the first ranchers to recognize the market opportunity in Arizona was Henry Clay Hooker, a Yankee down-on-his-luck in California. He was a man with considerable enterprise. He bought 500 turkeys at $1.50 a bird, and with the help of several dogs and a hired man set out over the Sierras for the Nevada mining camps. Not far from his goal he came to a steep precipice and the birds stampeded, not down the cliff but into the air. Hooker was sure he had lost his fortune, but in the valley below, his flock was waiting. He drove the birds to Carson City, Nevada, and there got $5.00 each for them. This was the capital with and which he founded his Arizona fortune in cattle. Hooker saw an opportunity in supplying beef to the army posts and Indian agencies in Arizona. From 1867 to 1870 he had beef contracts with Uncle Sam in eastern Arizona.

In 1872 Hooker set up a homestead in Sulphur Spring Valley in southeastern Arizona, and he built his Sierra Bonita Ranch there. He was in a region of government land and eventually controlled a range of over 800 square miles, the largest ranch in Arizona. It was well watered and at an altitude of 4,000 feet. Besides the owner's home there were a half-dozen outlying ranches, each with buildings and corral.

One day, near the Cochise Stronghold, many Indians closed in on the cattleman's buckboard and he decided to head into Cochise's camp in order to show he felt no alarm. There he was given hospitality, and Cochise assured him that his Chiricahuas had many chances to kill Hooker but had left him unharmed because he brought cattle into the country. Naturally, Cochise did not want to have this operation cease. Later on, as a token of friendship, Cochise gave Hooker a red blanket which the ranchman cherished all his life.

When Hooker first started, he had to sell any kind of stock he could get, but he decided to work for an improved animal, and settled upon Herefords as a breed. He bought expensive bulls and blooded cows. Soon his ranges were roamed by herds 90 per cent white-faced. Hooker saw the value in improving the quality and reducing the size of his herds. At the Sierra Bonita, nothing was left to chance. There was even a dairy herd to supply the ranch with butter and milk. A garden produced all kinds of vegetables. Poultry houses were installed. With 500 brood mares and six purebred stallions, the Sierra Bonita produced magnificent horses, famous for speed, beauty and temperament.

In the 1880's H. C. Hooker's huge ranch in the Sulphur Spring Valley was raising prize horses and cattle.

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