Unwritten Arizona History

HERE seems to be a growing interest in Arizona history. Books and articles that throw light upon our past are constantly appearing. As one who has long been a diligent delver in Arizona historical soil, I propose in this article to attempt a survey of the field of unwritten Arizona history, together with a few suggestions to young writers who will soon be taking up the pen to carry on the valuable work of the veteran historians who have passed on, or must soon do so. The extent and richness of the undeveloped historical material in Arizona to which the diligent student and ambitious author may apply his hand is indeed abundant.

In the first place, there is urgent need, before it is altogether too late, that reliable, well-written sketches be written of all Americans who became identified with the life of Arizona previous to the organization of the Territory. The character and deeds of many of these pioneers have been fairly well preserved, but the great majority of them obscure men at best - have been neglected in our annals; and at this late date it will require patient research to resurrect them, and fix the simple facts concerning them.

Nearly all the characters that are now “unwept, unhonored, and unsung” are buried in the abyss of years that lies between December 30, 1853, when the Gadsden Purchase was effected, and December 27, 1863, when the Territorial Government was set up. This decade of Arizona history has been strangely neglected, so far as full and serious research work is concerned. After 1864, we have newspapers, legislative records, and other documents by which to trace the names and deeds of our leading men. Before that date there are few written and almost no printed records. We should not forget that these who came before Territorial days were the very pioneers, and that, as such, their claim to at least an inch of space in our history is distinctive. Not only are their voices stilled in death, but the obscurity of the past in which they are interred is now so deep as to be almost beyond our reach. The duty of rescuing the names of these bold pathfinders should, therefore, have a double appeal to all true lovers of Arizona.

Again, there should be published a history of each Indian tribe that inhabited this State at the time the white man first came. The account of each tribe could be made comparatively short, and it should not be heavy or pedantic. There has been much written about the various tribes - a great deal about some of them - and there is, of course, exact and interesting data available to people who have sufficient leisure and industry to search it out; but the essential facts about each one of the primitive tribes should be put within the reach of the general reader in attractive and readable form.

A Plea for Preservation of a Wealth of Southwestern Lore Which May be Lost

By FRANK C. LOCKWOOD Author of “Pioneer Days in Arizona” University of Arizona Then, there are at least fifty Arizona pioneers who have left their permanent mark, in one way or another, on the life of our commonwealth. Some of these unique and forceful men have been well portrayed in autogiographies or biographical sketches of considerable length, but a good many of them will forever remain “to fortune and to fame unknown” unless some able pen sets itself the task of reviving their memories and depicting their deeds. In Arizona it does seem that “the paths of glory lead but to the grave.” Most of our Territorial governors, even, are mere shadows to the citizen of today. Some of them were able and eminent men who wrought nobly for the advancement of Arizona. Others, to be sure, were mediocre or colorless and did little worthy of commemoration; yet, according to his deeds, each governor who held the destiny of the commonwealth in his hands, even if for only a short time, should have his achievements recorded and his per sonality interpreted.

It is not a simple matter to determine just what men should be given a place in Arizona's Hall of Fame. No jury has been set up to award such distinction. The selection to a great extent must be left to chance, to the inherent power of a particular person to live on into posterity, or to the ardor and skill of some admirer who is capable of creating a living and lasting picture of his subject.

Again, the leading industries of the State have never been traced from their beginnings to the present. Here is a fruitful field for the ambitious young historian. For example, the mining industry in Arizona from Spanish times to the present is an important subject and offers fascinating possibilities. Fact and myth and economic significance all combine to make it worth while for the most intelligent and gifted writer to enter this field of research. The same may be said concerning the history of the range, of the railroads, of merchandizing, and of lumbering. The ranch, the railroad, the saw-mill, the mercantile establishment, so far as they affect Arizona, are closer in point of time than is the story of the mines, so the sources of information are not far to seek; and, in view of the fact that there are men still living who had almost from the beginning a major part in the shaping of these industries that have so vitally affected the social, political, and economic life of Arizona (and that still continue to affect it), it seems desirable that research work in these subjects should be undertaken at once. For example, such men as Albert Steinfeld, Timothy Riordan, E. E. Ellinwood, and Mose Drachman-all still active in the affairs of the state, all men with wide experience, keen intelligence, and strong, retentive memorycan throw much light on the history of our railroading, merchandising, and lumbering industries. These gentlemen are only a few of the many pioneers still living who can contribute from their own experience and recollections material of the first importance concerning the early business life of our state.

The list of worthwhile subjects that awaits thorough historic treatment might be continued almost endlessly. There is much that should be done in connection with the military affairs of the state, and with scientific exploring expeditions into, or through, Arizona two generations ago. For example, no adequate account of the California Column that operated in Arizona during the Civil War has been published. Little is known by the general public about The Arizona Rangers, or The Rough Riders who went from this state. Then, too, there is still plenty to be written(Continued on Page 15)