A Roll Call of Arizona Cartoonists

A Visit to Fort Huachuca and Sierra Vista

The taste of Fort Huachuca's acorns must be difficult to forget. It has been decades since the Apache Indians inexplicably stopped their regular visits to the post, but someone apparently felt a familiar craving recently and traced it to the acorns from the Huachuca Mountains. Every summer lately, the Apaches have come back to Fort Huachuca without stirring a ripple of (THIS PANEL) Historic, businesslike Fort Huachuca nestles against the Huachuca Mountains. Just beyond the gates lies its relaxed civilian neighbor, Sierra Vista.

the alarm their presence would have triggered a century ago. They are drawn by the promise of acorn soup made from the flavorful nuts of the fort's historic oaks.

The Apache women in their layered squaw dresses freely roam the grounds, sometimes in July, sometimes in August, but always just after the summer rains. When the thunder rolls and the washes run, they know there's been enough turbulence to shake acorns from the trees.

In the past, their visits weren't so peaceful. Back in 1877, when Fort Hua-chuca was established (one of about four dozen Army posts manned in Arizona during the second half of the 19th century), relations between garrison troopers and Apache braves were anything but coop-erative. In fact, the highly skilled Indian guerrillas were a dreaded and effective impediment to American settlement in the Southwest, and Fort Huachuca's mission was to assist in subduing the tribe utterly.

That was 112 years ago. Today, despite the impending transfer of a major head-quarters, the Information Systems Com-mand, Fort Huachuca is one of the nation's principal military installations.

Though the modern-day fort bears little resemblance to the remote outpost that figured in the Apaches' defeat, the physical setting and frontier ambience of the place forge a strong link with the past. Wide green valleys still separate conifer-topped mountain ranges, where one can hike to the 9,466-foot summit of Miller Peak or drive to Montezuma Pass, both in the Huachuca Mountains the Pima word means "it rains here"-and survey terrain inhabited for at least 11,000 years.

The parade of humanity that crossed these miles of austere desert, rolling grasslands, and precipitous slopes has included prehistoric aborigines, early Indian hunters and traders, Spanish explorers, Apache warriors, Christian missionaries, Mexican vaqueros, and Americans: trappers, miners, soldiers, settlers, and horse thieves.

Today the wild characters are gone, but the wildlife remains. In the Huachucas and the sprawling Coronado National Forest, javelinas and white-tailed deer still abound. Desert mule deer, turkeys, black bears, mountain lions, foxes, coyotes, and bobcats also appear from time to time, as well as such invaders from Mexico as the thick-billed parrot, the coatimundi, and the elegant trogon.

Years ago, when my children were younger, we backpacked through the upper regions of the Huachucas and viewed the surrounding landscape through a blue-tinged veil of Emory oaks, (BELOW) Police and other departments share space in the new Sierra Vista City Hall complex. Increased demand for city services dictated the need for larger municipal facilities in Sierra Vista, which has seen 33 annexations and more than 18-fold growth in population since incorporating in 1956.

Mexican piñons, and alligator junipers. When we stared into the distance, it became clear how Sierra Vista, the bur-geoning community just outside the gates of Fort Huachuca, came by its name. The phrase is Spanish for "mountain view," and from the townsite there are mountain ranges in every direction. Some 40 miles to the west and slightly north rise the peaks of the Santa Ritas, tinted rose by early morning or late afternoon light. Just east of them lie the low Mustang Mountains; and eastward, across Rain Valley, the stern Whetstones overlook the San Pedro Valley. North-northeast of Sierra Vista are the Little Dragoons, and beyond, the west face of the rugged Dragoon Mountains. And to the southeast are the Mule Mountains.

This circle of dramatic geography reinforced by fascinating history makes Sierra Vista a prime base for visitors to southeastern Arizona. Within a modest distance of the town are dozens of worth-while destinations. Among them are the newly dedicated San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (Arizona Highways, April 1989) and Bisbee, the Cochise County seat (February 1989).

At the southern foot of the Dragoons lies the old silver mining camp of Tomb-stone, today a tranquil community pre-served as a national historic landmark, whose museums and Western gift shops line plank-covered sidewalks.

On the eastern slope of the Dragoons, three remnants of Arizona's rough-and-tumble mining days doze in the sun: the ghost towns of Gleeson, Courtland, and Pearce. From the late 1800s through the 1930s, gold, silver, lead, and copper were extracted from mines in the area; today little more than a handful of residents and the skeletons of old mining equipment remain. To reach the unpaved road that links the three ghost towns, drive a half-mile southeast of Tombstone on U.S. Route 80, then turn north onto Camino San Rafael. The road to Gleeson begins on the right, 1.1 miles down Camino San Rafael. Gleeson is 14 miles to the east. Turn north about 1 mile past Gleeson to reach Courtland and Pearce. If you continue past Pearce, the road joins U.S. 666 just southwest of Sunsites.

Pearce provides a glimpse of life during the heyday of the Commonwealth Mine. The Pearce Museum, formerly a general store, is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. (admission $1.00). Across the road, the old Pearce post office recently reopened as a museum and gift shop.

There are any number of choice spots

near Sierra Vista and Fort Huachuca where a stranger can begin to orient himself to the region. My own favorite is the Coronado National Memorial, 22 miles due south of town, overlooking the Mexican border. The visitor center includes a wonderfully evocative museum whose paintings depict Francisco Coronado's expedition into what is now the United States in 1540. The Spanish explorer left Mexico City in November, 1539, and marched into present-day Arizona-presumably near this point with an entourage of about 1,500 soldiers and Indians and 1,500 animals. After admiring the museum's paintings, Spanish uniforms, and other 16th century artifacts, visitors may rest in a shady picnic area or walk the trail to Joe's Canyon and Coronado Peak, a 3.5-mile climb to the summit at 6,864 feet. Non-hikers can drive three miles up the challenging, winding gravel road that begins at the visitor center and ends at Montezuma Pass where, from an altitude of 6,645 feet, there's a commanding view of the surrounding landscape. Last time I was at the pass, I thumbed through the guest book and smiled at the comments of Jeanie Adams of Sierra Vista. Visiting here one July day at 6:00 A.M., she wrote, "The conversation is good, the coffee is hot, and the morning is gorgeous!" Montezuma Pass is a platform raised between two enormous valleys, the San Pedro to the east and the San Rafael to the west. The latter is a sea of emerald grassland rolling into the Patagonia Mountains where the solitary ghosts of abandoned silver-mining communities, including Duquesne, Washington Camp, and Mowry, can be found along good Forest Service roads. Travelers of Coronado's time faced heat, thirst, and physical danger as they crossed this region, but today's pilgrims needn't worry about such perils. In traveling Arizona's back roads, it's always advisable to start with a full tank of gasoline and carry a supply of water. But you'll be reassured to find drinking water and rest rooms at the Montezuma Pass viewpoint, and in this vicinity the trappings of civilization are never far off. From Montezuma Pass, you can go back down the mountain the way you came, or you can take my advice and head downhill to the west, into the San Rafael Valley, and follow the road to the cut-off for Parker Canyon Lake (Forest Road 48). The small body of water is a tranquil weekend retreat for fishermen and picnickers. You'll find a tiny snack bar andin the Dragoons are several crumbling ghost towns, shades of the region's mining heyday.

It is the largest employer in southern Arizona.

a boat launch and, a few miles beyond, a campground on a hill overlooking the lake and the surrounding valley.

If you follow State Route 83 northwest from Parker Canyon Lake, then bear north on Forest Road 827, you'll come to the west gate of Fort Huachuca.

What newcomers notice as they pass the small white guardhouse and traverse several miles of scenic high desert is that this doesn't look like a military base, at least in this section. The family residential areas ahead resemble a comfortable rural or suburban community, their streets lined with shade trees and lawns, playgrounds, and picnic areas.

But soon you'll find abundant evidence that Fort Huachuca is a busy part of the workday Army. The post, currently home to the worldwide Information Systems Command, also accommodates the Intelligence Center and School, the Army Electronic Proving Ground, and the Department of Defense Joint Test Element of the Joint Tactical Communications Office. With a work force in excess of 11,600 military and civilian personnel, the post is the largest employer in southern Arizona.

The soldiers stationed here are taught, among other things, methods of enemy interrogation and how to read and inter-pret aerial photographs. Here, too, the military tests electronic equipment that the government may purchase. Once the devices are accepted into the Army inventory, the Intelligence School trains men and women to use much of the specialized materiel in gathering and interpreting intelligence information.

pret aerial photographs. Here, too, the military tests electronic equipment that the government may purchase. Once the devices are accepted into the Army inventory, the Intelligence School trains men and women to use much of the specialized materiel in gathering and interpreting intelligence information.

Most of the military activity is inaccessible to casual visitors, of course. But there's history here, too, and that is accessible.

Not to be missed is the post museum. You'll discover an excellent collection of relics from the 19th century, when cavalrymen such as the famed "buffalo soldiers" spent much of their time patrolling or tracking hostile Indians.

Two of the U.S. Army's outstanding postCivil War regiments were the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry, both comprising black Americans. The respectful term buffalo soldiers was bestowed on the black troopers by their Indian adversaries.

"The 10th Regiment of Cavalry is one of the unique regiments in the annals of U.S. military history," wrote Cornelius C. Smith, Jr., author of a history of Fort Huachuca. "Ordered west from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, soon after its activation in 1866, it began its march into

Continued from page 9 immortality. In Montana it clashed with the famous Ghost Dancers of the Sioux, and in Arizona, its guidons were carried into the steep canyons belonging to Geronimo, Natchez, and the 'Apache Kid.' [Later] the regiment distinguished itself in Cuba... [especially) at San Juan Hill.

Historians are uncertain why the Indians chose the name buffalo soldiers. Some, wrote Smith, have pointed out that "when the American bison was wounded or cornered it fought ferociously, displaying uncommon stamina and courage: identical characteristics of the black trooper in battle."

The historical museum where the story of the buffalo soldiers unfolds (and where, incidentally, you can purchase Smith's history) is adjacent to Brown Parade Field, lined with former barracks and with stately old homes still occupied by military officers.

A short distance away, the post's park-like cemetery beckons. Here are graves of pioneers, settlers, soldiers, and Apache scouts the skilled auxiliaries first recruited by Brig. Gen. George Crook as guides and advisers during the Apache wars. In the early 20th century, the Army was still enlisting Apache scouts; the last died as recently as January, 1988.

Feeling a bit melancholy when I left the cemetery, I went to talk to Randy Wind, head of the fort's户外 recreation programs, who lifted my spirits quickly with talk about lazy afternoons fishing for trout. The public, Wind said, is welcome to fish in the post's dozen ponds, stocked with some 23,000 trout. One of the ponds is set aside exclusively for fly fishing, and a trout stream flows through Garden Canyon. You'll need an Arizona fishing license as well as a post permit, which costs $6. (For more information, telephone 538-8013 or -8014.) If you plan to hike or picnic on the fort's grounds, inquire at the main gate for directions to some of the facilities nestled in Garden and Huachuca canyons. And if you enjoy military ceremony, keep in mind that near the end of every month (except December), a review of troops complete with martial music takes place at Chaffee Field. For the specific date and time, telephone 533-2714.

When you leave the fort by way of the main gate, you're suddenly in the booming community of Sierra Vista. In some ways the town still gives the impression it was born only yesterday. New apartment complexes and single-family homes seem constantly under construction, and city officials and the chamber of commerce energetically promote the community.

People in Tucson, some 70 miles to the northwest, say Sierra Vista reminds them of Tucson a generation or two ago. But unlike Tucson, which gradually grew from a Spanish presidio founded before the American Revolution, Sierra Vista has sprung up rapidly in the last 35 years from a tiny community called Fry, named for Oliver L. S. Fry, its postmaster in 1937.

Numerous small businesses, franchise restaurants, and motels line Fry Boulevard, the main street in Sierra Vista, from end to end. Young families and children are everywhere, lending a vibrancy to the community that sometimes makes the town seem larger than it actually is.

In 1956, when Sierra Vista was incorporated, 1,671 people called it home. Today, after 33 annexations (which included Fort Huachuca in 1971), the population is estimated at 33,000, making this the largest city in Cochise County.

Despite the youngish populace-the last census reported the median age of Sierra Vista residents to be 25-about one-fourth of the residents list themselves as retirees. The explanation lies primarily in the presence of Fort Huachuca. Many of Sierra Vista's retirees are former military personnel who have completed qualifying service but are still in their 40s. Military retirees typically settle near posts or bases in order to have access to medical andother facilities, and many continue in government service as civilian employees. Ironically, the Sierra Vista branch of Cochise College has a larger enrollment than the main campus near Douglas, because many of the retirees as well as post personnel (military and civilian) avail themselves of the courses offered.

other facilities, and many continue in government service as civilian employees. Ironically, the Sierra Vista branch of Cochise College has a larger enrollment than the main campus near Douglas, because many of the retirees as well as post personnel (military and civilian) avail themselves of the courses offered.

In recent years, the city has spread southward along State Route 92 and gradually extended up Carr, Miller, Stump, and Lutz canyons in the Huachuca Mountains. Visitors, by the way, can drive the dirt roads into each of these canyons and take off for day hikes through the cool pine forest.

One canyon in the Huachucas, though, will never be developed, thanks to the late Dr. Nelson Bledsoe and the Arizona Nature Conservancy: 280 acres of Ramsey Canyon, just 10 miles south of the business district, will forever be a wildlife refuge.

This choice canyon property, known worldwide to birders and nature lovers, was left to Bledsoe by William Berner, a German immigrant who settled there in 1882 and died in 1922. From that time on, Dr. Bledsoe made it his summer home. I had a conversation with Bledsoe shortly before his death in 1975 and, in retrospect, it seems odd that he never mentioned Ramsey Canyon. On the other hand, that particular reticence may have been consistent with the special feeling he and his wife had for this natural treasure. It was their cherished retreat. They did not want the world to come to their door, as long as they were living there.

Not surprisingly, once Bledsoe inherited the canyon property he began buying every nearby shack, cabin, and acre that went on the market, each time widening his buffer against encroaching "civilization." In the process, he reestablished a sylvan habitat where birds and mammals could exist in peace.

When he died at 97, Bledsoe left his canyon to the Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit organization that acquires and protects natural properties of special merit, especially those harboring rare or endangered plants and animals. A year later, the conservancy purchased the Mile Hi resort adjacent to the preserve. Mile Hi contains 20 acres and six cabins with housekeeping facilities under a canopy of oaks and sycamores. The small, rustic cabins are heated and equipped with cookware, silverware, dishes, towels, and linen. Birdwatchers and other outdoor enthusiasts need bring only their food, binoculars, and comfortable walking shoes.

Because of limited space, visitors must make parking reservations in advance (a $3 donation is requested from nonmembers). For lodging, you must make reservations at least six months ahead: telephone (602) 378-2785. However, the preserve is so close to Sierra Vista you can stay overnight in town and visit the canyon for a morning walk or a day hike.

Equally accessible from Ramsey Canyon or downtown Sierra Vista is the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, a 56,431-acre Bureau of Land Management preserve mentioned on page 7. A visitor center for this wooded refuge is located on State Route 90 at the river, about eight miles east of town.

In the last 11,000 years, many have passed this way, most to disappear into anonymity. The bones of the animal life that once roamed the riparian area are still being unearthed by paleontologists. But two human links to this region's intriguing past-the modern soldier exploring the electronic frontier and the Apache woman seeking acorns-come as their forebears have for much of the last century, each with a special mission.