It’s a short hiking day – just twelve miles into Benson – and it turns out to be a short twelve miles, more like ten. Jerry gets the trailer moved while Denny and I hike.

At Benson, we review the notes for the area, and then drive to see a couple locations. One area is a possible ridge line route further north than is generally accepted as the Battalion route. It’s promising, particularly as some of the men say they were “under the mountain” which generally means up close to a mountain.

Late in life, James Williams recorded his Battalion experiences from 49 years earlier. James tells a faith promoting story about an exchange between Levi Hancock and David Pettigrew in which Levi sees LDS settlements covering the San Pedro valley. Sadly, it wasn’t recorded prior to St David being established.

But the interesting point I want to make is that James says that there near the riverside camp were a couple small hills “behind camp” and on which the story takes place. Indeed, there are a couple small hillocks just west of the San Pedro River where the Butterfield Trail from the east intercepts the San Pedro Wagon Road from the south. Could it be that these hills are the ones James Williams is referring to?

We had three choices for church today. We opted for the latest set of meetings that started at 2 PM. It must be saying something about how tired we are after our hiking week. Even at that, it’s hard to keep from dozing off during church – not that the speakers are boring. We are just so tired.

We have a pretty easy evening and some “down time” of talking to family. What a great time to live in. We can communicate at the touch of a button to our loved ones anywhere on the planet. In 1846, the men, women and family members didn’t know the outcome for many months or years in some cases. By the time of the Second World War, my parents were able to get mail within a few weeks or months most of the time and truly urgent information could be telegrammed. My, how times change and for that, I am thankful as we begin this Christmas season.

Everyone has an early reveille – about 6 AM and long before sunrise. It’s a very cool morning with frost. After breakfast, we travel to the trail head at Fairbank, “enlist” the group then head on down the trail. Since we have the presentation at St David School tonight, we have to hurry along, cutting out any real efforts to follow original trail except at a few locations. Bushwhacking just isn’t in the plan today. We do stop and talk about trails, the Battalion’s experiences and some of the mining camp ruins. Dropping into the river bed, we get to cross the San Pedro which shows signs of large floods in the past. Today, it’s a small stream, but a constant flow that brings life to this portion of the Sonoran desert.

Presidio Terrenate is a very pleasant surprise having much more to see than I expected. Though almost completely melted away, there are enough adobe ruins to help visualize the original size. The delightfully surprising aspects are the many interpretive signs posted around the compound complete with sketches and diagrams. Terrenate had an elaborate two story main gate facing the San Pedro. Being high up on the rocky bluff, it would have made for a most impressive sight as wagons, dragoons or persons afoot walked between the cliff and the main gate with only about forty feet between wall and cliff.

Unlike Pecos and other missions, Terrenate’s chapel didn’t get very large. The Apaches never did get too excited about being converted to Christianity, so the padre pretty much just had the Spanish flock to tend. Now that I’m writing this, I wonder if he ever made the attempt to go outside the fortress walls.

Warrant officers from Fort Huachuca (pronounced “Wah-CHEW-ka” and apparently means “thunder mountain”) have placed a simple memorial to the Spanish officers and soldiers who died protecting Terrenate. There were at least four major battles. Three commandants died and at least one hundred men all told. The memorial is all the more touching as these “Americano” officers celebrate and honor their Hispanic counterparts separated by two hundred years plus.

Baptiste Charbonneau reported the ruins to Col Cooke who thought they were the old land grant of San Pedro. It’s unclear whether the Battalion used the old Spanish road as they passed by Terrenate. My impression is that they did not because none of them mention passing so close to the ruins. Perhaps Terrenate is one of the ruins they saw “off to the east” which would place the Battalion trail further west – or maybe they marched through here down in the river bottoms and it’s other ruins they refer to. It’s unclear still and will likely remain so.

At 7 PM, we present to the St David folks. About eighty people supporting restoration of their historic school building come for the show. In the auditorium that’s seen its fair share of Christmas programs, school plays and other events, we get to hook up the computer and show what we’ve been up to. Concentrating on the opportunities for local research, we utilize the Google Earth capabilities and show our “Battle of the Bulls” location interpretation.

The St. David folks have had numerous “experts” over the years tell them all kinds of locations for the Battle, so it’s gratifying that my ideas were well received. Since no one appears to be much in a hurry, we get to ramble on for two hours and then there’s still questions for another 30 minutes before we formally break and pack up for the night.

Val Halford – a reenactor from Salt Lake has joined us for the day. Val hiked with me our first day out of Fort Leavenworth. We plan to examine and hike a section of the San Pedro valley that most believe is the area where the Battle of the Bulls.

But first, we head down to the BLM office to discuss things with staff. Jim Mahoney is a specialist that is going to work with us on our little project. We need help understanding – as much as possible – the old wagon roads the Battalion may have helped define.
We spent the morning with Jim going over the maps, journals and discussing what might be the best options to explore. Jim’s early impression was that they went on the east side of the river, but the journals convince us to explore the west bank. The trail of interest bends around the west side of a couple of hills just north of Charleston.

After we’d gone about a half mile, Jim felt sure that it was old wagon road and had never been worked by mechanical means – no road grader had ever been there. After we went another half mile, Jim had to go back to his truck to meet Denny & Jerry to lead them into the exit point – leaving Val and I to keep hiking.

As we went another half mile, we wound up on a short ridge descending into the river valley. This route had looked good on Google Earth, so that’s what I’d proposed to hike as the “possible route.” Sadly, as we got further on the ridge, it narrowed to just barely wide enough for a car (or a wagon) and on either side, the hill dropped steeply about 70 feet. I remarked to Val that I didn’t think the Battalion had come that way – it was too steep, too narrow and didn’t impress me as something they would have attempted.

We plowed through the thorny mesquite brambly river bottoms, crossed the San Pedro and got to our pickup point just at sundown. Denny, Jerry and Jim met us and we headed home – fairly happy but disappointed that I hadn’t found the trail at this “important” location. The valley has been grazed, mined, farmed, plowed and just about worked to death.

After dinner back at the trailer, I reread the journals for a couple days before the Battle of the Bulls and a couple days after in case I’d missed something. In fact, I’d already read the San Pedro section probably thirty times – but hadn’t remembered a short part of Levi Hancock’s statement the day after the Battle. He said that on the morning of the Battle after leaving camp, they hiked two miles, descended a short, steep ridge into the bottoms – but the detail I REALLY missed was that both sides of the ridge were very steep – so much so that Levi said it was the worst section of trail they’d seen in the past three weeks.

Huh! The ridge has to be steep and short with steeply sloping sides, leading into the bottoms.

I pull out Google Earth and spend a few minutes searching up and down the area to see if there’s any other short ridge with road traces that could be an alternate location, but I don’t find any.

And I notice another detail. We know the hunters are out “in front” of the Battalion looking for food and somehow their actions funnel the bulls into the column of men. There’s a dry wash to the west that could furnish a natural path to concentrate the animals as they make for the river to escape the hunters.

Based on that minor detail, I’ve come to believe I ignorantly nailed the approach they took back to the river bottoms and the beginning of the few miles where they were attacked by the bulls.

When we arrive back at the Trek Headquarters (THQ) we’re joined by a Tucsonian mother/son pair and a Scout troop from Safford Arizona. We have everyone over to fill out their forms and then it’s off to bed because it’s a long day tomorrow.

The Battalion was physically hurting and getting broken down from not enough food, arduous work and probably a good dose of worry. They were marching at a slower pace averaging less than fifteen miles a day through the San Pedro Valley. Since we’re trying to keep close to their schedule, we find we are “ahead” a day – and, needing to help plan future events and camps, we decide to “take a day off.” Washing, shopping, e-mails, repairs and other necessities of “life on the road” consume our day.

It’s dull, I’m sure, to read that prior paragraph, but I include it because it’s a reflection of the real Battalion’s experience. On occasion, they just got broken down to a point where things had to be taken care of – wagons, food, rest. And a good commander knows when to push his troops and when to back off and take time to regroup. Every good manager has these experiences.

After experiencing the past few weeks, I’m more impressed than ever with Cooke’s leadership and stamina. Imagine, on top of the purely physical endurance required of each person, having to make command decisions (frequently without having what you consider adequate information from the pilots), holding conferences with the pilots and officers at all hours, attending to administrative details, interviewing men who might be spies or with whom you want to be allied, helping to cut deals for purchasing stock and supplies, making up military strategies as you go based upon sketchy information, always looking over your shoulder to see if the Mexicans or Apaches are threatening, trying to train your officers to help their men be adequate in attending to their responsibilities, the pressure of not knowing how badly you’re needed in California by the General, hurry, hurry, hurry, and above all, worry - worrying about your command, worrying about your men, their animals, their food stores, their failing condition, worrying about your wife and children back home and finally, staying up until late hours documenting the day in your official journal, confiding your fears to no one else but posterity because you can’t let the men know your inner demons. It had to be herculean. St George truly did have the heart of a Bonaparte.

You may also infer from these comments that the Trek is starting to take its toll on us – and that is true. Denny is much stronger – but then, the women usually are. She keeps going while I’m just about ready to lie down and die. Colonel Cooke stopped early and let the men recuperate after the Battle of the Bulls – and tomorrow we will be passing that area.

We get a nice dinner cooked and retire at a reasonable hour for once. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Heading north from the San Pedro house along the river trail, Denny gets “lost” when the trail runs out. We had been told the San Pedro Trail was continuous north from Hereford to near St. David, but that’s not the case. Apparently there are a couple of places the trail breaks and coming into Charleston is one. Caught without a proper map (there apparently isn’t one available locally), Denny does the smart thing and hikes to the main road. Of course, our cell phones don’t work down here in the valley so I have a few anxious moments trying to find my wife. But it all ends well.

Charleston was a mining mill town established much later than “our” Battalion time period. It was a pretty rowdy place and had nearly 10,000 inhabitants in its heyday. Only a few ruins remain – no homes at all. The main road to Tombstone passes by the base of the hill where Charleston existed.

Across the bridge and on the east side of the river is a parking lot. In the lot is one of the large concrete Battalion memorial makers put up in the 1960’s by area Scouts. We’re told that these were planned as Eagle projects, but that the necessary paperwork wasn’t completed correctly, so the monument projects weren’t accepted for the boys Eagles. Ouch!

Along our route, we’ve seen many historic site markers that have been defaced or abused. Some have been stolen. While the San Pedro Battalion markers haven’t been immune to damage, they have held up remarkably well. Besides, they’re too large and heavy to make off with.

My section of the river to hike had been farmed extensively before being converted back to a wildlife conservation area. In addition to that disruption, the San Pedro River experienced some significant floods during the past 160 years. My impression is that most of the trail in this section has been obliterated. There may be some short remnants along the edge of the bluffs, but there don’t seem to be long, easily discerned sections. We’re anxious to get the old maps digitized and reevaluate where we might still find original trail.

At our Sunday presentation, reporters from “The Herald” newpaper of Sierra Vista Arizona interviewed us an photographed me. See the article at:

http://www.svherald.com/articles/2008/12/01/news/doc4933835e1be91131439347.txt

And, e-mail it to a friend if you think it appropriate.

Regards -
Kevin (aka - Ebenezer Brown)

We have arrived at the San Pedro River valley.

This morning we followed along the valley the Battalion traveled westward, looking for water. The site they camped at near present day Naco was a dry camp; no water. Today the wash had some water, but not much. It would have been sufficient for the Battalion’s needs but 1846 had been dry. The rain and snow that fell on December 5th wasn’t enough to make a difference for them. The men were getting worn down. The reduced rations, poor water, improper medical care, caring for the animals, road building, camp work, road building, night-time guard duty and the constant unrelenting hiking was taking its toll on their bodies and their mental stamina.

Remarkably, when reading the journals one doesn’t get much sense of complaining, and Colonel Cooke NEVER mentions the men complaining – EVER. What that says about the Battalion is perhaps one of its greatest tributes.

This section of our hike is well known for one major reason – the Battle of the Bulls, But more importantly, here, in the San Pedro valley, they had lots of good water, better food supplies for both men and draft animals and the result was that they were strengthened at a critical time – for the hard stretch to Tucson and then to the Gila River. Without the San Pedro valley’s abundance, some may not have made it.

A couple of stories about today:

First – after crossing the river, we proceeded up Palominas Road. School had just let out and busses were traveling the road. Denny was hiking behind me. A bus had stopped in front of me and a car behind it. A second car barreled past me and I thought, “Uh-oh! Too fast.” Sure enough, there was a pretty good collision. The bags deployed and people started piling out of the cars. Bus was safe

Long story short – no major injuries; a scalp cut from a hair barrette pushed by the air bag was the worst; some banged knees and a stiff neck. Could have been much worse. Denny and I got to apply our Wilderness First Aid training.

The cause? Mom in the second car took her eyes off the road to look at us in our period clothes. So, Denny and I were the proximal cause of the accident. We kind of feel bad about that.

Second –

When we arrive at the BLM San Pedro House, the staff is kind and does their best to provide a hiking trail map for the valley. We need to know where we can hike and where we shouldn’t. Lo and behold! On the wall in a back room are two original maps from 1900 and 1902 that show about half the valley from Hereford to St David. Early roads are depicted and we’re talking just 50 years after the Battalion passes and just a couple decades after settlers start arriving. Roads, ranches, mines and other historic locations are there – things I’ve been looking for the past couple years – right there and all pretty just waiting to be seen. Yippee!

This is yet another example of the importance of GOING where the history is and finding original records. Putting it all together helps it all make more sense. We are excited about sharing these things with folks after the Trek. Stay tuned.

<NOTE: BTW, while preparing tonight’s entry I noticed I’m still stuck adding “NM” after our locations. Two solid months in one state really gets you in a habit. We are actually in Arizona now and will be until about January 10.>

Denny’s got us up and out the door at sunrise today. She wants to knock out the hiking early so we have enough time preparing to move tomorrow. We have a fairly easy day – just 14 miles and along existing roads for the entire distance. Denny hikes almost the entire distance while I work on arranging campsites through Yuma.

The road today winds along the edge of the hills and near the border fence. Coming into the small town of Naco, we start diverging from the border and traveling more northwesterly. A large mountain blocks the way west. A pass lies to the northwest. The San Pedro River is not far away.

At the end of the day, we try once more to locate Elisha Smith’s grave. Jerry drives while Denny and I scan the streambed and the hillsides. Finally! We spot a stark white “thing” in the late afternoon sunlight. Putting the binoculars on it, the “thing” seems to match the photo we have of Smith’s grave. It’s just a little further east than Mike Bilbo and I searched on Thursday, but the afternoon sun makes it stand out brightly today. Don’t know how we missed it last week.

Jerry drives us around to the road that borders the US/Mexico boundary. We turn east and just as the sun slips behind the mountain, we drive up to the marker. It sits on the south side of the streambed, halfway up a hillside to the border fence.
In my opinion, we should probably call this site the Elisha Smith memorial because it may not be the actual gravesite. Levi Hancock sketched the location and described the gravesite thusly:

“…his grave is in the road four rods from the creek north side east and west and on a strate [sic – straight] line with two hills one lying on the north one south marked one and two these are all the hills seen from the camp.”

Based upon these sketches and the gravesite description, the grave marker placed back in the 1960’s does not appear to match the conditions Hancock records. We note that Hancock has been very reliable in his descriptions and his sketches, while rudimentary, are fairly accurate.

We head back to camp for dinner. I make “Shrimp Fra Diavolo” in honor of our son Brian who passes the half-way mark of his mission in MONGOLIA this week. Congratulations Elder Brian. This dish is one of Brian’s favorites and we love it too. Our good friends, Adrian and Liana introduced us to it some years ago but it’s modified from the traditional recipe. You can look up the regular recipe online if you want. Here’s our version. Yum.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo -
Boil thin spaghetti noodles for 4 servings.
In a separate skillet heat –
½ to one cup olive oil
3 diced green onions, some parsley and/or chives
1 – 3 Tsp minced garlic
Add precooked, deveined and thawed shrimp – one pound bag
Cook the shrimp for about 3 minutes, stirring a couple times
Paprika – about 1 Tsp
Red pepper – less than 1 tsp (sometimes we go without any pepper)
Salt and pepper to taste.
Drain the noodles and divide
Top noodles with the shrimp and sauce.

We prefer to serve in a bowl.

As you can tell, we have modified the original recipe quite a bit. Online you can see quite a few variations as well. We kicked off the tomatoes in favor of the paprika. We also go very light on the red peppers. Enjoy!

Tomorrow, we reach the San Pedro. Stay tuned. It will be better than Monday Night Football, I promise.

At the request of a descendant, we attended church at Bisbee Arizona today and after church, we high-tailed it back to Paul Spur so I could give a second presentation for the RV park residents. Surprise! Someone (not us!) had called the newspaper in Sierra Vista and they sent a reporter and photographer. Article tomorrow they say.

We had a dozen folks show. There was even a couple that read about it in the Douglas newspaper and came out just to hear us.
This time, we got the TV and computer to hook up and I was able to show our Google Earth material. It’s an “in progress” software to show their route, photos and historic maps that pertain to the area. Really cool stuff.

In this case, since I’d given the background on the Battalion previously, I concentrated on the Cochise County aspects – getting into the area through Guadalupe Canyon, the route along the US/Mexican border, Agua Prieta and Elisha Smith’s death. His grave is just a couple miles south of this RV park.

After the presentation, the RV park folks have their weekly pot-luck dinner to which we’re invited. We took a fresh fruit salad that Denny cut up. Lots of good food.

Did the Battalion guys swap foods around? Were there favorite cooks? Did they have just one guy do most of the cooking for the mess? How did they parcel out the camp chores? Getting water, wood, cooking, putting up the tent? We have some hints, but not nearly enough details.