A dry trek across Northern Arizona

On March 27, 1877 the pioneers left the banks of the Colorado River and began the long journey across the desert of Northern Arizona. From the Bushman Diary as quoted by George S. Tanner, "From the river south, the roads were sandy and hard to go along. We had to make considerable roads which delayed us some. Water being so scarce, we divided the company. Came to Walaipi Valley thirty miles long and ten miles wide, but no water. On Monday, April 2nd, came to Hackberry, a little mining camp. on the 3rd came to the old Beal road that was used in 1852. This road will take us past the San Francisco Mountains to the little settlements on the Little Colorado River. On April 13th, the first part of the company arrived at Fort Valley by the San Francisco Mountain. They remained there until April 20th when all the company came. All rested here until the 24th when the started for the Little Colorado."

It is reported by George S. Tanner that several of the Hunt girls left diaries of the trip and from those diaries it seems that the company was divided into three groups; the Bushmans and Manasseh Blackburn company, followed by the Westovers and their company, with the Hunts and Tanners taking up the rear. The description of the trip evidences difficult conditions that created extreme hardship. Here is the Hunt sisters' account as edited by George S. Tanner. The account begins at the Walaipi Valley where they rested their animals due to the availability of water and grass: (Spelling and grammar in the original).

"Here one of Henry's [Henry Martin Tanner] mares died of distemper." At Footoon Spring an ox in Hunt team gave out and had to be left. "There was very little grass here so we did not expect to see him again." On April 7th they came to Young Springs where they noted "a great many Indians but very little water. There being only two little springs, had it not been for a ranch (Peach Springs) three miles off the road on the left, the animals would have suffered greatly for water. We unloaded our light wagon and took the barrels and everything that would hold water up to be filled. Here our old Broad, our trusty near wheel ox, got down on a rockly hill and could not get up so we sold him to the Indians to eat. This left only two oxen in the team and we had to work cows in the place of the dead oxen."

The magnitude of the journey can be sensed by looking at the Google Maps of Peach Springs, Arizona, located just north of U.S. 66 and quite a bit north of the newer Interstate 40. You can still see the old wagon road in the aerial photos.

Source unless otherwise indicated:
Tanner, George S. Henry Martin Tanner, Joseph City, Arizona Pioneer. 1964.


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