The Arizona team, or, going to see the elephant, 1885 May 16.

  1. Resources
  2. View Resource

ArchivalResource

The Arizona team, or, going to see the elephant, 1885 May 16.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/79373340

Manuscript memoirs in ink, corrected and annotated (on verso) in pencil, relating an 1879 overland journey by A. G. Williams from the town of Louisiana, Missouri, to Tucson, Arizona. Describes the formulation of the expedition's traveling plans, names the four original party members, tells of the purchase of mules and a wagon in St. Louis and the group's preparations and final departure from the town of Louisiana on May 19, 1879. Williams's narrative traces an overland journey from Missouri through Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico, arriving in Tucson on September 29, after accompanying a surveying party for the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad during the last portion of their trip. The narrative traces the changing make-up of the emigrant party, several attempts by the party's mule team to escape, and observations about the various towns and regions passed through, including Kansas City, Dodge City, Raton Pass, Las Vegas (N.M.), the Rio Grande Valley, and the Apache Pass leading into Tucson. Documents the expedition's first encounter with Mexicans; their interactions with various farm families during their journey, including Kansas families returning East due to grasshopper infestations; and rumors of raids by Victorio, an Apache chief, in New Mexico. Upon arrival in Tucson, Williams sold his outfit and took a position with the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad surveying party. Inscription on unbound leaf, dated May 16, 1885, Pinal, Ariz., dedicates the account to J. B. Coudron and J. H. Brown, two men who accompanied Williams from Louisiana to Arizona. An annotation on title page, also dated May 16, 1885, Pinal, Ariz., and signed by A. G. Williams, states Williams's intention to revise the memoirs at a future date.

1 v. (77 p.); 27 x 21 cm.

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 8227153

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Related Entities

There are 5 Entities related to this resource.

Brown, J. Henry (Joseph Henry), 1837-1898

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62b93h8 (person)

Joseph Henry Brown, pioneer and historian of Salem, Oregon, was born near Wilmington, Will County, Illinois, in 1837, and came overland to Oregon with his parents in 1847. He served as an apprentice with the Oregon Statesman in Salem in the late 1850s, went to California in 1858, and after various enterprises in The Dalles and elsewhere returned to the printing trade in Salem. He joined the First Oregon Cavalry in 1861 and saw service fighting Indians in eastern Oregon. He served as a clerk in t...

Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66x32s8 (corporateBody)

U.S. railroad, primarily in the Midwest and West; headquarters: Chicago, Ill. Name changed from Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad to Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway after bankruptcy reorganization in 1895. From the description of Santa Fé train robberies, 1890-1895. (Kansas State Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 228418621 The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company (AT&SF) was founded by Cyrus K. Holiday in Kansas in 1859. By 1888 the railroad s...

Prys Williams, A. G.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6c25fsh (person)

Coudron, J. B.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w67p9k0b (person)

Victorio, Apache Chief, -1881

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w60c53b7 (person)