May 9
On this date in 1540, Captain Juan Hernando de Alarcon left Acapulco, Mexico to sail north until he reached the headwaters of the Gulf of California, thus becoming the first white man to explore beyond the mouth of the Colorado River.
On this date in 1869, Camp Hualapai was established as Camp Toll Gate. The camp was established in the Aztec Mountains overlooking Walnut Creek. The name was changed to Camp Hualapai on October 4, 1870. The post was abandoned on July 31, 1873.
On this date in 1884, a powder magazine on the outskirts of Phoenix exploded, shattering windows throughout the town.
On this date in 1922, the last federal troops left Fort Apache just as the first Lutheran mission was dedicated there with the baptism of 100 Apaches.
An early-season wildfire forced people to flee their homes in western Arizona last month.
Efforts to prevent a catastrophic fire season on the other side of the state have officials imposing new restrictions on Friday.
The new fire restrictions apply to the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests. Plus land in Navajo and Apache counties that is owned and managed by the state.
Officials count drought, dry burnable fuel and an increase in human-caused fires among reasons why. They’re acting proactively in northeastern Arizona despite recent moisture.
Officials say conditions in the White Mountains region merit various campfire restrictions and limiting where people can smoke. Fireworks are banned.
True West Magazine
Al Sieber & U.S. Troops vs. Na-ti-o-tish’s Apaches
One of the scouts spots the Apaches waiting in ambush on the north side of the canyon.
July 17, 1882
Apache leader Na-ti-o-tish (center) positions his warriors along a narrow gorge eight miles north of the Mogollon Rim in east central Arizona. They have built rifle pits and stacked rock wings adjacent to large pine trees, awaiting a small troop of soldiers (55 men) who will pass, single file on horseback, directly below them.
Stopping within three-quarters of a mile from the chasm, the first officer on the scene, Capt. Adna Chaffee, sends 30 scouts on foot to the west to get behind the canyon, as a precautionary move. The troopers and the remaining scouts move into a skirmish line along the south rim of the canyon. As they do, one of the Indian scouts discerns the hostiles’ position on the north side of Big Dry Fork. Captain Chaffee orders a feint to the center, then sends out two flanking movements:
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Tucked into coniferous woodlands at the edge of the Mogollon Rim a few miles east of Fossil Springs Wilderness and north of the prominent rock jetty of Milk Ranch Point, numerous drainages spill south percolating through the rim’s vertical walls to contribute to important watersheds that eventually flow into the Verde and Salt rivers.
Among these scoured channels is Corduroy Wash, which cuts shallow ravines in the forested space between State Route 260 and Forest Road 149 in Coconino National Forest.
This quiet drainage area may be explored by walking FR 9385. The road also is part of the General Crook Trail that was built in the 1870s and stretched between Fort Whipple and Fort Apache.