The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 36, July 1932 - April, 1933 Page: 177
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Frontier Life in Southern Arizona, 1858-1861
though he had killed a dozen men, he had never killed one save
in behalf of some friend's quarrel. Colonel Johnson, an officer
in the filibuster expedition of William Walker against Nicaragua,
was spending his latter days gambling and drinking in Tucson.
Gandera, the exiled governor of Sonora, had found an asylum in
this border town. The unambitious brother of Kit Carson, Mike,
had also located here. Other notables whom Cozzens does not
mention were Pete Kitchen, Solomon Warner, and "Pie" Alleyn,
who started his fortune by selling pies to the soldiers at a dollar
a pie.15 On a ranch near Tucson resided the Virginian, Colonel
Douglas, who, surrounded by his bloodhounds and mastiffs, lived
unafraid of the Apaches. Most of the Americans in the Gadsden
Purchase came either from California or the southern states.16
It was not strange, therefore, that duelling was a prominent
feature of the social life in this region. In 1859 a duel occurred
at Mesilla between Honorable M. A. Otero and Judge Watts, in
which three shots were exchanged with Colt revolvers at a dis-
tance of fifteen paces. "After the second shot," reported the
Arizonian, "Mr. Otero lighted his cigarito and enjoyed his smoke,
while Judge Watts amused himself by whistling."'7 In the same
year Sylvester Mowry challenged Edward Cross, the editor of
the Arizonian, to a duel because of some aspersions made on his
character. Burnside rifles were used at a distance of forty paces.
Not until four shots were exchanged did the duel end, Mowry
firing the last shot into the air. Editor Cross apologized for the
poor marksmanship displayed by stating that a high wind amount-
ing almost to a gale was blowing.'"
Violence and reckless disregard of human life flourished in the
country below the Gila River at this period. Raphael Pumpelly,
manager of the Santa Rita Mine in 1861, wrote that the popula-
tion of Arizona, with the exception of a few American mine own-
ers and ranchmen, was made up of outlaws, comprising escaped
convicts from Australia, refugees from the San Francisco Vigi-
lance Committee, and Mexican outlaws from Sonora.19 He cited
a choice example of villainy in the person of Rogers, an escaped
"Lockwood, Tucson--The Old Pueblo, 35.
"Pumpelly, Across America and Asia, 29.
1"The Weekly Arizonian, September 15, 1859.
'Weekly Arizonian, July 14, 1859.
"Pumpelly, Remin'iscences, I, 200.177
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 36, July 1932 - April, 1933, periodical, 1933; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101093/m1/197/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.