Fred G. Hughes
History of Arizona, 1896

Fred G. Hughes was born at Cheltenham, England, March 30, 1837 
and while a child was brought to the United States by his 
parents and passed the earlier part of his life in the city 
of New York, receiving his education in the public schools 
of that city.  At the age of sixteen he left home and struck 
out for the Golden State and upon his arrival there first 
went to mining near old Hangtown. After about a year's stay 
he began prospecting on the Feather, Scott and Klamath Rivers 
and while in the latter country he had his first taste of 
Indian War with the Rogue River Indians.  In 1857 he returned 
south and settled at New York Flat, in Yuba County, mining 
at that place during the summer and winter, and at Rabbit 
Creek, a camp about thirty miles above there during the 
spring.  In January 1860 in the excitement upon the discovery 
of the Comstock he struck camp and went to the new El Dorado 
then known as Washoe.  While in that country je joined the 
noted Ormsby party in their campaign against the Pi Utes.  
This was a party composed of lawyers, business men, young 
clerks, etc. who had gone to Washoe in the excitement and 
who had organized for military operations against Winnemucca 
and his tribe of pi Ute Indians for having killed two 
brothers named Williams on the Carson.  This expedition 
was intended to wipe the Indians off the fact of the earth; 
but out of 103 men composing the party over two thirds were 
left dead along the banks of the Truckee and among them some 
of the most noted men of California.  This affair is 
misnamed the "Washoe massacre."  It was nothing of the 
kind.  The whites were hunting a fight, got it and got 
badly whipped. Mr. Hughes afterward joined Jack Hays, 
the Texas ranger in his campaign against this same tribe, 
wherein they made short work of them and ended the war.  
The outbreak of our civil war found him at New York Flats 
placer mining and a candidate on the Douglas Democratic 
ticket to represent old Yuba in the Legislature. It was 
during that political campaign that Lincoln made his 
first call on California for 1500 men, which was to be 
known as the California Column.  The militia company of 
which Mr. Hughes was a member was accepted as one of the 
companies of the column and he immediately withdrew as a 
candidate for political honors and joined his company to 
go to the front.

It was with the California Column that he came to Arizona 
and after serving with it until the end of the war, he 
determined to make Arizona his future home. His life here 
is known to almost every one. He crossed the Colorado River 
in December 1861.  At that time not a soul, other than 
Indians, resided between Tucson and the Colorado River on 
the west and Tucson and the Rio Grande on the east and 
aside from the almost abandoned overland road which crossed 
the territory from east to West, Arizona was virtually a 
"terra incognita" dominated by the Apache Indians.  The 
few forts in the territory had all been abandoned to the 
Confederates at the outbreak of the rebellion and they in 
turn had abandoned them to the Apaches.  The overland mail 
of Wells, Butterfield and Company had been driven off and 
abandoned to theses same Indians a year before and no 
attempt had been made to re-establish it.  Every tribe in 
Indians of note in both Arizona and New Mexico were on 
the warpath.  The Apache, the Kiowa, Navajo, Cheyenne and 
Comanche all had their scalping knives ready to raise the 
hair of any whites they might encounter.  Tucson at that 
time was a little hamlet in the desert occupied by about 
half a dozen Americans and a few Mexican families and the 
town was surrounded by an adobe wall some six or seven 
feet high to protect its inhabitants from the incursions 
of the Apaches, who as before said, held complete sway over 
the whole Territory.

At this time the Confederate troops of General Sibley held 
possession of the town and the mission of the California 
Column was to drive the Confederates from both Arizona and 
New Mexico and re-establish Uncle Sam's authority therein.

It was a strange condition of affairs which confronted both 
the Union and Confederate troops for while their hands were 
turned against each other the hands of the Apache were turned 
against both.

It did not take long to establish Uncle Sam's authority in 
Arizona and New Mexico.  The column occupied Tucson on the 
20th day of May 1862 and by the 1st day of August of the same 
year every town, hamlet, and fort in both Arizona and New 
Mexico were again under the protection of the U.S. government.

In those days it used to take forty days to get a letter or 
paper from San Francisco.  The battle of Val Verde was fought 
on the 22nd day of February, 1862, a little over three hundred 
miles from where the California Column of which Mr. Hughes 
was a member, was at that time, yet the first news received 
of that battle was upon their entry into Messillo, New Mexico 
about the 1st of August.  There were some Confederate papers 
found which had been left behind, giving an account of the 
battle.

After ridding the country of the Confederates the troops 
were ordered to turn their attention to the Indians.  A 
portion of the column was ordered against the Apaches and 
another portion was ordered up the Rio Grande to operate with 
Kit Carson's regiment against the Navajo. The Navajo at that 
time were considered the most powerful and wealthy tribe in 
the West, but in a few months they were subdued and prisoners 
on the Bosque Redondo reservation in New Mexico.

About this time, a party under an old mountaineer, Joe 
Walker, had discovered some placer gold mines where the 
town of Prescott now stands, and the Federals were ordered 
there for the double purpose of protecting the miners from 
the Indians and also to prevent them from organizing 
Confederate Companies in their rear and it was known that 
all of Capt. Joe Walker's company were in sympathy with the 
Southern cause.

At this time the Government had appointed civil officers to 
come out and form a Territorial government for Arizona.  
These officers were to meet the troops further up the river 
and were to accompany them to the new El Dorado, and there 
establish their headquarters.  The troops left Fort Craig 
October 16, 1863 and proceeded to old Fort Wingate in the 
Navajo country.  The new officials failed to arrive and 
November 17th as the season was growing late, the troops 
decided to move without them.  The expedition was composed 
of about forty wagons, three fourths of which were ox 
teams.  The winter proved to be severe and December 18th 
they had reached the base of the San Francisco Mountains.  
The oxen had been giving out for several days and it had 
become a necessity to either destroy a portion of the 
stores or cache them.  The latter plan was adopted and Mr. 
Hughes was left with a dozen men to guard the cache until 
the expedition could go on to their destination, establish 
their post and return with relief, which occurred about a 
month later. The relief expedition brought with them all 
their mules and the night they arrived the Indians attacked 
the camp and stampeded every hoof of the stock.  The relief 
party were compelled to retrace their steps on foot to Chio 
Valley where they had established the post, and they finally 
brought the ox teams out and relieved the cache guards. Mr. 
Hughes finally reached Fort Clark, the newly established 
post about the 1st of March and from then until the close 
of the war was engaged in scouting and fighting Apaches.

At the close of the war he settled on some land on the Rio 
Grande just above Fort Craig.  The Indians were still very 
bad, and he found ranching under such difficulties anything 
but profitable.  It was while he was living there the settlers 
laid off on his land the town of San Martial and he was duly 
elected the first alcalde of the district.

While serving as alcalde at this place in 1868 the settlers 
had a fight wit the Apaches at a place called Canada Alamosa, 
about twenty five miles below Craig, in which the Indians 
were signally whipped.  A few days after this fight Loco one 
of the Apache chiefs came into San Martial and wanted to make 
peace.  Not having authority to treat with the Indians Mr. 
Hughes arranged to take him down to Fort Craig the next day, 
where he could treat with the commander of the post.  Loco 
had brought with him half a dozen squaws who understood the 
Spanish language which was spoken by a majority of the 
citizens of San Martial who were Mexicans.  As nearly every 
family had lost some of its members by the hands of these 
Indians they began to talk about hanging the party of Loco, 
and the squaws who understood the Spanish language which 
was spoken by a majority of the citizens of San Martial, 
who were Mexicans.  As nearly every family had lost some 
of its members by the hands of these Indians they began 
to talk about hanging the party of Loco, and the squaws 
understanding their talk, became frightened and fled to 
the mountains again.  The next morning Mr. Hughes took 
their trail and followed them into the Magdalena Mountains 
and found some two or three hundred Indians camped there 
under the afterward noted Chief Victoria.  The Indians 
were surprised to see him ride into their camp alone.  
To this act is attributed the reason the Indians ever 
afterward had so much confidence in Mr. Hughes. He had 
no trouble in making arrangements with them to meet him 
on the lains near Craig a few days afterward when he 
took them into the fort and they made a treaty with 
the commanding officer.

From that time the Apache tribes all over New Mexico and 
Arizona began to come in and ask for peace and shortly 
afterward all the tribes except that of Cochise, were on 
their various reservations. It was not until the fall of 
1872 that the whites were able to get that old chief to 
lay down his arms and partake of Uncle Sam's hospitality.

Mr. Hughes is credited with being instrumental in bringing 
about the meeting of Cochise and General Howard which 
resulted in the treaty and setting apart of the Chiracahua 
reservation for them.  Captain Jeffords and Mr. Hughes were 
placed in charge of them as an independent agency.  This 
was done that they should not be hampered with the red 
tape of Territorial officials in their endeavors to keep 
these Indians in peace.

Mr. Hughes remained with these Indians until the winter of 
1876 when becoming tired of civilizing Apaches, he left 
them and went to work at placer mining in the Santa Rita 
Mountains, now known as Greaterville.  While at Greaterivlle 
mining the Chiricahua Indians broke out again and Mr. Hughes 
was called upon by the Government to assist in bringing them 
in and removing them to the San Carlos reservation. Although 
this was one of the most difficult and dangerous undertakings 
of his life, he made a complete success of the undertaking, 
although others who had no more to do with it than the Queen 
of England claimed and got the credit.  Owing to the red 
tape modus operadi at Washington Mr. Hughes became 
disgusted and after the close of the Indian war went to 
mining in the Santa Ritas.  The town of Greaterville is 
the result of one of his discoveries, also the Omega 
Copper Camp.  He has also, in the meantime, held many 
offices of trust, having been elected four terms as a 
member of the Territorial Legislative Council and twice 
as president of that body.

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