By the mid-1880s the days of long cattle drives over hundreds of miles to market were past. In southern Arizona, the Southern Pacific Railroad’s main line and reasonable shipping rates made them unnecessary. In 1889, the Southern Pacific Railroad raised shipping fees by 25%! Rancher’s protests were completely ignored by railroad officials. In 1890, Walter and Edward Vail decided to protest by boycotting the railroad and driving their cattle overland following the Southern Trail. It became the last major cattle drive in Arizona and one of the last in the country.
Edward Vail led the drive with Empire Ranch Foreman Tom Turner, cowboys Chappo, Nestor, Francisco, George Lopez, Jose Lopez, Jesus Elias, Rafael, and a Chinese cook called John. John could “drive a four-horse team, brand a calf, or make a fair cow-hand if necessary.” The crew and 917 head of cattle, marked with the Empire Ranch heart brand, headed out on the Southern Trail towards Warner Springs, near San Diego, on January 29, 1890. They watered the cattle and camped at Andrada’s that first night, then headed out across the harsh desert. They sometimes went two days with no water. Edward Vail later wrote, “We drove frequently at night as the days were warm on the desert. We hung a lantern on the tailboard of our wagon and our lead steers would follow it like soldiers.”
Along the trail the cowboys struggled with stampeding cattle, “chollas, a cactus that has more thorns per square inch than anything that grows in Arizona,” rattlesnakes, crossing a rain-swollen Colorado River, used sauerkraut water barrels that made their water taste strange, and an encounter with lawmen pursuing two young wranglers, who had joined the crew along the way. Edward Vail kept a diary during the cattle drive and also wrote a series of articles for the Arizona Daily Star in 1922. They make great reading and can be found online at http://digitalcommons.library.arizona.edu/x/exhibits/empire/diary
The Last Great Arizona Cattle Drive is now part of Vail Preservation Society’s (VPS) Connections outdoor interpretive and public art sites, thanks to the hard work of Brayden Hancock! Congratulations Brayden, your Boy Scout Eagle project connects our community to our heritage and the landscape. It provides a way for people to connect as they walk their neighborhood. Brayden did research at the Arizona Historical Society, worked with multiple organizations, and raised funds and managed work days. Learn more about the Last Great Arizona Cattle Drive at Brayden’s newly completed interpretive site at the intersection of Andrada and Rinconado Roads. This is the fifth Connections interpretive/public art site facilitated by VPS. We want to thank Tucson Electric Power and Arizona’s G & T Cooperatives for working with Brayden on this important project. VPS’s mission is to “Connect Community Through Local History.” We do this in ways that residents of all ages can engage in to inspire their home town’s future while honoring our heritage.
Eagle Scout Brayden Hancock at his newly completed interpretive site. Courtesy Vail Preservation Society
Brayden’s The Last Great Arizona Cattle Drive interpretive panel. Courtesy Vail Preservation Society
