CHIRICAHUA A Pioneer Log Cabin in Bonita Canyon The History of the Stafford Cabin

G. LAST YEARS OF THE STAFFORD FAMILY AT BONITA CANYON

Ja Hu Stafford reached the age of sixty-six at the turn of the century. Tax and voter records of Cochise County indicate some gaps in Stafford's activities after that; for instance, he did not register to vote in either 1906 or 1908, after years of faithful registration. In 1910, because of failing health, Stafford gave his daughter Clara control of the ranch. The older girls had left home by then and Stafford's only son, Tom, went to Illinois for a year in 1911 to work in a cousin's apple orchard, and again in 1914.⁵²

---

⁵²From voter records at Cochise County Courthouse, tax records at Arizona State Archives, and Stafford family notes. Pansy Stafford married Francis R. Bree and died in childbirth at midnight on January 26, 1913 in Dos Cabezas; Anna Mae married Thomas Jefferson Riggs and died in 1963; Ruby married Jess Amalong and died in 1979; Tom married Nora Swanner and died in 1966. Descendants of these unions reside in Arizona and other parts of the country.

---

Figure 9 — Ja Hu Stafford and daughter Clara, circa 1911. "L" addition behind Ja Hu, lean-to behind Clara. (CHIR 1550)

Figure 10 — Bonita Canyon group including Anna Mae Stafford, who married T. J. Riggs in the Stafford cabin in 1903 (sitting at right); Pansy Stafford, who married Frank R. Bree in 1903 (on ground) and Lillian Erickson and Ed Riggs' (bench, left), circa 1902. (WACC 86:16:0321)

Clara Stafford, youngest daughter of Ja Hu and Pauline, had been attending Tempe Normal School, but she gave up her education in 1910 and returned to Bonita Canyon to help her aged father. A few years earlier, at age 15, she had registered brands for cattle and horses in her name. Her brand, a four over a seven ( ) in addition to earmarks, became the Stafford ranch brand. The Stafford livestock grazed in the canyon, on public range in the Sulphur Spring Valley and, as they had since about 1894, in the lands above the ranch in the Chiricahua National Forest. Their neighbor, Neil Erickson, acted as forest ranger for the west district of the Chiricahua National Forest, this district containing the area adjacent to and including much of Bonita Canyon; the ranger station stood just over the fence from the Staffords' orchard.⁵³

---

⁵³Stafford Papers; Livestock Sanitary Board, Brand Book 3, page 1333, Arizona State Archives; correspondence and clippings in Faraway Ranch Papers.

---

In early March, 1911, Forest Supervisor Arthur H. Zachau wrote to Erickson from headquarters in Portal, Arizona:

In looking over the grazing applications received from you I find that none is included for Mr. Stafford's stock. In view of the fact that cattle owned by him or members of his family has been using range jointly with yours, I do not quite understand why he should not also apply for a permit.

Mr. Campbell brought the matter to my attention some years ago; but since Mr. Stafford is running his stock under your very eyes I assumed that if any of his cattle were on the Forest you would see to it that he took out a permit . . . .⁵⁴

---

⁵⁴Forest Supervisor to Neil Erickson, March 2, 1911, Faraway Ranch Papers, Series 8, Box 21.

---

Within two weeks Clara submitted an application for a grazing permit for ten head of cattle and five horses, for the period of March 16, 1911 to March 15, 1912, in the area of Bonita Canyon, Newton Creek, and head of Picket Canyon to the north of the Stafford homestead. She declared that the Staffords had two acres of improved farm land on the "home ranch" and 150 acres of summer and winter grazing land, and owned a total of sixteen head of cattle and eight horses, ranged during the winter "on my homestead and Forest lands adjacent thereto and on public range in Sulphur Spring Valley." She also declared that the Staffords had regularly used range in the Chiricahua National Forest during the past nineteen years, although not last season. In June, 1911, Clara paid a grazing fee of $5.50 for 24 head of livestock that "will be grazed on the range located 5/8 within the National Forest." Clara had Picket and Little Picket Canyons fenced with wire strand stapled to trees in early 1913 to accommodate provisions of the permit.⁵⁵

---

⁵⁵Faraway Ranch Papers, Series 8, Box 21.

---

Figure 11 — Clara and Ja Hu Stafford, circa 1913. Tom Kely Collection.

The number of Clara's livestock fluctuated over the next few years, according to her lease records. Her herd increased to 30 head of cattle and 10 horses in 1912, then up to 35 cattle by 1915; the improved land at the farm increased in acreage from two acres in 1911 to three acres in 1912, up to ten acres in 1915. By this time Tom Stafford had returned to the ranch with his new wife Nora, and may have been responsible for the sudden growth of the farm and ranch; Tom took responsibility for the permit applications, although they were still held in Clara's name. Nora Stafford later recalled the large orchard at the homestead, with pears, plums, peaches and "the best apples you ever ate in your life." Tom and Nora Stafford lived in the log cabin for almost a year and a half, from the time of Clara's marriage in August of 1914, until moving to their own homestead near Pearce, Arizona, at the first of the year, 1916.⁵⁶

---

⁵⁶Grazing records in Faraway Ranch Papers, Series 8, Box 21; oral history of Nora Swanner Stafford.

---

Meanwhile, Ja Hu Stafford died at age 79 on Friday, November 14, 1913, apparently of natural causes. The obituary in the valley's newspaper referred to Stafford as "a well known pioneer of the Chiricahuas." The family buried Stafford in the community cemetery near the mouth of Bonita Canyon, next to his wife, Pauline.⁵⁷

---

⁵⁷Arizona Range News, November 21, 1913. There remains confusion over Stafford's age.

---

Clara, who had married Wilber B. Wheeler, the Methodist minister who had presided at her father's funeral, acted as executrix of the estate. The Wheelers lived in Cochise, Duncan and Cashion, Arizona after their marriage on August 5, 1914. Except for five dollars left to Stafford's three grandchildren from his previous marriage, the estate went to Clara, who had taken care of her father in his old age. The inheritance consisted of $165 in cash, $826 in personal property, and real estate (the homestead) valued at $1,144,00.⁵⁸

---

⁵⁸Probate closed February 3, 1915. Probate Orders, Book 3, pp. 10-11, Cochise County Recorders Office; notes in Stafford Family Collection.

---

Figure 12 — Ja Hu Stafford in old age. Rose Bree Collection

Supposedly because of a dry winter and poor grazing conditions, Clara Stafford Wheeler sold about half of her cattle in October of 1915 to George Henshaw of Cochise, then filed a waiver of grazing privileges. Wilber Wheeler apparently had a dispute with the Forest Supervisor about whether his wife should pay grazing fees since the cows had been sold. This blew up into charges and counter-charges in letters between Wheeler and Supervisor Arthur Zachau that drew neighbor Ranger Neil Erickson into the fray.⁵⁹

---

⁵⁹The grazing and land dispute is documented in letters, although unfortunately Mr. Wheeler's original letter of complaint is not available. Acting District Supervisor Kavanagh to Forest Supervisor Zachau, January 20, 1916; Zachau to West District Ranger Erickson, January 25, 1916; Zachau to Kavanagh, January 25, 1916; Erickson to Zachau, February 7[?], 1916; Faraway Ranch Papers, Series 8, Box 51.

---

In a letter to the District Forester in Albuquerque, Zachau outlined Wheeler's complaints:

Mr. Wheeler's letter is not very clear in as much as he does not state what he really wants except that he asks for proper protection for his wife's grass and water supply. His specific charges which you wish answered, as near as I can determine, are as follows:

1. That the lessee of his wife's ranch, without her permission, made use of her grazing privileges.

2. That last year the lessee could not run the stock on the range it occupied heretofore because the range was over stocked.

3. That further grazing privileges are not desired because the running of stock in that vicinity will not only damage the Forest but himself and his wife as well as for the reason that the overstocking has been so serious as to impair the water supply.

4. That Ranger Erickson is anxious to obtain the grazing privileges and ranch property of his wife and is willing to see the range and water supply destroyed to make her sell out.⁶⁰

---

⁶⁰Zachau to District Forester, January 25, 1916.

---

Both Zachau and Erickson countered the charges in separate letters. Zachau noted that the "lessee" was Clara's brother Tom, to whom she had turned over the ranch after her marriage to Wheeler, and that Tom "was in complete charge of the place and was recognized by Ranger Erickson and myself [Zachau] as her representative so far as dealings with the Forest are concerned." Zachau was puzzled by the charge that the "lessee" was using grazing privileges without permission, since the "lessee" was Tom Stafford and the cattle belonged to Clara. He also disputed the claims that the allotment was overgrazed and that the water supply, from Bonita Creek, was impaired; in fact, it had been a dry winter and "if Mr. Wheeler's water supply was lower last year than usual, it must be attributed to an Act of Providence. The very same thing happened in a good many other localities on and near the Forest."⁶¹

---

⁶¹Ibid.

---

Figure 13 — Brands registered to Clara Stafford, 1907. (Arizona State Archives)

Of the greatest controversy was the charge that the Ericksons coveted the Stafford homestead. The Acting District Forester, E. N. Kavanagh, also appeared to be alarmed at the possibility that Forest Ranger Erickson or members of his family wanted to use Forest lands for grazing, a practice that is "frowned upon throughout the Service."⁶²

---

⁶²Kavanagh to Forest Supervisor, January 20, 1916.

---

Zachau responded that Wheeler's claims were unfounded, and that because of the Ericksons' recent major improvements to their house they could not afford to purchase the Stafford homestead. Also, the Ericksons had transferred their "few" cattle to their son Ben.⁶³ Neil Erickson responded to Wheeler's charges in a letter that provides an interesting, although one-sided, history of the dispute, and some insight into later developments:

In regard to statement No. 4 that I am anxious to obtain the ranch property of Mrs. Wheeler's, and the grazing privilege annext thereto, would be alright if I could see my way clear to obtain it in a righteous and legal manner, which at the present time I cannot even think of doing, and for the reason you stated in your answer to the Forester. I have exhausted what little money I had, and borrowed more from the Bank of Willcox, to complete the house with that I am now living in on my own homestead.

It's true that on or about the 2nd of October when it had become known that Mr. Wheeler had sold his wife's cattle, and offered the ranch property for sale, my daughter Lillian, went to Cochise where Wheeler and his wife was living at that time, and made them an offer for the place, for herself (not for me), but failed to come anywhere near [what] they asked for it at that time, since that none of us have mentioned buying to anyone. And as to my willingness to destroy the range and water supply on or pertaining to the Stafford ranch, I fail to see how I could if I were ever so willing, as her property is located above that of mine, and no other stock but those of Mrs. Wheeler had access to the range above her place either on the north, East, or South.

About the 28th or 29th of Sept. Mr. Wheeler came up here to take out the cattle, I asked him if he intended to renew his application for permit for the next season, if not, Ben Erickson would probably like to apply to graze Mrs. Wheeler's allotment. He said "no he would not want it" but wanted to retain the privilege for probably future use, I explained to him that he could not very well hold the range without making use of it, and that according to our Reg. they would not be debarred the use of the range adjoining his wife's homestead whenever she was ready to occupy the same. And owing to the fact that the range is closely grazed and the Stafford homestead not fenced, and surrounded on three sides by Forest range, it would only be a source of annoyance from Mr. W. B. Wheeler. I have been told by the reverend's relatives on his wife's side, that he sold the cattle to pay for his education to the ministry, rather that from shortage of range, the truth of this I cannot vouch for.

Mrs. Clara S. Wheeler has now on and around her homestead seven or eight head of horses; they are range stock. I am anxious to know what we can do with them, they are on Forest range most of the time and a permit should be issued for them, but since Mr. Wheeler is not willing to pay the fee due on cattle for the season from 1915-1916, it is hardly to be expected that he will pay on a bunch of worthless horses.⁶⁴

---

⁶³Zachau to District Forester, January 25, 1916.

⁶⁴Letter from Forest Ranger Neil Erickson to Forest Supervisor Arthur H. Zachau, February 7[?], 1916, Faraway Ranch Papers, Series 8, Box 21. According to Wilber Wheeler's son Dr. Edward Wheeler, the intimation that Wheeler sold the cattle to pay for his education is probably correct; Wheeler, from a "very poor ranching family" in Texas, had completed five to six years of training for the ministry in Georgetown, Texas and Nashville, Tennessee in 1912, and was likely in debt.

---

Figure 14 — U.S.G.S. map (detail), San Simon quadrangle, surveyed 1914-1915, published 1917. Shows Ericksons house and Stafford Cabin (near the "B" in Bonita Canyon). (WACC)

To further confuse the issue, one document stated that Clara Stafford shared her grazing allotment with Lillian Erickson. Apparently the Ericksons had indeed been grazing in the Forest lands. Whether there was any resolution to the charges is not known. Meanwhile, in February of 1916, Clara applied for another grazing lease for twenty head of cattle, presumably a new herd, or at least the remainder of her previous one.

Erickson revealed in his letter that his daughter Lillian had an interest in purchasing the Stafford homestead as early as 1915. Lillian, working as a schoolteacher in Bowie, had the reputation of being aggressive and energetic, a forward-thinking and perhaps somewhat liberated young woman.

On April 22, 1918, Lillian Erickson purchased the 160-acre Stafford homestead from Wilber B. Wheeler and Clara Stafford Wheeler for $5,000. The parties arranged terms of $800 down, with yearly payments of $400 the first year, $500 the next, then two payments of $1650; when $2500 had been paid, the Wheelers would deliver the deed and take back a mortgage for the unpaid balance. Miss Erickson made the down payment and the first installment, but could not raise the money for the next four payments, although she apparently paid the interest. By this time the Wheelers had moved to Texas, and after the payments fell into arrears the parties renegotiated the transaction in February of 1923 for $4,000; the terms were paid off by June 15, 1928.⁶⁵

---

⁶⁵Deeds recorded at Cochise County Recorders Office, Bisbee. Faraway Ranch Papers, Series 15, Box 38. According to Murray, Clara shared the proceeds of the sale with all but one (who refused a share) of the surviving Stafford children.

---

The sale to Lillian Erickson brought to a close the Stafford era at the cabin and the demise of the homestead, and marked the beginning of many significant physical changes to the Stafford cabin itself.

Figure 15 — Sunday School class at El Dorado School, circa 1910. At left, Ja Hu, Clara, Ruby Stafford. Rose Bree Collection.

Figure 16 — Erickson ranch (distant), Stafford Cabin (below), Neil Erickson on rick, circa 1900. (WACC 86:16:0856)

Figure 17 — Closeup of fig. 16. Note irrigation ditch, cabin as it appeared before "L" addition.

Figure 18 — "Old family orchard and chick sales" (notes Erickson) is probably Erickson's orchard, similar to Stafford's. (WACC album 86:16:0528).